A license regulates the ways in which a work may be used (e.g. reproduction, distribution, making available to the public on the Internet). A difference must be made between the “author's contract” = bilateral agreement between the publisher and the author as the creator and the “open content license” = granting rights to readers, for example the further distribution and use of a work under certain conditions.

Creative Commons licenses are the most frequently used open content licenses that allow authors to easily grant rights of use to their works. When granting a CC license, authors do not waive their rights (all rights of use remain with the author!), but determine who else may do what with their works and under what conditions.

There are six different types of Creative Commons licenses, each offering different degrees of freedom and restrictions. The CC license is indicated by abbreviations and pictograms.

The CC license types CC BY or CC BY-ND (CC BY-SA for monographs) must be granted for the Publication Fund. CC licenses with restrictive modules such as CC BY-NC-ND are not eligible for funding.

The primary aim of Open Access is to support science, to strengthen the general public interest in scientific research and to make the content available for reuse without restriction. Therefore, if the content (e.g. journal articles) is open and there are fewer barriers and obstacles, it is more guaranteed that it can be used.

The NC module is problematic in several respects. Although it can prevent someone from earning money with your publication, this risk is not present and irrelevant for scientific publications that appear in established publishers such as Springer Nature or Elsevier. Furthermore, the granting of NC offers no protection for the publication of content that may be of interest for patent law reasons, for example, and should not be reused commercially for this reason.

The real problem with the use of NC in the scientific context is that “non-commercial” is an undefined legal term that often excludes user groups or usage options that would be desirable in a scientific context. Many areas can be considered commercial, for example scientific events and platforms that are refinanced by advertising revenue or fee-based courses and degree programs at universities. The NC clause may even cause legal uncertainty in publicly funded research, as in many cases scientific funding at universities is not possible today without the participation of institutions that are wholly or partially classified as commercial (e.g. in third-party funded projects).

As a result, the use of the NC component contradicts the goal of open access, as a large circle of potential uses that would be useful and beneficial for science are excluded. In case of doubt, you will exclude your colleagues from using your work without intending to do so.