Using search results

All digital content that can be found in the German Digital Library must be provided with a notice about the possibilities of use, so that the users of the German Digital Library know what they are allowed to do with the content and what they are not allowed to do.

Tips for use

How to apply search results

Can I use a digital object that I found in the German Digital Library?

We provide information about the possible uses of digital objects in the rights information found in the caption directly below the image. The linked terms and conditions apply to the rights information.

How can I find freely reusable content in the German Digital Library?

After your initial search, you can display additional filter options under ‘Filter search’. This is also where you will find the ‘Legal status’ search field. If you click on this field, the various rights information with which the objects are labelled will be displayed. For objects that are completely freely reusable, select ‘Public Domain Mark 1.0 Universal’ and ‘CC0 1.0 Universal’. For other relatively free reuse, e.g. in education, you should also select the licences that begin with ‘Attribution...’; these are Creative Commons licences, under which the objects can still be reused in a variety of ways. The specific conditions for reuse are linked in the caption directly below the object.

What rights information is available in the German Digital Library?

For objects in the German Digital Library, there are various rights notices and Creative Commons licences that the data partners of the German Digital Library have assigned to the digital objects:

Reuse without conditions – Free

Objects with this rights information can be reused without restriction.

Simple reuse with conditions

Objects in this category may be used without permission as long as users comply with the (various) conditions attached to the object. These are:

Free to use if the purpose is non-commercial:

Free to use if the author is named (in some cases, the object must then be made available under the same licence):

Free to use if the author is named and the object is not edited:

Free to use if the author is named and the use is non-commercial:

Free to use if the author is named, the use is non-commercial and the object is not edited:

Restricted use – permission from the data partner required:

Objects in this category may only be used if the author has given permission to do so. Users must obtain permission from the author and contact the data partner for this purpose.

Direct links are provided on each object for contacting the data partner: Under ‘Data partner: This object is provided by’ you will find contact information for the data partner, and the link ‘Show original at data partner’ leads directly to the data partner's website – in most cases, permission for use can be requested directly here using a shopping basket function.

Other restrictions

Objects with this rights statement may only be freely used for educational purposes.

There are objects for which copyrights could not be clarified. Our data partners accept no responsibility if copyrights are infringed through their use:

How long are works protected by copyright?

Copyright protection expires after a certain period of time: a work is no longer protected by copyright 70 years after the death of the author. These works can then be used freely and are marked with a public domain mark in the German Digital Library. You can find more information about the copyright protection period here.

What is a licence?

When authors agree to the exploitation (use) of their works, this is referred to as a ‘licence’. The German Digital Library uses Creative Commons licences for this purpose. This allows authors to permit users to reuse their works, subject to certain conditions depending on the specific licence. One condition, for example, is that the copyright holder must be named.

Can I use the descriptive data (metadata) of digital objects in the German Digital Library?

Yes, the metadata is licensed under a CC0 licence. This means that it can be used freely, including for your own databases, portals and other contexts. They can be downloaded via the DDB API.

Can I use articles/contributions/texts that I have found on the German Digital Library website?

Yes, unless otherwise stated, all texts on our website may be used provided that the author is named. They are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.