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Teachers and students

Intellectual property rights and copyright: materials, links and information for teachers and students in educational institutions

"May I use this movie as material in class?" "I would like to distribute sections from this book to my students." "The school orchestra would like to play instrumental versions of well-known songs. Are we allowed to do this and in front of which audience is this possible?" These and similar questions arise time and again at all educational institutions. The answer is the same as in many areas of life: It depends.

Every day we are surrounded by works (texts, images, music, videos...) that are protected by copyright. Copyright law covers all works that have been created through creative intellectual activity. There are special regulations for use in schools and universities that you should be aware of. The Copyright Act (UrhG) provides the framework. In addition, there are agreements between the federal states and copyright holders that regulate the use of copyrighted works in the classroom.

Information on intellectual property rights can be found on our page "IP rights briefly explained".

Information for educational institutions

We have compiled links and further information for educational institutions here.

Overviews

• FAQs (frequently asked questions) on copyright for teachers. A service by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)
• Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space on Copyright in schools (in German)
• Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space on Copyright in Academic Work
• Overview on Copyright by the Ministry of Education of the State of Baden-Württemberg (in German)

Teaching materials on intellectual property

• IP in education materials by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)
• Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) – teaching material on intellectual property (in German)

Portals

• State media authorities

Training programmes

• Workshops and Online seminars offered by the DPMA
• appointment requests for educational institutions: events.berlin@dpma.de or by telephone: +49 30-25992-266

Media services

• Regional picture and media libraries (in German)
• Agorateka, The European online content portal
• Open Educational Resources (in German)
• Pressportal for schools (in German)

Legal basis

• Act on Copyright and Related Rights (Urheberrechtsgesetz - UrhG), especially §§ 51, 51a, 60a, 62 are relevant for all educational institutions
• Contract for the operation of press portals in schools (in German)
• Agreement § 60a UrhG in schools (in German)

Picture: iStock.com/Overearth

Last updated: 1 July 2025