Crown Copyright is governed by the terms of the Open Government Licence.
Any material created by employees of the Crown in the course of their duties is covered by Crown Copyright, including ministers and civil servants. It includes material such as government codes of practice, acts of Parliament, government reports and official press releases, and many other public records. It also applies to any material created by or under the direction of Parliament prior to 1 August 1989. Anything created after that date is subject to Parliamentary Copyright.
Material released under Crown Copyright is, in most cases and unless otherwise stated, available to use without permission of the copyright holder, as the Crown has waived their copyright. This means you can copy, adapt, disseminate and reproduce the material without prior permission, as long as you acknowledge the source.
Parliamentary Copyright is governed by the terms of the Open Parliament Licence. It covers any material created by or under the direction of Parliament after 1 August 1989. This includes Hansard (Lords and Commons), Parliamentary Bills, White and Green papers, reports of Select Committees etc. Prior to this date material is covered by Crown Copyright.
Material released under Parliamentary Copyright is, in most cases and unless otherwise stated, available to use without permission of the copyright holder. This means you can copy, adapt, disseminate and reproduce the material without prior permission, as long as you acknowledge the source.
The Open Parliament Licence does not cover: personal data; unpublished and/or undisclosed information; material owned by third parties; the Crowned Portcullis logo; images featured on Art in Parliament; Parliamentary Archives; parliamentary photographic images; live and archive video or audio broadcasts.
The Open Government Licence is designed to encourage the use and re-use of information created within the public sector, such as legislation, government codes of practice, government reports and official press releases, and many other public records.
Anything released under the Open Government Licence is freely available for copying, adapting, transmitting or incorporating into another source of information in any other medium, unless otherwise stated.
Some material is exempted from this licence, including but not limited to: personal data, unpublished and/or undisclosed information, logos, coats of arms, crests and the Royal Arms, military insignia, material owned by third parties, and identity documents such as passports or drivers' licences.