Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 - Crown and Parliamentary Copyrights

Crown and Parliamentary Copyrights

The Act simplifies the regime of Crown copyright, that is the copyright in works of the United Kingdom government, and abolishes the perpetual Crown copyright in unpublished works of the Crown. It also creates the separate concept of Parliamentary copyright for the works of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and the Scottish Parliament, and applies similar rules to the copyrights of certain international organisations.

Crown copyright last for fifty years after publication, or 125 years after creation for unpublished works (s. 163): however, no unpublished works of the Crown will come into the public domain until 31 December 2039, that is fifty years after the commencement of section 163. Acts of the United Kingdom and Scottish Parliaments and Church of England Measures are protected by Crown copyright for fifty years from Royal Assent (s. 164). Works of the Parliaments of the United Kingdom and of Scotland, except Bills and Acts, are protected by Parliamentary copyright for fifty years after creation: Bills are protected from the date of their introduction to the date of Royal Assent or of rejection (ss. 165–167, Parliamentary Copyright (Scottish Parliament) Order 1999 No. 676). The works of the United Nations and its specialised agencies and of the Organisation of American States are protected for fifty years after creation (s. 168, Copyright (International Organisations) Order 1989 No. 989).

Read more about this topic:  Copyright, Designs And Patents Act 1988

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