From Measurement to Licence: Legal Aspects of Research Data for Materials Scientists

Slides of a talk given at the NFDI4ING Summer School CADEN "Practical Research Data Management in Materials Science", Forschungszentrum Jülich (IMD-2), 13–15 October 2026. The talk follows the research data lifecycle and asks, at each stage, which legal questions arise. Starting from the principle that plain data is not protected as such, it works through the conditions under which research data may nevertheless be covered by copyright (Section 2 UrhG), by the protection of photographs (Section 72 UrhG) or by the sui generis database right (Section 87a UrhG), illustrated with examples from materials science. It then turns to permitted uses (text and data mining under Sections 44b and 60d UrhG, the research exception under Section 60c UrhG and the right of quotation under Section 51 UrhG) before addressing how to make your own data reusable through free licences, with a focus on Creative Commons. A final section deals with the question of who "owns" research data, covering Section 43 UrhG, contractual arrangements and duties of loyalty after leaving an institution. The talk is based on German law. It does not aim to be exhaustive, but to give an overview of when legal questions arise.