Taverne Amendment

Use the Taverne Amendment to make your work available to the public free of charge.

You are allowed to make the final published version (PDF) of your short scientific work open access available six months after publication, by using the Taverne Amendment. This is free of charge and provided that you fulfill certain conditions.

Taverne Amendment

Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, also known as the Taverne Amendment, allows researchers to share short scientific works, regardless of any restrictive publisher’s guidelines. Short scientific works include articles, book chapters or book sections in an edited book and conference publications. Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act states that:

The maker of a short scientific work, the research for which has been paid for in whole or in part by Dutch public funds, shall be entitled to make that work available to the public for no consideration following a reasonable period of time after the work was first published, provided that clear reference is made to the source of the first publication of the work.

A reasonable period of time is nationally defined as six months after the first (online) publication. For additional information on the Taverne Amendment, see the national Open Access website.

Different workflow for WU and WR authors

Due to legal requirements, different workflows for WU and WR authors apply. For WU authors, the opt-out route is set in place. For WR authors, the opt-in route is available. WUR Library will inform WU and WR authors by email when one of their publications is shared open access through the Taverne amendment

WU authors | open access by default | opt-out route

The publisher's version of your eligible short scientific works, published after 1 January 2023, will be shared open access in the WUR repository Research@WUR by default. You do not need to give permission for publications to be made public. You however have the right to opt-out and exclude one or more of your works from open access availability. The regulation for WU authors was adopted by the Executive Board on 27 November 2023 after prior approval by the WUR Council. See the Open Access procedural regulation (English) or the Open Access procedureregeling (Dutch). WUR Library will inform WU authors by email when one of their publications is shared open access through the Taverne amendment.

WR authors | permission needed | opt-in route

To open your closed publications in Research@WUR under the Taverne Amendment, you need to authorise WUR Library to do so:

Please, fill in your personal participation form and select your preference per publication. You can select peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and conference proceedings published from 1 January 2020 onwards.
You can give permission at any time, including upon publication.
WUR Library will make the full text of the indicated publications publicly available in the WUR repository Research@WUR after a six-month embargo period. From there, the publications will automatically be indexed in major databases and search engines.
If you want to withdraw your consent, you can fill in a revoke consent form at any time. As such, you will keep full control over which of your publications will be opened under the Taverne Amendment. For additional information, see the national Open Access website.

Conditions for participation for WR authors

Authorship

At least one author is or has been employed at Wageningen Research during the creation of the work. The author is a corresponding or a co-author.

Short scientific work

Peer-reviewed scientific articles, book chapters in edited collections and conference contributions.

Funding

The research on which the publication is based, is funded partly or entirely with Dutch public funds.

Repository

The publications are made open access available in the WUR repository Research@WUR. Because the copyright remains with the publisher, you're advised to always use the link to the publication in Research@WUR to share it.

WUR guarantees support

The legal basis of the Taverne Amendment has been thoroughly researched and tested in a Dutch pilot. During this 2019 pilot and the 2020 implementation of the opt-in workflow, no legal objections were raised by any publisher. Should a publisher nevertheless still object, you can contact the Open Access support team: openaccess.library@wur.nl, they will also involve the Department of Legal Affairs and other stakeholders. WUR guarantees the researcher full legal and financial support and will take over the correspondence with the publisher. This guarantee applies to both WU and WR corresponding and co-authors.

Plan S funding

The Taverne opt-in and opt-out route do not meet the requirements of Plan S funders, such as NWO and Horizon Europe. See the FAQ below.

FAQ Taverne Amendment

Why do WR authors need to sign an online agreement?

Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act is a personal right, which grants you permission to publish your short scientific work(s) Open Access in a Dutch university repository, provided that you fulfil the conditions for participation (see the text above this FAQ). WUR Library needs your permission to make your work openly available. If you leave WUR, the publications disclosed during your employment will remain in Research@WUR. You can always retroactively decide to exclude scientific work(s) from your permission by using the WUR revoke consent form 1 March 2021 onwards or by contacting WUR Library. This can also be done if you no longer work at WUR.

Do I need permission from my co-authors to open my publications through Taverne?

No, Dutch law gives you the right to make your short scientific work(s) Open Access, regardless of the rights of your national or international co-authors. However, WUR Library recommends that you inform your co-authors. Short scientific works of
WU authors will be shared open access by default, six months after the first publication online or in print.

Can a publisher object to the researchers’ use of the Taverne Amendment and, if so, what are my legal guarantees?

Publishers with whom the VNSU has made agreements have been informed about the Taverne Amendment. The legal basis of the Taverne Amendment was also thoroughly researched and tested in a Dutch pilot. During this pilot, no legal objections were raised by any publisher. However, if a publisher should object, WUR guarantees legal backing. If the publisher addresses you personally, please contact WUR Library immediately. WUR Library will take over the correspondence for you.

Can I share my publications which are made Open Access through Taverne on commercial platforms?

No, you are not allowed to share your publications on commercial platforms, such as ResearchGate. You can, however, link to the Open Access publications in Research@WUR.

Do all Dutch universities participate in the Taverne Agreement?

Yes, all Dutch universities participate. For more information, visit this webpage.

Why an embargo period of six months?

Six months strikes a balance between the societal interest to share academic work quickly and the publisher's interest to recoup the costs incurred in exclusively publishing the final version. In many fields, a six-month embargo period is already the standard for publishers and funders. The embargo period commences when the article is first published (online).

Is the Taverne Amendment Plan S compliant?

No, Plan S requires you to retain your copyright and publish without any embargo under a CC BY licence. This cannot be achieved by the Taverne Amendment because it uses a six-month embargo period.

May I share my work if the publisher has established an embargo period longer than six months?

Yes, the Taverne Amendment applies if the short scientific work (article or book chapter) meets all the conditions. These conditions are mentioned above. The Taverne Amendment overrules any requirements a publisher may have.