Secondary Publication Rights in Austria
As of 1.10.2015, in accordance with §37a öUrhG the secondary publication right became effective in Austria. It aims to foster secondary publications by way of Open Access and to facilitate the self-archiving of publications in institutional or subject repositories.
Zweitverwertungsrecht von Urhebern wissenschaftlicher Beiträge
§ 37a. Der Urheber eines wissenschaftlichen Beitrags, der von diesem als Angehörigem des wissenschaftlichen Personals einer mindestens zur Hälfte mit öffentlichen Mitteln finanzierten Forschungseinrichtung geschaffen wurde und in einer periodisch mindestens zweimal jährlich erscheinenden Sammlung erschienen ist, hat auch dann, wenn er dem Verleger oder Herausgeber ein Werknutzungsrecht eingeräumt hat, das Recht, den Beitrag nach Ablauf von zwölf Monaten seit der Erstveröffentlichung in der akzeptierten Manuskriptversion öffentlich zugänglich zu machen, soweit dies keinem gewerblichen Zweck dient. Die Quelle der Erstveröffentlichung ist anzugeben. Eine zum Nachteil des Urhebers abweichende Vereinbarung ist unwirksam.
Publisher Policies
Few publishers permit their own published version of an article to be self-archived, but many do allow the author to self-archive their own final version of the manuscript after the revisions required from the peer review process have been incorporated (postprint). In these cases, authors are frequently obliged to observe an embargo period between the publication date and the date on which the document is made openly accessible online.
For publisher policies and embargos, please consult the SHERPA/RoMEO-database.
Agreements with publishers/contractees
As many publishing contracts are very restrictive regarding author rights, you could at least try to negotiate with the contracting authority the right to self-archive your manuscript in the repository. There are two possible ways: you can either give the publisher only limited rights of use and retain the right to deposit your paper in the repository or you add a clause to retain the (non-exclusive) right to deposit your work in the repository (clause has to be signed by the publisher). More information is available on the open access website of TU Wien (also in German) or contact IHS library.
CC Licences
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of knowledge through a set of easy-to-understand copyright licenses. When you apply a Creative Commons license to your work, you are telling the public as the copyright holder what uses you are willing to permit and which you aren’t. Everyone is enabled to find work that is free to use without permission. As long as you obey the terms of the license attached to the work, you can use Creative Commons licensed material without fear of accidentally infringing someone’s copyright.
If you like to grant a licence, you should always indicate your name and the chosen licence. If you like to apply a licence which according to the Berlin declaration grants open access, a CC-BY-licence suits you best.
Detailed information in English (by University of Vienna)