Category: News

Belgian copyright law amended in favor of open access to scientific articles

A change in the belgian copyright law allows the authors of scientific articles financed by the public sector, to retain the right to make their article available in Open Access even if otherwise stipulated in their contract with the publisher.

Published the 5th September 2018, this law completes and reinforces the recent decree of the fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles (FWB) which requires the deposit in open access of scientific articles in institutional directories.

The text specifies that :

  • The article must be publicly financed by at least 50%
  • The article can be diffused in open access even if the author has already waved his copyright to the editor
  • The embargo period is 12 months after publication for the human and social sciences and 6 months after publication for the applied sciences; or less if authorized by the publishing contract
  • The source of the first publication must be mentioned

This rules also apply to every article published before the publication of the law.

Text in French and Dutch : http://www.dekamer.be/FLWB/PDF/54/3143/54K3143006.pdf

Source : Le Moniteur Belge/Het Belgisch Staatsblad. 2018-09-05. Art. 29

An Open Access mandate adopted by the Wallonia-Brussels Federation Government

mercioaThe Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation unanimously adopted (with two abstentions) the project of Open Access Decree supported by the Minister of Higher Education and Research, Jean-Claude Marcourt, aiming at establishing a policy of free access to scientific publications.

The text of the decree stipulates that all scientific articles subsidized by public funds must be deposited in an institutional directory.

Institutions will also need to use only lists of publications from these directories for the evaluation of researchers.

The decree is accessible online [fr]

Register for Open Science on the Move

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Jointly organized by OpenAIRE, BICfB and VLIR – Open Science working group

The topic of open access has moved well beyond opening up publications and research data. Additional to those important ways of sharing lies a more integrated approach, generally known as open science. The striving for transparency, public availability and reuseability has made some enthusiastic advocates for Open Science. But what are the possibilities and challenges? And how to apply Open Science in your research workflow?

Find out more during the international Open Access week, where the Belgian Universities jointly organize a two-day event titled ‘Open Science on the Move’. Registrations are now open: you can enrol here. The full program is available here. Continue reading “Register for Open Science on the Move” →

Join the Belgian Open Access week event: ‘Open Science on the move’ 24-25 October 2016

Participate in the Open Science event, organized by the Flemish and French-speaking universities of Belgium, at the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels on 24-25 October 2016.

The theme of this year’s  International Open Access Week, to be held October 24-30, will be ‘Open in Action’.  The Belgian universities, with the support of the Royal Library, jointly organize a two-day event titled ‘Open Science on the move’.  As ‘Open Access’ becomes a more and more familiar concept, this event will focus on the broader picture of ‘Open science’ and how to open up all aspects of scientific research.

Topics will include, among other things: open access, open peer review and open data.

Anyone can attend the event although the first day is primarily intended for researchers,  PhD students, postdocs, and (junior) professors, while the 25th of October is oriented towards research administrations, research coordinators and librarians.

  • Monday  24 October: oriented towards researchers – program
  • Tuesday 25 October: oriented towards research administration/coordinators and librarians – program
  • This event will be held at the KBR, Keizerslaan 4 Boulevard de l’Empereur, 1000 Brussels

More information about the ‘Open Science on the move’-event and how to enrol is coming soon!

With the support of:

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World Intellectual Property Day and the Anne Frank Case

It’s a recurring discussion. Every time a major work is about to enter the public domain, debate flares up if and when it can be freely accessed. Due to differences in national copyright legislation it is often difficult to determine when copyright protection ends. In a time where access to knowledge is global, this leads to absurd situations. So is “Le Petit Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in the public domain in most parts of the world but, due to an exception in copyright law, not in France.

Continue reading “World Intellectual Property Day and the Anne Frank Case” →

Open Access Week 2015 – “Open for Collaboration”

Open Access Week 2015 – “Open for Collaboration”
Research impact through Open Access: explore new opportunities
21-22 October 2015

You are researcher, PhD student, postdoc, professor, assistant or simply interested by the topic?
You want to know more and engage actively in providing Open Access to research results?

Participate in the Open Access workshops, organized by the Flemish and French-speaking universities of Belgium, at the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels on 21-22 October 2015.

Registration is free of charge but mandatory.

Practical information and the full program:

  • for Wednesday 21 October: coming soon (organized by the Flemish universities).
  • for Thursday 22 October: here (organized by the French-speaking universities).

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