Local Government: Copyright policies
The UK National Archives has undertaken a survey to identify trends in the copyright policies employed by 434 UK local authorities. The research was initially developed and undertaken for internal needs within the National Archives. The report titled: Research into Local Authority Copyright Policies is now being made available to a wider audience on the European Public Sector Information Platform.
The conclusions of the report state:
“To summarise in brief:
- The majority of local authorities have a policy which would require users to apply for specific permission to re-use material.
- A significant minority of around 20% have either no policy or only a basic copyright notice.
- 17% of local authorities allow re-use for non commercial purposes without formal permission.
- 11% of local authorities cite the RoPSI regulations or use terminology from them.
- Being open for non commercial re-use and demonstrating awareness of the re-use regulations may be negatively related.
While it is not the primary purpose of this document to provide strategies for achieving policy aims, the following are suggested as issues which could and should be addressed in any such work:
Encouraging as best practice the adoption of waiver or open licence type policies.
- Encouraging authorities that are unready for the above:
- To ensure they have at least a copyright statement with contact details.
- To provide exceptions for non-commercial re-use.
- Developing strategies to increase awareness of the re-use agenda without discouraging adoption of relaxed licensing policies.
- Spreading recognition of CDPA exceptions for personal research and educational use, and encouraging further liberalisation in these areas.
A further area which has not been explored here but could provide useful insight is the copyright policy link between copyright and FOI policies, and its impact on openness.”
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