Open Government Licence

Since 2001, some works of the UK government had been made available under the Click-Use Licence. This was replaced by the first version of the OGL when it was released on 30 September 2010. The OGL was developed by The National Archives.

The OGL was developed as part of the UK Government Licensing Framework, which also includes a non-commercial Government licence that restricts the commercial use of licensed content, as well as a charged licence for situations where charging for the re-use of content is deemed appropriate.

The first version was designed to work in parallel with other licences such as those released by Creative Commons, mirroring the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) licence and the Open Data Commons Attribution Licence.

Version 2.0, released on 28 June 2013, is directly compatible with the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 and the Open Data Commons Attribution License. The OGL symbol (shown above) was also released along with this version, which "at a glance, shows that information can be used and re-used under open licensing".

Version 3.0, current {{As of|2025|lc=y}}, was released on 31 October 2014. It is interoperable with Creative Commons' Attribution 4.0 licence, and an OGL-licensed work could be used in a CC-licensed work;{{cite web | title=Open Government Licence | publisher=The National Archives | url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/|quote=when the information is adapted and licensed under either of those licences, you automatically satisfy the conditions of the OGL when you comply with the other licence| access-date=26 February 2025}} however it should be clear that the material used is being used under the OGL and it should still be linked to the OGL.{{ambiguous|date=May 2021|reason=advice in cited material predates release of CC‑BY‑4.0 in November 2013 so cannot logically relate to that version}}

The OGL permits anyone to copy, publish, distribute, transmit and adapt the licensed work, and to exploit it both commercially and non-commercially. In return, the re-user of the licensed work has to acknowledge the source of the work and (if possible) provide a link to the OGL.

Version{{nbsp}}3.0 of the licence carries the SPDX identifier {{nowrap|OGL-UK-3.0}}.{{cite web

| title = Open Government Licence v3.0

| work = Software Package Data Exchange (SPDX)

| location = San Francisco, California, USA

| url = https://spdx.org/licenses/OGL-UK-3.0.html

| access-date = 2022-02-07

| archive-date = 16 July 2022

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220716191928/https://spdx.org/licenses/OGL-UK-3.0.html

| url-status = live

}} The licence is also available in machine-readable format.

The OGL applies to many but not all Crown copyright works. The works must have been expressly released under the OGL terms by the relevant rights owner or authorised information provider. The licence may also be used by other public sector bodies, such as local government, the National Health Service or the police. It may be applied to texts, media, databases and source code.

The OGL includes a list of types of information that it cannot cover. The licence states that it does not apply to:

• personal data in the Information,
• Information that has not been accessed by way of publication or disclosure under information access legislation (including the Freedom of Information Acts for the UK and Scotland) by or with the consent of the Information Provider;
• departmental or public sector organisation logos, crests and the Royal Arms except where they form an integral part of a document or dataset;
• military insignia;
• third party rights the Information Provider is not authorised to license;
• other intellectual property rights, including patents, trade marks, and design rights; and
• identity documents such as the British passport

The Ministry of Defence interpret the "personal data" restriction to mean that photographs where "at least one individual is recognisable" cannot be OGL.

Use of the OGL is encouraged by the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015, regulation 12 of which requires licences to be as non-restrictive as possible.{{cite report |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/psi-implementation-guidance-re-users.pdf |title=Guidance on the implementation of the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations 2015 - For re-users |publisher=The National Archives |date=July 2015 |access-date=7 August 2015 |quote=Most Crown copyright information is available under the Open Government Licence (OGL), with attribution of source. ... All licences should be as open and non-restrictive as possible. The Open Government Licence is an example of a non-restrictive licence. It is the default for most Crown bodies, and preferred for all public sector bodies in cases where information is supplied for re-use and no charge is made. |archive-date=15 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151215181327/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/information-management/psi-implementation-guidance-re-users.pdf |url-status=live }}

The OGL is used by organisations at various levels within the UK Government, including:

