Q. How will I know if material is Crown copyright?

A. 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: © Keeper of The National Archives and King’s Printer or © King’s Printer for Scotland.

Q. How long does Crown copyright last?

A. This depends on whether the work has been published.

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Unpublished works have a period of protection of 125 years from the end of the year in which the work was made or until 31 December 2039 (which is 50 years from the year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.

View our copyright duration flowcharts at Duration of Copyright.

Q. Do government departments have any responsibility for licensing Crown copyright?

A. All departments have delegated authority from the Keeper of Public Records to authorise private sector organisations to publish official versions of material on their behalf. Departments also have authority to authorise the re-use of their departmental logos, and documents the supply of which falls outside of their public task.

Most government trading funds have delegated authority to license the re-use of material that they originate. Some Arm’s Length Bodies which run photographic/film archives also operate under delegated authority as there is such a close link between the licensing and supply of images.

Other Delegations of Authority are granted to government departments only on an exceptional basis, at the discretion of the Keeper of Public Records. Generally, Crown copyright material should be made available for re-use under the Open Government Licence.

Q. Are databases automatically covered by Crown copyright?

A. No, databases enjoy separate protection under the Database Regulations. Generally, the database right is held by the person or organisation that has made the arrangements for the database to be created.

Q. What authority does the Keeper of The National Archives have to manage Crown copyright and Crown databases?

A. The Keeper of The National Archives has been granted Letters Patent that authorise him to manage copyrights and databases owned by the Crown.

We issue guidance to government departments, agencies and all users of Crown copyright protected materials to guide, alert and advise on a range of copyright issues.

Our guidance may be copied and distributed without restriction, through newsletters, email, notice boards, in training manuals and on websites under the terms of the Open Government Licence.

Go to our A-Z for all copyright guidance.

For details about obtaining permission to use and re-use a wide range of Crown copyright and Parliamentary copyright information, please see the licences for re-using public sector information section.

For information about using and re-using archival and image information held by The National Archives, please see Record copying, Copyright or our Image library.

Published reports detailing complaints investigations carried out by The Office of Public Sector Information, part of The National Archives, under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005 or the Information Fair Trader Scheme, along with reports into The National Archives’ public sector information complaint handling processes, can be found in the UK Government Web Archive.

Making a complaint under the 2015 Regulations

Since 18 July 2015, complaints about re-use have been dealt with under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015. Complaints are first submitted to the public sector body concerned. If they cannot be resolved by the public sector body, they can be referred to the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Read more in our Guidance on the implementation of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015.

Read the Information Commissioner’s Office Guide to RPSI which explains their role.

The term ‘public task’ is an important concept in the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 (the 2015 Regulations). It is one of the main factors determining whether information produced, collected or held by a public sector body falls within the scope of the 2015 Regulations.

The National Archives has updated its guidance to assist public sector bodies in defining and publishing a statement of their public tasks under the 2015 Regulations:

Guidance on public task statements (PDF, 2.02 MB)

Examples of public task statements

The National Archives has published its own statement of public task: The National Archives’ Statement of Public Task (PDF, 86.6KB).

Some examples of public task statements issued by other public sector bodies include:

• Bersted Parish Council
• British Museum
• Department of Finance, Northern Ireland
• Falkirk Council
• Financial Conduct Authority
• Gloucestershire Archives
• Information Commissioner’s Office
• Lincolnshire Library Service
• National Galleries Scotland
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
• Scottish Parliament
• Shropshire and Wrekin Fire and Rescue Service
• Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust
• Swansea University Library
• Welsh Government

What is ‘public task’?

Public task relates to your core role and functions. Your core role and functions may be statutory or established through custom and practice. There are no definitive statements on what is meant by the term in the 2015 Regulations.

Why is a clear statement of public task important?

Public task statements help public sector bodies to establish:

• which activities fall within its core responsibilities and those of a more optional (and often commercial) nature
• what information is available for re-use
• how bodies use and re-use their own information and the terms of that re-use
• whether the terms of the 2015 Regulations apply to requests for re-use
• what criteria for charging above marginal cost, if permitted, should be applied
• what licence terms should be applied
• whether complaints about re-use can be made under the 2015 Regulations

An exclusive agreement is where a public sector body grants an organisation sole right to re-use particular information. Exclusive agreements are prohibited under section 14 of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015.

There are two important exceptions: first, if there are no alternatives to providing a public task service, and second, for digitising cultural resources.

• Exclusive arrangements are permitted when a public task service cannot be provided otherwise
  • These arrangements must be reviewed at least once every three years to ensure the reason(s) for exclusivity remain valid
  • Details of any such arrangement entered into on or after 31/12/2003 must be published
• Exclusive arrangements are permitted to digitise cultural resources
  • These arrangements should not exceed 10 years. If it does exceed 10 years, the duration must be reviewed in the 11th year and every 7 years after, if applicable
  • Details of any such arrangement must be published
  • The public sector body must have access to the information during the term of the agreement, and it must receive one free copy of a digitised resource at the end of the agreement
• Any other exclusive arrangements existing on 17 July 2013 must be terminated no later than 18 July 2043

Reviews of public sector body exclusive licences

The National Archives undertook reviews in 2008 and 2010 (under the 2005 regulations) into the potential existence of exclusive agreements by central government departments, devolved administrations and Trading Funds.

Review of public sector body exclusive licences – 2008 and 2010

Read our guidance on the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015.

The guidance is tailored for public and cultural sector bodies and for re-users with an interest in the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015:

Implementation guidance for public sector bodies (PDF, 465 KB)
Implementation guidance for the cultural sector (PDF, 383 KB)
Implementation guidance for re-users (PDF, 395 KB)

Additional resources

Resources about the re-use of public sector information.

Information Commissioner’s Office Guide to RPSI which explains its role and the re-use complaints process.

Under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015, in force since 18 July 2015, complaints about re-use are the responsibility of the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Read more in our Guidance on the implementation of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015.

Read the Information Commissioner’s Office Guide to RPSI which explains their role and the new complaints process.

These pages will help those offering public sector information for re-use under a licence. There are details about using the Open Government Licence (OGL) as an information provider, and about the restrictions on exclusive licensing.

The OGL can be used by both central government and the wider public sector.

Guidance on the implementation of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 is available for public sector and cultural sector bodies and for re-users.

UK reports on the re-use of public sector information

Until 2015, the UK government published reports on activity in the area of public sector information, including complaint reports under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations and the related Information Fair Trader Scheme, as well as reports on The National Archives handling of complaints and the operation of the exceptions to marginal cost pricing process.

These reports can now be accessed via the UK Government Web Archive.