Re-Using Public Sector Information
Guidance on the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2005
Background
Public Sector bodies collect, reproduce and disseminate a wide range of information in many areas of activity, such as social, economic, transport and geographical information, to fulfil their public tasks. Use of such documents for other reasons constitutes a re-use.
On 1 July 2005 new regulations came into force to implement a European Directive (2003/98/EC) on the re-use of public sector information. The Directive aims to harmonise national rules and practices and enable growth of the information industry across Europe. The Regulations do not oblige a public body to permit the re-use of documents held, but if it does, the public authority must do so in accordance with the terms of the Regulations.
The focus of the Directive and Regulations is on re-use of information rather than on access. The Council is bound by its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in dealing with requests for access to information, but this does not automatically give the recipient of the information the right to re-use it.
The information will usually be disclosed with a warning that separate permission needs to be obtained from the copyright owner before its use in a way that would infringe copyright, for example, by making multiple copies, publishing and issuing copies to the public. Existing UK legislation on copyright remains unchanged by the Regulations.
Relationship with Data Protection Legislation
It should be noted that the Regulations will not affect the level of protection of personal information under the provisions and principles of data protection legislation.
Scope of the Regulations
The following documents are excluded from the Regulations:
- Documents that are exempt from disclosure under Freedom of Information legislation
- Documents in which the copyright and/or other intellectual property rights are owned or controlled by a third party other than the Council
- Documents that fall outside the scope of the public task of the Council, i.e. documents produced that are not directly related to the core responsibilities of the Council, such as documents with a value-added or commercial nature
- Documents held by educational and research establishments such as schools, universities, archives and libraries.
- Documents held by cultural establishments including museums, theatres and arts centres.
Definition of 'Re-use'
‘Re-use’ means the use by a person (or company) of a document held by the Council for a purpose other than the initial purpose for which the document was produced.
Asset Lists
An asset is any information that the Council produces that is of interest or value to the organisation itself and potentially to others. An asset list is a register of these information assets
All significant documents available for re-use will be found in the Council’s Freedom of Information Publication Scheme (with the exception of those documents where charges apply)
Conditions for Re-use
The Regulations allow the Council up to 20 working days (the same as freedom of information legislation) to respond to a request for re-use. This timeframe may be extended for extensive or complex requests. In such cases the Council will notify you within the 20 working days of an estimated date by which it expects to respond.
A licence is not required for non-commercial research and private study, but you will need a licence from us for any other form of re-use (for example, posting material on a website, or distributing printed copies at a meeting).
If the re-use of the material is for commercial gain then you must contact the Council’s Information Compliance Officer and give full details of how you wish to use the material; for example whether you intend to publish and sell the material as part of your product.
Principles governing charging
The Council intends to make the material on its website and any significant documents available through its Publication Scheme (other than those where charges apply) available for re-use. Where a Licence is required this may be free of charge or in cases where there is commercial gain to the re-user a fee will be charged.
Because of the potential diversity of requests for re-use the Council have taken the view that it is not reasonably practicable to publish standard charges, but the charge will not exceed the total of the cost of collection, production, reproduction and dissemination of the requested document together with a reasonable return on investment. Neither the Regulations nor the Directive define what is meant by a reasonable return on investment, and therefore this will be dependent on the particular circumstances.
You will be advised of any charge due to be paid in these circumstances and the terms of a specific Licence for Re-use for Commercial Purposes will be agreed. Please note that any fees already paid (if any) under freedom of information legislation in respect of the information will be deducted from the charge for its re-use (Regulation 16).
Reasons for Refusal to allow Re-use of a document
The Council has the right to refuse the re-use of documents. This will generally be because the document falls outside the scope of the Directive because:
- copyright in the document is owned by a third party;
- supply of the document falls outside its public task (this could include the supply of documents that are produced and charged for exclusively on a commercial basis);
- the document is exempt under freedom of information and/or data protection legislation.
If the Council refuses a request for re-use you will be notified in writing within 20 working days giving the reason for refusal. If copyright is not owned by the Council, the notification will identify the person who owns the relevant intellectual property rights, where known, or the name of the person from whom the Council obtained the document.
Complaints Procedure
The Council has a corporate complaints procedure for dealing with complaints including complaints about the handling of a request for re-use of public sector information.
Where an applicant has exhausted the internal complaints procedure he may refer that complaint to the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI). The complaint must be in writing, state the nature of the complaint and should include a copy of the written determination under the internal complaints procedure and be lodged with OPSI within 28 working days of receipt of the determination.
OPSI will investigate the complaint and issue a decision within 30 working days. Complex cases may be subject to a payment of £500 (non–refundable). Both parties can appeal to the specially constituted panel of the Advisory Panel on Public Sector Information (APPSI). APPSI will investigate and reach a Decision within 60 working days. Generally evidence will only be considered in written form. Complaints about OPSI will be referred to APPSI so as to maintain an equivalent level of independence.
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