Licensing

Licensing

Rates are effective from 1 April each year; these rates may be reviewed at any time but will have an annual review in March of each year. Licences issued and copies printed after the review may attract different rates.

Crown Copyright

Crown Copyright subsists in Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (OSNI) material. OSNI has now been subsumed by Land and Property Services (LPS) but the brand name and products will continue to be used for the mapping. Unauthorised copying by any means is strictly prohibited without the prior permission of our Chief Executive who has delegated authority, for the day to day administration of Crown copyright in LPS/OSNI material, from the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office in whom is vested by Royal Letters Patent the Crown Copyright in all Government publications. All material on this website, unless otherwise labelled, is Crown Copyright and is protected under law (The 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act-as amended).

Copying LPS/OSNI material falls into two categories:-

1. Internal Business Use (copying within your own office under licence).

2. Publishing (by publishing we mean maps, books, journals, brochures, leaflets, catalogues etc whether they are for sale or free distribution. Internet applications are also classed as publishing). Our permission must be sought and given in the form of a Permit Number before any publishing can take place.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

It is illegal to copy or publish digital data or paper maps which belong to the Crown without prior written permission. Buying a map or licensing data grants no automatic rights other than the personal use of the product.

LPS/OSNI complies with ‘Fair Dealing’ as set out in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended) which states – ‘Fair dealing with a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work for the purposes of research or private study does not infringe any copyright in the work or, in the case of a published edition, in the typographical arrangement and complying with EU Directive’. To assist library users LPS/OSNI have initiated a scheme whereby Public Libraries may make one (1) A4 size extract of an OSNI map for researchers or those pursuing private study. (For the purpose of clarity, research is restricted to non-commercial purposes. Private study must not be for commercial advantage.) The extract will only be made after the signing of a declaration form provided by the library.

LPS under delegated authority from Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO) is responsible for the management of the Crown copyright in the digital database and paper map archive of this, inter alia, the Official Mapping Agency of Northern Ireland. LPS is anxious to encourage the widest possible correct use of the data and maps produced by the Agency; however we also have a duty to protect the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in this information. LPS is proactive in the education of licensed use and to minimise the misuse of its Intellectual Property. Where we identify any unauthorised use of our IP we will, in the first instance, contact persons or organisations to allow for the opportunity to procure the proper licences and/or permits. However if the unauthorised use continues LPS will seek legal redress.

Persons who wish to use our mapping or digital data for anything other than personal use e.g. as a Value Added Reseller, a Distributor or for Educational purposes, should contact our IPR Branch for advice on the correct procedures to be followed.