Yes, exam tasks (also multiple-choice tasks) are usually protected by copyright. In the case of multiple-choice tasks, the original creative achievement often lies in the selection of the wrong alternative answers.

Yes, according to § 60a Abs. 1 und 2 UrhG students (also guest auditors), lecturers and examiners may use up to 15% of copyrighted works such as textbooks, monographs, daily and public magazines, etc. Out of print works, scientific journal articles and small-scale works may even be used in their entirety. However, some works may not be used at all: Sheet music and live recordings of e.g. concerts and films. This always requires the permission of the author or copyright holder.

For images the same applies as for texts: Both are copyrighted works. § 60a UrhG permits the use of copyrighted works "for the illustration of teaching and learning". This means that picture content can also be used for teaching and for the preparation and follow-up of lessons, e.g. by inserting it into a PowerPoint presentation.

Pictures, photos and graphics are - in contrast to texts - small works and may even be used in their entirety in teaching and research.

In addition to the permission for use under § 60a UrhG (Copyright Act), the right to quote (§ 51 UrhG) also allows permission-free use, especially in the context of a semester, bachelor or master thesis. In contrast to the right of use according to § 60a UrhG, the right of citation is not limited to use in teaching and learning. Anyone can invoke the right to cite. Quotations can come in various forms: Text quotes, image, film or music quotes.

Seminar, bachelor, master or term papers are usually intellectual creations, i.e. they are works within the meaning of copyright law. The copyright to a work always belongs to the creator of the work, in this case the student. This also applies if the topic suggestion or case task originates from the academic staff. As a result, the student has produced the work and is thus the creator in the sense of copyright law.

This means that the work may not be used by others, not even by the university, without the consent of the students.

If several students have jointly written a paper, this is a case of so-called co-authorship. Then all contributors are authors and thus joint rights owners. In this case, they can and may only exercise their rights together.

In individual cases, the so-called employee copyright law (§ 43 UrhG) can come into play here.

Under employee copyright law, the employer or principal is granted rights of use by operation of law to all works created in fulfilment of an employer-employee relationship. However, the author remains the employee.

In the higher education sector, employee copyright applies only to a very limited extent. The constitutionally guaranteed academic freedom under Article 5 paragraph 3 of the Basic Law is added for the civil servant university teacher. In accordance with this, research and teaching are free. All research results and creative achievements within the framework of teaching are developed independently by the university lecturer and are not subject to employee copyright.

In principle, academic staff also enjoy scientific freedom. In individual cases, however, the employee copyright law may apply if they do not act on their own responsibility and if the creation of the work explicitly serves to fulfil the work. This must be clarified in individual cases.

Student employees, on the other hand, do not work on their own responsibility, i.e. the employee copyright law generally applies here.

Yes, up to 15% of a work can be placed in university learning management systems or electronic semester apparatuses, unless it is an out-of-print work, small-scale work or scientific journal article. These may even be used in their entirety.

However, according to § 60a UrhG, the legal permission only applies to a certain user group:
∙ Teachers,
∙ Participants of the same event (also guest auditors),
∙ Examiner and
∙ third parties, if the teaching is to be presented to them, e.g. within the framework of an open day.

For this reason, it is important that only these user groups have access to the materials. In the digital environment this means that access for other users must be technically excluded, e.g. by a password.

Yes, § 60a UrhG allows the use of copyrighted works "to illustrate teaching and learning". Instruction and teaching also include examinations, even if these are carried out by external examiners, such as state examinations (Staatsexamina) in the case of legal, teaching profession-related or medical courses of study.

According to § 60a Abs. 1 Nr. 1 UrhG, teachers can also support each other in the preparation of lessons and provide each other with material for this purpose. The 15% limit applies to the permitted scope of use, except in the case of out-of-print works, small-scale works or scientific journal articles.

If works are allowed to be used under a legal permission and if these works are protected by technical systems (e.g. copy protection), the copyright holder, e.g. the publisher, must remove this protection in order to enable the use of the works for educational purposes, provided that there is legal access to the work. The Copyright Act provides a claim against the rights holder to this effect, according to which the rights holder must make the use possible (§ 95b UrhG). However, it is not permissible to remove the copy protection by oneself.