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I used to use this website to get the research papers that are not freely available online. So, passing the right name of any research work for this Russian website will derive the paper directly to your browser in Pdf format.

I used this website for the last 2 years when I was doing my Masters in Jordan. Now, I am doing PhD in Germany, So is it known this website in this region ? is it legal to explore or download the results?

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    As far as I know the only actual prosecution in Germany is done for sharing (meaning uploading) copyrighted material. This is also started by the copyright holders or their representatives, the government itself is not starting investigations. I don't think there have been any cases anywhere where an individual was prosecuted for downloading publications for personal / educational use. Even if it came to that, it would be only for downloading from an illegal source, because you probably have access to most papers for free through some kind of inter-library sharing service.
    – VonBeche
    Mar 13, 2017 at 11:39
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    When in doubt, use tor.
    – Nikey Mike
    Mar 13, 2017 at 14:47
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    @VonBeche There is a whole industry making money from people who illegally download music, movies or games ("Abmahnung"). I don't see why this business model shouldn't work for scientific publications.
    – user9482
    Mar 13, 2017 at 15:06
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    Because this would lead to the fast acceleration of mandatory open access publishing and the end of for-profit publishing as we know it. Publishers might have the right to prosecute individuals, but I think they know that it's a really bad idea.
    – VonBeche
    Mar 13, 2017 at 16:55
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    @Roland I've yet to hear about a single case of an "Abmahnung" for downloading. Uploading is a different story - in particular, people from other countries visiting Germany are frequently sued for using bittorrent, where you cannot download without uploading, too.
    – lighthouse keeper
    Mar 13, 2017 at 20:39

5 Answers 5

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The paper of

E. W. Steinhauer - Die Nutzung einer "Schattenbibliothek" im Licht des Urheberrechts Einige Überlegungen am Beispiel von Sci-Hub

says that downloading is probably illegal and viewing it in your browser is in some grey-area (although making this difference looks like some law-people did not understand the technicalities at all).

But there does not seem to be one court case where one was prosecuted for just downloading such material. So if you still want to access the publications this way, then I suggest to use the following robust solution: Use the Tor browser or even the Tails operating system. In the latter you could save material with questionable copy-right license status in an encrypted file-system, then in Germany the law is pretty robust (compared to the USA or UK) around the "Aussageverweigerungsrecht", i.e. no authority can force you to decrypt it.

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    Cool, but I am not certain about the legality of downloading a Tor browser at my office machine where located inside German university. Do I have to contact the admin? if so, is it some how bad impression to ask about using a Tor ?
    – Krebto
    Mar 24, 2017 at 14:41
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    I do not know what the policy about running certain programms on your school computer are. But I am pretty sure that just using Tor on it is covered by the "Forschungsfreiheit". But note that this is a very paranoid approach, I am pretty sure that you could just access them without tor (like everyone else) without any consequences.
    – Cashman
    Mar 24, 2017 at 14:56
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    Note that one can use encryption even without that OS.
    – Federico Poloni
    Mar 24, 2017 at 15:10
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    You should add a link to torproject.org/projects/torbrowser.html.en somewhere in your answer: not everyone knows what Tor is, or where to find it, and this is the simplest way to obtain a "running browser".
    – Clément
    Nov 17, 2017 at 18:02
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    -1 since this seems to be saying that "I know it's illegal, but here's how to avoid getting detected". I can't condone doing something illegal, even more so teaching someone else how to avoid detection.
    – Allure
    Jun 10, 2018 at 23:58
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Since April 2018 at the latest it is most likely legal

In 2018, the "Act on Copyright and the Knowledge Society" (that's an English translation!) came into effect.

It says in Section 60c(3) that

... full use may be made of illustrations, isolated articles from the same professional or scientific journal, other small-scale works ...

Now, I am not a lawyer, nor do I live in Germany, but that seems pretty clear-cut to me.

Regardless, downloading and sharing academic material is important

While I would not presume to recommend anything in your case - with your being a non-citizen and non-local - I would make the claim that if enough German (or otherwise) students, junior researchers and faculty use it and legitimize it in their circles, then it would become de-facto legal, regardless of the letter of the law.

... In fact, considering past customs of German academics and students, and @cashman's indication that no one has ever been prosecuted on downloading SciHub content - perhaps this is what actually transpired in Germany.

