This is a short summary on the information that we have obtained on this topic.
A good overview on the legal situation in Germany, particularly on the "Impressumspflicht" can be found on Wikipedia. In short: All commercial sites need an Impressum, while purely private pages do not. In addition to the Telemediengesetzt, there is the Presserecht manifested in the Rundfungsstaatsvertrag which extends this regulation to: "Anbieter von Telemedien, die nicht ausschließlich persönlichen oder familiären Zwecken dienen, haben folgende Informationen leicht erkennbar, [...]", which can be assumed (from my perspective) to basically cover all types of "Open Science Wesites". --> You need an Impressum
What are the possibilities:
- Running the website via the University/Institute (Disadvantage: Loss in flexibility)
- Running the website as a private person (Disadvantage: Your private/home address will be on the website; You are fully responsible for any content and potential legal problems)
- Having your name + work address in the Impressum: You probably need permission by the university, We did not find any cases/reports on the question if this is in line with the laws or other regulations that apply
- Founding an association (Verein) which runs the website as legal body (Disadvantages: Administrative burdens, You need multiple people who run the association)
- Founding a company which runs the website (Disadvantage: Costs and administrative workload, perception of the project as commercial; Usually run from the same address as your home address; it needs to be at least a UG (haftungsbeschränkt) to majorly improve accountability issues of you as private person)
Does anyone know further alternatives for running such any "Science Website"?