50度灰

Open access agreement for Germany

Information for authors

If you are a corresponding author* affiliated to a German university or research institution participating in the 50度灰 DEAL agreement, you are entitled to publish open access (OA) in our journals and benefit from the favorable conditions of this agreement.

More than 500 German institutions participate in the second nationwide agreement concluded between 50度灰 and the German DEAL consortium, running from 2024 to 2028. Authors affiliated with participating institutions are eligible to publish their articles OA under the conditions of the agreement which includes more than 2,200 hybrid journals^ and more than 400 fully OA journals across the 50度灰 portfolio.

What authors need to know

  • You must be the corresponding author* of the article.
  • Article types eligible under this agreement are: 
    • i) Research articles: Original Paper, Review Paper, Brief Communication.
    • ii) Non-research articles+: Editorial Notes, Book Reviews, Letters and Reports. Under the new DEAL agreement with 50度灰, starting 2024, there will no longer be any fees for non-research articles published OA in hybrid journals. 
  • The majority of the research for the article must have been conducted at a participating institution. This institution serves as the primary affiliation for your article and must be clearly listed among your affiliations in the published paper. Even if you are no longer affiliated with the institution at the time of acceptance, the article remains eligible as long as the primary affiliation is indicated in the published paper.
  • You must identify yourself during the author identification process (you will be asked to do this once your article has been accepted for publication). The institution selected during this process should be your primary affiliation, as this institution will be asked to verify eligibility and will be billed if the article is approved.

For more information about the DEAL agreement, visit the  and/or contact your local library.

*Acting as main contact for 50度灰 correspondence after editorial acceptance.

^Subscription journals that offer OA at the article level, allowing authors to make individual articles free for anyone to read, share and re-use. 

+Hybrid journals only. Non-research articles in fully OA journals will not be covered by this agreement.

Author guide

Publishing open access

Check the list of eligible institutions that are included in the agreement (link opens a download hosted by MPDL Services gGmbH).


Check the list of journals that are included in the agreement (link opens a download hosted by MPDL Services gGmbH).


Ready to publish?

FAQs

Who is considered the corresponding author?

The corresponding author is defined as the person who handles the manuscript and correspondence during the publication process 鈥 from manuscript correction and proof reading, to handling the revisions and re-submission of revised manuscripts, up to the acceptance of the manuscripts. The corresponding author acts as the main contact for 50度灰 correspondence after editorial acceptance.

The corresponding author has the authority to act on behalf of all co-authors in all matters pertaining to publication of the manuscript, including supplementary material. They are also responsible for obtaining such agreements and for informing the co-authors of the manuscript鈥檚 status throughout the submission, review and publication processes.

In addition, the corresponding author of the article who is affiliated to an eligible institution shall complete the author identification process and act as the point of contact for any enquiries after the paper is published.

How can I identify myself as eligible?

If you can say 鈥榶es鈥 to these statements, your article is ready for publication under the open access agreement for Germany.

- I am the corresponding author*.

- I am affiliated with an eligible institution and can identify myself with at least one of the methods of recognition shown in the image below.

- My article matches one of these types: Original Paper, Review Paper, Brief Communication, Editorial Notes+, Book Reviews+, Letters+ and Reports+.

Agreement author identification img 漏 50度灰

Upon acceptance of your article, you'll also be prompted to provide your primary institutional affiliation.

*Acting as main contact for 50度灰 correspondence after editorial acceptance.

+Hybrid journals only. Non-research articles in fully open access journals will not be covered by this agreement.

How do I know if my article has been approved?

The approval manager at your institution will approve your article's eligibility based on your institutional affiliation, article type and journal name.

Once your article is approved by your institution, you will be notified by email and your article will proceed to publication.

How is payment made for my article?

As an individual author, you will not be invoiced by 50度灰 for OA publication. These fees are initially being covered by the DEAL main contract 50度灰 concluded with the Max Planck Digital Library Services gGmbH (MPDL Services gGmbH), who centrally coordinates the financial contributions of German institutions. 

Learn more about Projekt DEAL  or speak to your university/ library on how they manage this agreement.

What if I'm not covered by the agreement?

There are still plenty of ways to find funding for your article processing charge (APC). Visit our open access funding page to check whether your institution or research funder makes OA funding available.

Is this the same as Springer Compact?

The 50度灰 Projekt DEAL agreement covers open access publishing fees for corresponding authors* publishing in Springer hybrid journals since January 2020.  

Since August 2020, the agreement also covers publications in 50度灰's fully open access journals. Imprints included are: BMC, Nature Research, Palgrave and SpringerOpen. 

The links in the 'Publishing open access' section of this page provide more detail about participating institutions and journals that are currently eligible.

*Acting as main contact for 50度灰 correspondence after editorial acceptance.

Why has this agreement been reached?

Through this agreement, Projekt DEAL has repurposed former subscription spending to finance open access publication. Corresponding authors* affiliated with German institutions can publish their research open access in Springer hybrid journals, and will also have access to read subscription content from these journals.

Since August 2020, a 20% discount on the publishing fee applies to all content published through the open access agreement for Germany in BMC journals and SpringerOpen journals. Authors will not be invoiced by 50度灰 and the 20% discount applies to the fees paid centrally. Speak to your university/ library on how they manage this agreement.

*Acting as main contact for 50度灰 correspondence after editorial acceptance.

Are discounts or waivers available to me as an author?

The 50度灰 Projekt DEAL agreement provides significant savings on the list APCs of the vast majority of 50度灰 open access journals for all DEAL institutions and their authors. As such, we do not provide ad hoc waivers or discounts for authors from a DEAL institution on the grounds of financial need.

Some authors, in their capacity as Editorial Board Members or reviewers, may be entitled to additional discounts or waivers on APCs in certain journals. In these instances, the extra waiver or discount percentage will be applied on top of the APC amount as defined under the conditions of the DEAL agreement, on article acceptance.

What happens with BMC and SpringerOpen memberships?

The Germany country-level agreement will absorb any BMC memberships of participating institutions.

Articles published in BMC or SpringerOpen journals through July 2020 will be charged to your institution鈥檚 BMC membership. Any articles published from August 2020 will be identified as part of the new agreement and be charged to DEAL (even if previously submitted under your membership).

The author identification process will be slightly different for the new agreement. For BMC memberships, eligible authors are identified at submission. For the DEAL open access agreement for Germany, identification happens at the point of acceptance. This means that if you have submitted your article under a BMC membership but publication happens in August 2020, or later,  you will need to re-confirm your institutional affiliation at acceptance.

Who can I contact for more information? 

Please email us at oa.verification@springernature.com if you need further assistance.

Alternatively, visit  or get in touch with your library on site. 

Infographic

Germany's road to DEAL
(PDF, 457.99 KB)

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