• Ministerial departments such as:
• The Ministry of Defence
• Non-ministerial departments such as:
• The National Archives
• HM Land Registry, who make their public data available through the OGL, although {{as of|2013|lc=y}} it is reviewing the release of its "price paid data" (the records of the prices of properties that have been sold in the UK for their full market value) under the OGL and reserves the right to withdraw that data from the dataset it makes available under the OGL.
• Executive agencies such as:
• The former Highways Agency
• Local councils including:
• Barrow-in-Furness
• Edinburgh
• Wyre
• Runnymede
• Governmental projects such as:
• Data.gov.uk
• Heritage organisations such as
• Cadw.

The OGL is also used by the devolved governments of Wales and Scotland. The Welsh Government has made its works available under the OGL since 2016, while the Scottish Government has done so since 2015.{{Cite web |date=31 March 2016 |title=Welsh Government open data plan |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250114002713/https://www.gov.wales/welsh-government-open-data-plan |access-date=19 February 2025 |website=Welsh Government}}

National and local government organisations which create software are encouraged to publish the source code under the OGL. A key purpose of this is to enable civil servants and other government employees to engage more effectively with the open-source software community.[https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re-using-public-sector-information/uk-government-licensing-framework/open-government-licence/open-software-licences/ Open software licences], National Archives (retrieved 7 August 2023).

{{see|Parliamentary copyright#Open Parliament Licence}}

The United Kingdom Parliament uses a similar "Open Parliament Licence" (OPL).{{cite web|title=Open Parliament Licence|url=https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright-parliament/open-parliament-licence/|publisher=UK Parliament|access-date=13 September 2017|language=en|archive-date=13 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913231158/https://www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright-parliament/open-parliament-licence/|url-status=live}}

• Wikipedia template

{{tl|OGL-3.0}} and the Wikimedia template

{{Reflist|2|refs=

{{cite web | url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/1/ | title=Open Government Licence 1.0 | publisher=The National Archives | access-date=11 December 2014 | archive-date=11 December 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141211023559/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/1/ | url-status=live }}

{{cite web | url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/2/ | title=Open Government Licence 2.0 | publisher=The National Archives | access-date=11 December 2014 | archive-date=7 September 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190907055028/https://www.gov.uk/redundant-your-rights/notice-periods | url-status=live }}

{{cite web | url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ | title=Open Government Licence 3.0 | publisher=The National Archives | access-date=11 December 2014 | archive-date=28 June 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628175632/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ | url-status=live }}

{{cite web | url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-removes-barrier-to-public-data-use | title=Government removes barrier to public data use | publisher=Cabinet Office | date=30 September 2010 | access-date=11 December 2014 | archive-date=13 December 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213123616/https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-removes-barrier-to-public-data-use | url-status=live }}

{{cite web | url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/855.htm | title=Open Government Licence v2.0 | publisher=The National Archives | access-date=11 December 2014 | archive-date=11 December 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141211022002/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/855.htm | url-status=live }}

{{cite web | url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/970.htm | title=Launch of Open Government Licence 3.0 | publisher=The National Archives | access-date=11 December 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141211023604/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/news/970.htm | archive-date=11 December 2014 | url-status=live }}

{{cite web | url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/government-licensing/what-ogl-covers.htm | title=What OGL covers | publisher=The National Archives | access-date=26 December 2013 | archive-date=13 May 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513024757/https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/government-licensing/what-ogl-covers.htm | url-status=live }}

{{cite web |url=http://data.gov.uk/blog/new-open-government-license |title=New Open Government Licence |last=Shadbolt |first=Nigel |author-link=Nigel Shadbolt |publisher=data.gov.uk |access-date=26 December 2013 |archive-date=2 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101002224249/http://data.gov.uk/blog/new-open-government-license |url-status=dead }}

{{cite web | url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/uk-gov-licensing-framework.htm | title=UK Government Licensing Framework | publisher=The National Archives | access-date=27 December 2013 | archive-date=8 February 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140208045223/http://nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/uk-gov-licensing-framework.htm | url-status=live }}