In support of this argument, I would draw a parallel with the legality of homosexual sex: It was officially illegal in Germany since at least 1871 - but was of course practiced; and it wasn't until 1968/1969 that the criminal ban on homosexuality was lifted in the (split-up) Germany.

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    I see the law as saying the end user can use and distribute individual articles but the issue is SciHub creating an illegal archive and if it’s legal to obtain articles from them.
    – aeismail
    Nov 20, 2018 at 0:36
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    Section 96 seems to be relevant to point 2. I understand 60(c)3 as saying it’s OK to use an individual article but if SciHub is not the end user or an allowed source then it can violate 96 which overrides 60(c)3.
    – aeismail
    Nov 20, 2018 at 0:52
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    That’s why I said it was a gray area in my answer and suggested workarounds. I doubt anyone will get prosecuted for downloading an article or two, but someone trying to do something like Aaron Swartz might find themselves facing legal action.
    – aeismail
    Nov 20, 2018 at 12:26
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    @Allure: There's no answer that says that about downloading academic papers after the 2018 act has gone into effect. As in other questions, you are trying to mislead people and scare them away from sharing research, by mixing up sharing/streaming of entertainment media and cases such as Sci-Hub.
    – einpoklum
    Nov 20, 2018 at 19:18
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    You're referring to "that answer", "the Law.SE question" without providing a link. The link you did just provide regards Australia - which is of course irrelevant to this question regarding Germany.
    – einpoklum
    Nov 20, 2018 at 19:48
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According to publishers, it's technically illegal to use a service such as SciHub. As Cashman points out, viewing the content from SciHub is considered a "grey area" in Germany and in many other countries. While I might recommend its use in countries where it's economically unviable to do otherwise, that can't be said for the German system.

As an alternative to avoiding any of the legal issues associated with SciHub, have you considered using "interlibrary loan" services? Most university libraries, including those in Germany, participate in some sort of network that allows them to request articles that are not available as part of their "local" collection. It may take some time (a few business days, usually) before you get the article, but it is completely legal and a low-cost means of obtaining it compared to buying it directly from the publisher.

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    "According to publishers"? I wouldn't put much faith in their opinion.
    – einpoklum
    Nov 19, 2018 at 23:39
  • They are the ones most capable of influencing the law (see the recent link tax brouhaha). As I said though, I’ve offered a solution.
    – aeismail
    Nov 19, 2018 at 23:44
  • So, I just looked into it for a bit; would appreciate your feedback on my answer.
    – einpoklum
    Nov 20, 2018 at 0:20
  • You might be interested: law.stackexchange.com/a/33647/15133 since that answer (and sources cited) indicates it's illegal not just according to publishers.
    – Allure
    Jul 8, 2019 at 12:37
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Disclaimer: not a lawyer.

It is probably illegal to use Sci-Hub in Germany. By "probably" I mean that although it is possible to defend yourself in court, your defense would be based on technicalities such as the difference between downloading and streaming (more on the difference below), which is definitely shaky ground. If sued, you do not have a strong case. Several court rulings have also inclined against things that would make using Sci-Hub illegal, so if the court sets a precedent in the ruling it is likely to be against you.

  • Sci-Hub acquired the papers illegally. This should be fairly obvious; if it isn't then see this article on how Sci-Hub acquires its papers. This matters because German law distinguishes between making a copy from a lawful source and making a copy from an unlawful source.
  • Streaming vs. downloading. Streaming is looking at the material without also making a copy of it. This could, e.g., happen if you are watching a broadcast of a live event. Downloading is actually making a copy of it. In the case of Sci-Hub papers, these are PDF files, and you can't read them without also downloading (at least) a temporary file on your computer. Therefore using Sci-Hub falls under downloading, not streaming. Every time you access something using Sci-Hub, you are making a copy of the work.

Under German law, it's legal to make a copy of a work without the consent of the copyright holder if all of the following conditions are met (section 53(1) and 53(4)):

  1. The work (if it's a book or periodical) has been out of print for at least two years.
  2. The source from which you got the book from is lawful.
  3. Personal use only. No commercial use, either direct or indirect.

Point #2 is particularly important. The source from which you get the original copy has to be lawful. Since Sci-Hub is not a lawful source, downloading from it is automatically illegal.

