Crown Copyright
Licensing Crown Copyright
The Queen’s Printer for Scotland (QPS) acts on behalf of Her Majesty and exercises Her rights and privileges in connection with:
- Crown copyright in Acts of the Scottish Parliament and in all other copyright works produced by any office holder or member of staff of the Scottish Administration. See section 92 of the Scotland Act 1998 for a full definition of the functions of the QPS. Under section 92(5) of the Act, the Queen’s Printer holds the office of QPS.
- Scottish Parliamentary copyright material. The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has authorised the QPS to manage and license certain categories of Scottish Parliamentary Material on its behalf.
Linked to these responsibilities, are the following:
- To define policy on Crown copyright, taking into account the views of other government departments and agencies where appropriate;
- To provide advice to the Scottish Parliament on policy relating to the administration of Scottish Parliamentary Copyright;
- The issue of guidance and provision of advice on Crown and Scottish Parliamentary copyright matters;
- To delegate certain Crown copyright licensing responsibilities to other government departments and agencies;
- To oversee the administration of those delegated responsibilities;
- To investigate infringements of Crown and Scottish Parliamentary copyright, consulting other government departments and agencies and the Scottish Parliament as necessary.
Day-to day administration of these responsibilities are handled by the OQPS Licensing team. The policy for the administration of Crown and Scottish Parliamentary copyright is described in various guidance documents issued by the OQPS, which can be accessed on this site. A list of Crown Bodies in the United Kingdom is also available on the Office of Public Sector Information website.
Listed below are links to a range of documents contained on this and the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) website which set out current policy on Crown and Scottish Parliamentary copyright. In addition there is a link to the activities of the Crown Copyright User Group. The User Group was initiated by the Government White Paper "The Future Management of Crown Copyright" and is made up of representatives from both private and public users of official information.
