Post Political Times

Copyright Considerations

Thanks for all the comments to the previous post on copyright and the Parliamentary Record. Lots of helpful pointers for me to follow up.

For information, work on implementation of the Creative Commons licenses in UK law is being led by Damien Tambini at Oxford University.

Having read the comments, it seems that the simplest solution for the UK Parliament is to look to Crown Copyright. I was especially struck by the guidance set out by the Welsh Assembly which not only allows free reproduction but also positively encourages people doing this with the paragraph –
The Assembly actively encourages access to both versions of the Record. The availability of the Record is a key aspect of the Assembly’s policy to be open and accessible..

This contrasts very favourably with the guidance on Parliamentary Copyright material which is very restrictive and is what causes problems for TheyWorkForYou or anyone else doing similar work. What we should be doing is moving towards the Welsh Assembly approach of both permitting and encouraging others to carry our material with a generous copyright waiver scheme.

There is a lot we can learn from newer bodies like the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament that do not have the Victorian baggage that encumbers the UK Parliament.