Public Access to Files: May 2006 Update

How does the Copyright and Related Rights Act affect the purchase of documents?

The Copyright and Related Rights Act 2000 provides that where material is open for public inspection pursuant to a statutory requirement or is on a statutory register, the copyright is not infringed by the copying or making available to the public of that material for the purposes of enabling the material to be inspected at another time or place. However, the Copyright Act also provides that where material is copied in those circumstances, the person granting access to the material should ensure that it bears a mark clearly indicating that it is provided for the purpose of inspection and that no other use may be made of the material without the licence of the copyright holder. The Act also requires that the person requesting such material must sign a declaration to the effect that the material is required solely for the purpose of inspection. Documents from files which are subject to the Act cannot be released without the signed declaration. Such documents would include drawings, plans and maps. They do not include the Board’s decision, direction or the inspector’s report.

• Copyright Declaration (50 KB PDF format)