Green Open Access
Classic commercial publications can also be made available as secondary publications in Open Access. When doing so, you must take into account the publishing policy and contracts, which specify details of the permitted licences, time limits (embargoes) and permitted versions (pre- and postprint, manuscript).


Secondary publication under the German Copyright Act (UrhG)
The author is granted an inalienable . The manuscript version of the article may be republished 12 months after publication. Condition: At least half of the research activity was funded by public funds and the article was published in a periodical that appears at least twice a year. secondary exploitation right (Article 38 (4) UrhG)
SHERPA/RoMEO
Publishers' license agreements are collected in this database and evaluated on the basis of the respective publishing policy. Authors can query which secondary publication options the publisher allows for journal titles and sometimes also for conferences.
ATTENTION: In the event of doubt, your publishing contract will apply!
TUprints publication platform
The open access repository offers all members and associates of TU Darmstadt the option to publish scientific papers as electronic first or secondary publications. You will find information on the TUprints platform in the TUprints (opens in new tab). guidelines
Secondary Publication
You can upload individual documents for which secondary publication is permitted to yourself. TUprints
- with TUprints or Register. log in
- Upload the permitted file version and enter metadata.
- Complete and send the . Select “Einzelne Erst- und Zweitveröffentlichung” as the object of the contract. “Vertrag über die Veröffentlichung digitaler Dokumente auf TUprints”
ULB will take care of the publication and inclusion in the library databases.
Secondary Publication Service via TUprints
ULB will handle the secondary publication of all suitable publications for you. This allows you to publish OA without spending your own time and effort on rights checks, entering metadata or uploading files.
Our service for members and associates of TU Darmstadt:
- Rights checks regarding requirements for secondary publication
- Contacting the publisher to obtain the necessary permissions
- Publication on TUprints, TU Darmstadt's repository
- Inclusion in the library catalogue, as this increases visibility on the internet
What we need:
- Your publication list (ideally in RIS or Bibtex format), with Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- – select “Zweitveröffentlichungsservice” (Secondary publication service) as the object of the contract. “Vertrag über die Veröffentlichung digitaler Dokumente auf TUprints”
- Your for author identification ORCID iD
- Depending on the legal situation, your cooperation in obtaining the appropriate version of your publication (manuscript / preprint, postprint).
The processing time within the Digital Publishing team depends on the number of requests already available, the length of your publication list and the amount of work involved in rights checks. We will keep you informed about the progress of your OA publications.
Secondary publications are added to the TUDa bibliography as independent publications. The year of publication is the current year of publication and this may differ from the original publication.
Support with the secondary publication of research from EU projects (Horizon Europe)


All peer-reviewed scientific publications resulting from Horizon Europe funding must be made accessible via an institutional repository. This also applies to titles that have already been published freely available in open access journals. ULB can take care of the publication of the relevant titles for you or your project group as part of the secondary publication service.
What we need:
- A publication list of all EU-funded titles (ideally in RIS or Bibtex format), if possible with Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- – select “Zweitveröffentlichungsservice” (Secondary publication service) as the object of the contract (it is sufficient if a responsible person from the project group signs as the contact person) “Vertrag über die Veröffentlichung digitaler Dokumente auf TUprints”
Before submitting to a publisher, please note the special conditions for publications in funded EU projects. A machine-readable copy of the published version (version of records, recommended) or the accepted manuscript (postprint) must be deposited under a free Creative Commons license without embargo at the time of publication. is an TUprints. approved repository
Articles and book chapters must be published under the . For longer text forms (e.g. monographs), a CC BY-NC, CC BY-ND or CC BY-NC-ND license can be issued as an alternative. Under no circumstances should you assign exclusive rights of use or copyright to the publisher, otherwise you will not be able to meet Horizon Europe's requirements. At the very least, secure the right to secondary publish the publication on TUprints under the conditions described above. CC BY 4.0 license
The Digital Publishing team will be happy to advise you on compliance with open access obligations in the context of EU projects and can show you funding options.
Further information on the guidelines can be found on this page: https://www.openaire.eu/how-to-comply-with-horizon-europe-mandate-for-publications