The German Rectors' Conference, Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany and VG Wort make the following joint announcement:
The three partners have asked a joint working group to develop a consensual solution for the handling of copyright in the context of teaching at universities.
The working group is made up of: Managing Directors Dr Robert Staats and Rainer Just for VG Wort. Vice-President Prof Dr Holger Burckhart and Secretary-General Dr Jens-Peter Gaul for the German Rectors' Conference. State Secretaries Gert-Rüdiger Kück (Bremen) and Dr Thomas Grünewald (North Rhine-Westphalia) for the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany.
The working group will propose a consensual solution by the end of 2016. The partners intend to ensure uninterrupted continued use of digital course materials at German universities beyond the turn of the year.
They wish to implement a practical solution at German universities before 30 September 2017, taking account of the German High Court ruling of 20 March 2013.