More technical details: These aren't really relevant to question of using Sci-Hub, but answers a common objection.

German law has a separate section for works used in scientific research (section 60c of the above link). You are allowed to reproduce:

  1. Up to 15% of a work for non-commercial purposes, to a limited circle of people. So for example if you're using it for your conference presentation, you're in the clear.
  2. Up to 75% of a work for personal use.
  3. You may use all individual figures or individual articles from a scientific journal.

The catch is that this does not supersede the requirement that you get the work from a lawful source. If you downloaded a paper from the publisher's website using your university's subscription, then you are allowed to make copies of it without the publisher's consent, but if you downloaded a paper from Sci-Hub, you're still in illegal territory.

Precedent cases: there have been two important rulings on this.

  1. ACI Adam. This established that EU law for private copy exceptions (i.e. exceptions in which making a private copy is legal) takes precedence over national law. This means that German law can be more restrictive than EU law, but it cannot be more permissive; you cannot do something that is legal in Germany but not in the EU. EU law mandates that you provide fair recompense to the copyright holder even if you use the work for noncommercial personal use only (see article 5(2)(b) of the Copyright Directive). If you acquired the original legally, this usually takes the form of taxes on the CDs, hard drives, etc.
  2. Filmspeler. This established that streaming copyrighted material from an unlawful source without consent of the copyright holder is also illegal. So even if you are able to view a paper using Sci-Hub without making a copy of it, you are still breaching the law. This was covered in the popular media, e.g. here.

Finally: chances are very good that your Internet Service Provider, e.g. your university - has policies that prohibit you from doing illegal things using the service. In other words, if you download the papers anyway, you are likely in breach of your institute's policies. In addition to that, your university could get in trouble for providing you with internet access.

If there's a silver lining to all this, it's that you are unlikely to be caught. But you'd still be doing something illegal. Should you use Sci-Hub anyway? That is up to your personal moral code.

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    Using material in the public benefit (e.g. in research) is highly different from personal entertainment, in many (most?) countries, and I would guess also in Germany.
    – einpoklum
    Nov 19, 2018 at 23:41
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    You said the first link deals with streaming videos or music, so I didn't read it. The third link is a media broadcaster/publisher, and so not a credible source on these matters. The second link mentions an ECJ ruling about some kind of streaming - which I also assume has to do with video entertainment content.
    – einpoklum
    Nov 19, 2018 at 23:57
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    ... after reading the links, I reiterate - you haven't linked to someplace that says it's illegal to make copies of academic material for purposes of academic research.
    – einpoklum
    Nov 19, 2018 at 23:57
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    Oh, and that ECJ ruling has to do with selling a player which streams copyrighted films without license. Are you sure you're not just spreading FUD here?
    – einpoklum
    Nov 20, 2018 at 0:00
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    You cannot stream a paper. Streaming means you have only a part of the file at the same time. Your streaming movie player shows you the movie part of the current chunk and then discards it when loading the next part. You browser first loads the full PDF and then shows it, which is a full download.
    – allo
    Nov 21, 2018 at 13:17
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Merely browsing the public web, including PDFs on the web, is generally legal in Germany, that's for sure. So it stands to reason, by set inclusion, that it is legal to browse Sci-Hub in Germany. Also, Sci-Hub obtains and is generally used to view individual articles that are contained within much larger published journals. Also, Sci-Hub is generally used for scientific research.

There are 5 examples of German theses that acknowledged Sci-Hub at https://sci-hub.se/theses#de and there have been no prosecutions for their or other Germans' use of the website. Furthermore, "there does not seem to be one court case where one was prosecuted for just downloading such material," as Cashman noted.

It is illegal to build and start some WMD using instructions you find using Sci-Hub. But it is not using Sci-Hub that makes it illegal. Likewise with many of the plethora of examples created by monopolists and intended to mislead readers into believing or even stating that all use of Sci-Hub is illegal, or "It is probably illegal to use Sci-Hub in Germany." Selling access to copyrighted content without permission of the monopolist is illegal (Filmspeler). Sci-Hub obtains articles from sources that the law considers to have obtained them legally: the for-profit journal publishers (and their ISPs). Sci-Hub, in contrast, does not use them for commercial purposes.

Disclaimer: not a lawyer.

It is probably legal to use Sci-Hub in Germany.

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