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Copyright Licensing/Publishing

Intellectual Property Rights

It is an infringement of copyright (excluding acts permitted in relation to copyright works under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act1988) to copy or publish digital data or paper maps which belong to the Crown without prior written permission. You can find out more about Crown Copyright in the following link:

Crown Copyright

Crown Copyright subsists in Land & Property Services (LPS) / Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland® / OSNI® branded material. Ordnance Survey of  Northern Ireland and OSNI are Trade Marks registered in the name of the Department of Finance and Personnel for Northern Ireland (DFP).

Unauthorised copying by any means is prohibited without the prior permission of LPS’ 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 (HMSO).

The material may be downloaded to file or printed for the purposes of research or private study. (For the purpose of clarity, research is restricted to non-commercial purposes. Private study must not be for any commercial advantage).

Any other proposed use of the material is subject to a licence / permit available from LPS. Application forms are available from this site.

The permission to reproduce Crown protected material does not extend to any material on this site, which is identified as being the copyright of a third party and authorisation to reproduce the material must be obtained from the copyright holders concerned.

LPS would encourage the widest possible licenced use of its material, however, LPS also has a duty to protect the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in its material.  LPS is proactive in the education of licenced use and to minimise the misuse of its Intellectual Property.

Where LPS identifies any unauthorised use of its Intellectual Property, it 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.

Land & Property Services (LPS) 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 has initiated a scheme whereby Public Libraries may make one (1) A4 size extract of an LPS / OSNI branded 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.

Use of LPS material

Using LPS material generally requires a Copyright Licence / Publishing Permit. Most usage falls into one of the following categories. To find out more about each category, how to apply, and the appropriate fees for each category please click on the relevant link:

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

Persons who wish to use LPS material for anything other than personal use should contact LPS IPR Branch for advice on the correct procedures to be followed. Contact details are as follows:

  • E-mail: copyright@dfpni.gov.uk
  • Tel: 0300 200 7804 - (charged at local rate)
  • 0044 28 9051 4636 if calling from outside Northern Ireland

LPS encourages users to establish hypertext links to this site.