Background/Introduction

1. We are committed to making the Parliament accessible to the people of Scotland and encouraging their participation. This includes a commitment to meeting the requirements of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005.

Scottish parliamentary copyright

2. Under The Parliamentary Copyright (Scottish Parliament) Order 1999 any work made by or under the direction or control of the Scottish Parliament is subject to Parliamentary Copyright. The SPCB is the owner of the copyright in all Parliamentary Copyright materials. All of our material is subject to Parliamentary Copyright unless otherwise indicated.

3. Further information about Scottish Parliamentary copyright is available on the website of the Office of the Queen's Printer for Scotland, who manage copyright, and any unauthorised use, on behalf of the SPCB.

http://www.oqps.gov.uk/crown-copyright/scottish-parliamentary-copyright

4. It is important to note that failure to adhere to the conditions set out in this policy in terms of the re-use of Scottish Parliamentary copyright will lead to the withdrawal of authorisation for reproduction by the offending parties.

Use of the parliamentary logo

5. The Scottish Parliament logo, comprising the badge and/or the graphic device consisting of the words "The Scottish Parliament" in English and Gaelic, is the property of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) and cannot be reproduced without its specific prior approval. Further information about use of the logo is contained in the Logo Usage Guidelines.

Logo Usage Guidelines (1.6 MB pdf)

6. Other logos, such as the Festival of Politics logo and the Holyrood logo, are also the property of the SPCB and cannot be reproduced without prior approval from the Office of the Queen’s Printer for Scotland.

General use of SPCB published material

7. Published material may be reproduced without formal permission for the purposes of non-commercial research, private study and for criticism, review and news reporting provided that the material is reproduced accurately and not in a misleading context. Where any of the parliamentary copyright items are being republished or copied to others, the source of the material must be identified and the copyright status acknowledged eg © Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body - 2008.

8. Further detail about conditions for other uses and for the use of certain types of material is outlined below.

Specific conditions for the use of SPCB downloadable files

9. Certain files are designated for downloading, and individuals are authorised to download for their own private use. Journalists, media organisations and publishers are authorised to reproduce images for the purposes of parliamentary reporting or any other purposes connected to the Scottish Parliament subject to the following conditions:

• Not in connection with party political purposes
• No distortion or alteration of images in reproduction
• No use for satirical purposes
• No use in caption type competitions
• Not in connection with advertising endorsement
• Permission to use any film footage for party political purposes, including party political broadcasts, must be sought in advance from the SPCB. It should be noted that if approval is given:
  • Video footage may be used only as backdrop or wallpaper
  • Audio of parliamentary proceedings must not be used

10. In terms of further conditions users also agree to acknowledge and identify the source of the image correctly e.g. Image © Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body - 2008.

11. Permission must be sought for the use of all other files not marked as suitable for downloading from the Office of the Queen’s Printer for Scotland.

Specific conditions for the use of the Scottish Parliament RSS feeds

12. Any content made available by a feed is covered by SPCB copyright unless otherwise stated.

• Users may use a feed to place the content provided by that feed on their computer or website.

• Users must acknowledge the SPCB as the source of any content displayed and acknowledge that the content is SPCB copyright.

• Users who wish to redistribute or otherwise exploit the content commercially must apply for a licence to do so.

13. Full details of the terms and conditions of use of the RSS feeds are available on our website:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/nmCentre/rss/terms_conditions.htm

Linking to Scottish Parliament websites

14. The SPCB is also content for users to establish hypertext links to any of our sites, as long as the sites appear in their normal form (eg they must not appear within the host’s own frames).

Posting material on SPCB-hosted sites

15. Contributors to any forums are responsible for what they post and should ensure that they do not post any material for which they do not hold the copyright unless they acknowledge this and ensure they have obtained permission from the copyright holder.

Use of SPCB material for commercial purposes and other purposes

16. Any proposed reproduction which does not fall into the above categories requires the assent of the Information Policy Team of the Office of the Queen's Printer for Scotland, which is administering the copyright on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.

17. The address of the Information Policy Team is as follows:

Information Policy Team
Office of the Queen's Printer for Scotland
Admail ADM4058
Edinburgh
EH1 1NG
Telephone: 020 8876 3444 ext 2516
E-mail: licensing@oqps.gov.uk

18. Licences for re-use of parliamentary copyright material are normally issued free of charge. If there is a requirement for the material to be provided on broadcast-quality tape or DVD, an administrative fee may be applied.

19. Access to Scottish Parliament published information is provided on an equitable basis to all users via publication on the website. The SPCB is unable to provide information to commercial organisations prior to publication, or to convert the data from one format or medium to another.

20. Copies of the official publications featured on this site are available from Blackwell's.

Re-use of information produced by the Scottish Parliament - Complaints Procedure

21. The Scottish Parliament makes every effort to comply with the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005 http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2005/20051515.htm

22. The licensing of Scottish parliamentary material is managed through the Queen’s Printer for Scotland by the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI).

23. If you are dissatisfied with how OPSI has handled your application, you should complain to OPSI. Details are given at: www.opsi.gov.uk/about/contact-us/complaints/index.htm

24 Further information about complaints under the PSI regulations can be found on the OPSI website at: www.opsi.gov.uk/about/contact-us/complaints/complaints-procedure.htm