Open Access in Dutch copyright law

The ambition of the Netherlands is to achieve 100% open access. Agreements with publishers have helped with approaching this goal; however, they do not cover all types of publications and journals. Fortunately, Dutch copyright law offers an alternative.

Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act (Taverne Amendment) allows researchers to share short scientific works (e.g. articles & book chapters), regardless of any restrictive publishers' guidelines.

The Taverne Amendment allows researchers to share the final published version (Version of Record) of short scientific works via the institutional repository after an embargo period, even if they were published behind a paywall.  

"The maker of a short scientific work, the research for which has been paid for in whole or in part by Dutch public funds, shall be entitled to make that work available to the public for no consideration following a reasonable period of time after the work was first published, provided that clear reference is made to the source of the first publication of the work." (Dutch Copyright Act 2015) 

Together, Dutch universities have decided to interpret 'short scientific work' as journal articles, proceedings papers and book chapters, and 'a reasonable period of time' as six months.

• Many Dutch universities and UMCs are now taking advantage of this regulation on an OPT-OUT basis. This means that the published version of scientific works meeting the criteria will automatically be made publicly available 6 months after publication via the institutional repository, without any actions taken by the authors. 
• If your university is not working on an OPT-OUT basis or if you have a publication that you think meets the criteria but has not yet been made publicly available, contact your university library to participate (see contact info here). 
• Once made available, the works are freely accessible worldwide to download and print for personal use only. You can share the (perma)link to the work with scientists and audiences around the world, not the PDF itself. Any use of the publication other than authorized under copyright law is prohibited. 
• If you receive questions at any time, for example from the publisher, reach out to your University Library. You can then decide together whether it makes sense for the university to communicate with the publisher on your behalf.
   

Dutch universities have been taking advantage of this amendment to give open access an extra boost for several years already, starting with a pilot in early 2019. 

• See also background information about the Pilot and a Q&A for authors
• Evaluation of the pilot and summary in English

In 2020 Dutch Universities and University Medical Centers started implementing the Taverne regulation widely.

As of 2024, many Dutch universities are now working on an OPT-OUT basis. This means that output that meets the criteria will be made available automatically unless the author objects. If you have questions about how the Taverne regulation is being implemented at your institution, reach out to the contact at your university.

Find the contact information for your institution's Open Access Team here.