Exceptions to Copyright: Copyright Material Held by Public Bodies

Publisher: Intellectual Property Office
Category: UK Legislation
Subject: Intellectual Property
Inactive: No
Description: This leaflet sets out an overview of the changes to the copyright exceptions for material held by public bodies coming into law in June 2014. The changes are being made to bring copyright law up to date and make it more readily applicable to the digital age.

The changes apply to third party material held by public bodies. In the past the general position has been that an individual could either view that material in person, or a public body could copy and distribute it on an individual basis. The law did not generally allow the public body to publish the material online without permission from the rights holder. From June 2014 public bodies and keepers of statutory registers will be allowed to proactively share copyright material online without seeking permission, as long as it is not commercially available.

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