Denmark to enter new license agreement with Springer Nature Group (English version)

Press release, Universities Denmark, March 3rd 2023

There must be immediate and free access to Danish research publications – also called Open Access – as soon as they are published and the universities will not accept price increases for reading access to other countries’ research publications.

That was the starting point when the Royal Danish Library, on behalf of the Danish universities, began negotiations with the publisher Springer Nature Group in the fall of 2022. The requirement was a continuation of the previous two years’ negotiations with Elsevier and Wiley, and had to meet the ambitions of Danish Universities to open access to the universities’ research, so that it benefits the whole society.

After an intensive negotiation process, a particularly satisfactory agreement for a 4-year period has been reached. With the agreement, immediate Open Access to the publisher’s version of Danish research publications on Springer Compact is ensured, and reading access to an unchanged portfolio of both Springer and Nature journals is ensured.

“It is good for Danish research that we pursue Open Access with such dedication. We know that access to the latest research publications is essential for researchers in the fight against the major societal crises that we saw during the pandemic and in relation to current challenges as climate, sustainability and energy supply crises,” says the rector of the University of Copenhagen, Henrik Wegener, who is also the negotiating representative for Danish Universities, which is the mandate provider in the negotiations.

It is a continuing problem for access to research results that a large part of the total global research is still locked behind commercial paywalls. The scientific publishers profit from both publication and reading access. Through the agreements with Elsevier, Wiley and now Springer Nature Group, Denmark has now for the third time achieved results that put an end to this business model, and brings Denmark a big step forward in the effort for greater openness in research,.

“We have once again succeeded in distancing ourselves from embargo periods and double dipping. This is really important, because Danish research publications must be open and accessible to the whole world at the time of publication, and we will not accept to be charged twice for access and publication. In 2023, we will negotiate with Taylor & Francis, we are looking forward to a constructive dialogue about the future interaction between publisher, research institutions and library,” says the person in charge of negotiations, Kira Stine Hansen, deputy director, Royal Danish Library.

https://pro.kb.dk/en/licensing/springer-compact : Læs mere om aftalen og hvordan du som forsker kan publicere gratis hos Springer Compact.