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Copyright material
Copyright protects literary (written) and artistic material, music, films, sound recordings and broadcasts, including software and multimedia. Material created by government employees during the course of their duties is protected by a form of copyright called "Crown Copyright": however Crown Copyright works generally enjoy the same rights as ordinary copyright works.
You do NOT need a licence to copy...
1) material in which Crown Copyright has been waived, or
2) short extracts of Crown Copyright material, for certain purposes
3) material more than 50 years old (although there are exceptions).
4) material already covered by a Copyright Licensing Agency licence, should you have one.
Details of these four exemptions are set out below.
You DO need a licence to copy...
any other MoD-produced material, whether for private or commercial purposes. It is unlawful to reproduce MoD-produced material without a formal licence. However, we aim to make obtaining this licence as easy as possible.
Exemptions from the need for a Crown Copyright licence:
Exemption 1 – Material in which Crown Copyright has been waived
Under the Crown Copyright Waiver scheme, you may reproduce the following items without having to apply for permission. This is provided that the material is reproduced accurately and not in a misleading context; that the material is acknowledged as being Crown Copyright, and that the source of the material is identified:
- Press Notices
- Forms
- Consultative documents
- Documents featured on official MoD websites (unless notice to the contrary appears)
- Published papers of a scientific, technical or medical nature (although some restrictions apply)
- Headline statistics
- Texts of ministerial speeches and articles
- Unpublished public records
- Typographical arrangements
Further details of the Crown Copyright Waiver Scheme are available from the HMSO website.
Exemption 2 – Short extracts of Crown Copyright material used for certain purposes:
Copyright law allows you to copy short extracts of material for the purposes of private research, private study, criticism, review or news reporting, without permission provided that you acknowledge the copyright owner (in our case, Crown Copyright) . For further information on these provisions, visit the government-backed website www.intellectual-property.gov.uk Photographs are not covered by this exemption.
Exception 3 – Material more than 50 years old
Crown Copyright material created more than 50 years ago can be reproduced freely without permission.
However, there are three main exceptions to this rule:
- Trademarks, crests and logos,
- Material produced by third parties, where the copyright has been acquired by the MOD
- Literature that has not been commercially published, and is less than 125 years old.
Exception 4 – Copying under a Copyright Licensing Agency licence
Extracts of Crown Copyright magazines, books and journals may be copied by Copyright Licensing Agency ("CLA") licence holders, subject to the terms of their licence. Please remember that maps, hydrographic charts and sheet music are not covered by CLA licences.
If what you are seeking to reproduce is not covered by any of the four exemptions above:
Step 1: Click here for the fundamentals of how the licensing process works
Step 2: Click here for the MoD’s list of "Added Value Material" and "Core Information"
Step 3: If you wish to reproduce "Added Value Material", click here to apply for an MoD licence
If you wish to reproduce "Core Information", click here to apply for an HMSO Click-Use licence
If you need help, please call 0117 9132862 or e-mail your query to the Directorate.
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