Office of the Queen's Printer for Scotland
Copyright material which is produced by employees of the Crown in the course of their duties. Therefore, most material originated by ministers and civil servants is protected by Crown copyright.
Yes, sometimes copyrights are assigned and transferred to the Crown. This often happens in the context of material which is commissioned by a government department. All assignments of copyright must be in writing.
By visiting the Crown Copyright pages on this website or by emailing the Information Policy team.
Generally speaking, yes. It should be noted that the period of copyright protection will be different for the two types of copyright. For this reason, we distinguish between the two by using different notices: © Crown copyright; Controller and Queen’s Printer/Queen’s Printer for Scotland. Also, see ’How long does Crown copyright last?’.
Crown copyright material originated by the Scottish Administration is handled by the Queen’s Printer for Scotland (QPS). The Licensing division of the Office of the QPS handles the licensing on the QPS’ behalf.
The Controller of HMSO in her role as Queen’s Printer has been appointed by Her Majesty the Queen to manage all copyrights owned by the Crown on Her Majesty’s behalf. HMSO’s Licensing division handles the licensing on the Controller’s behalf.
Yes. All departments have delegated authority from the QPS to authorise the publication of material which is officially endorsed by the department in question.
Most government trading funds also have delegated authority to license the reuse of material which they originate. Departments which run photographic/film archives also operate under delegated authority as there is such a close link between the licensing and supply of prints, negatives and copies of films.
It covers those circumstances where the QPS has authorised a government department or agency to license the reproduction of Crown copyright material on the QPS’s behalf. This takes place where there are sound policy or practical benefits in doing so.
Details are available on the IFTS pages on the Office of Public Sector Information website. Applications should be sent direct to these organisations.
It covers a wide range of material, including legislation, government codes of practice, Ordnance Survey mapping, government reports, official press releases, government forms and many public records.
The duration of Crown copyright depends largely on whether the work in question has been published. Generally a Crown copyright work which has been published will have copyright protection for 50 years from the end of the year in which the work was published. Unpublished works have a period of protection of 125 years from the end of the year in which the work was made or until 31 December 2039 (i.e. 50 years from the year in which the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 came into force). Copyright in a work which has been assigned to the Crown lasts 70 years after the death of the person who created it.
This covers those cases where the Crown’s copyright is asserted and then rights are waived to ensure wide access and dissemination of the material. This means that you do not have to apply for a licence.
Details are explained in the following series of guidance notes:
Guidance Notes issued by the Queen’s Printer for Scotland:
Guidance Notes issued by the Office of Public Sector Information:
Yes.
There are three basic types: there is the Public Sector Information Licence which covers material which is central to the process of government (other than trading fund originated), Value Added Licences which cover covers value added Crown copyright information and the Parliamentary Licence which covers parliamentary copyright information. See the Click Use pages on the Office of Public Sector Information website.
Most published material will feature a Crown copyright statement © Crown copyright. If you are in doubt, it is advisable to check with us. Copyright which has been assigned to the Crown will normally feature one of the copyright lines © Controller and Queen’s Printer or © Queen’s Printer for Scotland.
See the Crown Bodies list on the Office of Public Sector Information website.
Most government websites will feature a statement saying how the information on the site may be used. If no such notice appears, the material (excluding the Royal Arms and departmental logos) may be reproduced freely, provided it is reproduced accurately and is not used in a misleading context.
The grant of an exclusive licence means that the legal copyright holder confers rights on one licensee only – an organisation, publisher or individual. In making this grant, the legal copyright holder is prevented from granting the same rights to any other person or organisation for the legal term of the grant. An exclusive licence also prevents the legal copyright holder from exercising their rights to use the material during the legal term of the grant unless he/she or the company concerned has incorporated conditions into the licence which permits this.
The granting of exclusive publishing rights is standard in commercial publishing agreements. Publishers of novels, plays, poetry and general works of non-fiction would expect to negotiate exclusive publishing rights in return for the financial payments due under the agreement. This enables the publisher to shoulder the risk and make substantial investment in the production, marketing and publicity of a commercial title. If they knew that several other publishers intended publishing their own versions of the same work, then the commercial deal would be unattractive and possibly uneconomic.
It is not normally the policy to grant exclusive licences as the government actively encourages wide access to government information. This is made clear in the White Paper, The Future Management of Crown Copyright and in the increasing amount of government material published on government websites.
Exclusivity is a barrier to access. Material produced within government has a particular status and authority, as it can only be originated by one source. If exclusive rights are granted, effectively it means that access to this material is limited to the one licensee. Granting exclusive rights could be seen as government abusing its dominant position in the marketplace. Users other than the exclusive licensee would be prevented from developing their own value added publications and products and this would conflict with the government’s policy to encourage the widespread dissemination of its information through as many channels as possible.