Office of Public Sector Information

Public Sector Information

Public Sector Information Regulations

The European Directive on the re-use of public sector information was approved by the Council of Ministers on 27 October 2003. In this section, you will be able to find out about the proposals for implementation of the EU Directive on Public Sector Information and the obligations for most public sector bodies once the Directive is implemented in the UK on 1 July 2005.

More information is available in the Public Sector Information Regulations section.

Crown copyright

Copyright material produced by employees of the Crown in the course of their duties is referred to as Crown copyright. Therefore, most material originated by ministers and civil servants is protected by Crown copyright.

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. OPSI’s Information Policy team licenses on the Controller’s behalf.

More information is available in the Crown copyright section.

Parliamentary copyright

Parliamentary copyright is defined at Section 165 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 as covering works made by or under the direction or control of the House of Commons or the House of Lords.

More information is available in the Parliamentary copyright section.

Guidance notes

OPSI provides guidance about official publishing and on a range of copyright and access issues

See the Crown Copyright guidance notes and the Publishing guidance notes for more information