Secondary Publishing Rights Adopted into Slovenian Legislation

By adding paragraphs six and seven to Article 41 of the ZZrID, Slovenia has established Secondary Publishing Rights as a legal basis for enabling open access to and reuse of publicly funded scientific publications and research data (i.e., research co-funded by public resources to a level of at least 50%).

Secondary Publishing Rights were recognised as a recommended and desirable solution in the EU Council Conclusions on high-quality, transparent, open, trustworthy and equitable scholarly publishing of May 2023, as they provide additional legal support for ensuring open access to and reuse of publicly funded research outputs. Similar legislation has already been adopted in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Bulgaria – Slovenia now joins them with the amendment ZZrID-C.

The adopted provision applies to both scientific publications and related research data. Secondary Publishing Rights (as set out in paragraphs six and seven of Article 41 of the amended ZZrID) allow publicly funded research articles and associated research data, and potentially other research outputs, to be made openly accessible in an open-access repository, even when the publisher does not allow immediate open access.

This right may be exercised by the author/researcher (or their employer) or by the provider of scientific research activities. As a result, the author or institution may enable immediate open access to and reuse of publicly funded research outputs, including for those journal segments that do not otherwise support immediate open access. Secondary Publishing Rights establish a legal presumption that the transfer of copyright cannot be so exclusive as to prevent the author from depositing the work in an open-access repository, since the author retains the necessary rights for such a deposit – even if, for example, the publisher demands exclusive transfer of economic rights.

In particular, the adopted provision explicitly stipulates that any contractual provision preventing researchers or providers of scientific research activities from publishing or making available to the public the results of the research in a public open access repository shall be null and void. This legal presumption strengthens the position of researchers who might otherwise lack the negotiating power or legal knowledge to effectively retain the necessary rights to publish their research in a public open access repository. With the introduction of Secondary Publishing Rights, they are thus better positioned to comply with the Rights Retention obligation.

Text of the new paragraph six and paragraph seven of Article 41 of the ZZrID:

“(6) If the provider of scientific research activities or the researchers do not individually manage the rights in accordance with the first paragraph of this Article, the researcher or the provider of scientific research activities may publish or make available to the public the results of the scientific research activity in a public open access repository as soon as the result of the research has been accepted for publication, with due acknowledgement of the researcher and the source of the first publication.

(7) Contractual provisions contrary to the preceding paragraph shall be null and void.”

At ODIPI – the Knowledge Rights 21 National Coordinator for Slovenia – we advocated for this important step forward through various means. Dr. Maja Bogataj Jančič participated as the Slovenian government’s chosen lead on Action 2 under the EU’s European Research Area Policy Agenda for 2022–2024, which addressed the priority of an EU copyright and data legislative and regulatory framework fit for research. Furthermore, in December 2024, ODIPI, in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and Knowledge Rights 21 (KR21), organized the ERA KR21 Conference Slovenia, where Dejan Dvoršek, Deputy Head of the Unit for Open Science and Research Infrastructures at the European Commission, and Sergej Možina, Advisor for Research at the Permanent Representation of Slovenia to the European Union Brussels, explicitly endorsed the introduction of Secondary Publishing Rights into the Slovenian legal framework.

The introduction of Secondary Publishing Rights significantly strengthens the legal certainty for researchers and research institutions with regard to fulfilling open science obligations.

It complements and reinforces the Rights Retention obligation, introduced in Slovenia already in 2021 with the ZZrID and further specified in the Decree on the Implementation of Scientific Research in Accordance with the Principles of Open Science (Slo. Uredba o izvajanju znanstvenoraziskovalnega dela v skladu z načeli odprte znanosti), by introducing an important legal presumption. This enables more effective rights management in line with open science principles.

Going forward, researchers and research institutions will need further guidance on Secondary Publishing Rights, and repositories will need to be adapted accordingly.

Slovenia is distinguishing itself in aligning its research strategy and policies with the principles of open science. With the adoption of Secondary Publishing Rights, the country has taken a significant step toward establishing an open research environment. The new legal basis will enable broader access to research results, increase transparency in the use of public funds, and promote the circulation of knowledge within the EU (the “fifth freedom” – the free movement of knowledge).