{{cite web | url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/legal/copyright.htm | title=Copyright | publisher=The National Archives | access-date=27 December 2013 | archive-date=19 December 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219013035/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/legal/copyright.htm | url-status=live }}

{{cite web| url=http://www.defenceimagery.mod.uk/fotoweb/Copyright.fwx| title=MOD Copyright Statement| publisher=Ministry of Defence| access-date=27 December 2013| archive-date=27 December 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227142607/http://www.defenceimagery.mod.uk/fotoweb/Copyright.fwx| url-status=live}}

{{cite web| url=http://www.highways.gov.uk/terms-and-conditions/| title=Terms and conditions| publisher=Highways Agency| access-date=27 December 2013| archive-date=23 January 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140123235614/http://www.highways.gov.uk/terms-and-conditions/| url-status=live}}

{{cite web | url=http://data.gov.uk/terms-and-conditions | title=Terms and conditions | publisher=Data.gov.uk | access-date=27 December 2013 | archive-date=16 December 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216000648/http://data.gov.uk/terms-and-conditions | url-status=live }}

{{cite web | url=http://www.barrowbc.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4727 | title=Open Government Licence | publisher=Barrow Borough Council | access-date=27 December 2013 | archive-date=28 December 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228063922/http://www.barrowbc.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4727 | url-status=live }}

{{cite web | url=http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/20246/open_data/1934/the_city_of_edinburgh_council_open_data/2 | title=Using our open data - The City of Edinburgh Council Open Data - City of Edinburgh Council | publisher=City of Edinburgh Council | access-date=27 December 2013 | archive-date=29 December 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229024859/http://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/info/20246/open_data/1934/the_city_of_edinburgh_council_open_data/2 | url-status=live }}

{{cite web | url=http://www.wyre.gov.uk/opendata | title=Open data - Wyre Council | publisher=Wyre Council | access-date=27 December 2013 | archive-date=27 December 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227201635/http://www.wyre.gov.uk/opendata | url-status=live }}

{{cite web | url=http://data.gov.uk/publisher/runnymede-borough-council | title=Runnymede Borough Council | publisher=Runnymede Borough Council | access-date=18 April 2015 | archive-date=18 April 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418221744/http://data.gov.uk/publisher/runnymede-borough-council | url-status=live }}

{{cite web | url=http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/ManageContent/ViewDetail/ID/2047/Can-works-licensed-under-an-OGL-Open-Government-Licence-be-used-as-part-of-an-OER-6-May-2011.aspx | title=Can works licensed under an OGL (Open Government Licence) be used as part of an OER? | publisher=JISC legal | date=6 May 2011 | access-date=27 December 2013 | archive-date=29 December 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131229124225/http://www.jisclegal.ac.uk/ManageContent/ViewDetail/ID/2047/Can-works-licensed-under-an-OGL-Open-Government-Licence-be-used-as-part-of-an-OER-6-May-2011.aspx | url-status=live }}

{{cite web | url=http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/market-trend-data/open-government-licence | title=Open Government Licence | publisher=HM Land Registry | access-date=27 December 2013 | archive-date=28 December 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228051426/http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/market-trend-data/open-government-licence | url-status=live }}

{{cite web | url=http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/market-trend-data/public-data/price-paid-faq | title=Price paid data – frequently asked questions | publisher=HM Land Registry | access-date=27 December 2013 | archive-date=28 December 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228052932/http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/market-trend-data/public-data/price-paid-faq | url-status=live }}

{{cite web | url=http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/copyright/?lang=en | title=Copyright Statement | publisher=Cadw | access-date=27 December 2013 | archive-date=28 December 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228085632/http://cadw.wales.gov.uk/copyright/?lang=en | url-status=live }}

{{cite web | url=https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/453483/20150812_MOD_Copyright_Licensing_Information.pdf | title=Copyright Licensing Information | publisher=Ministry of Defence | access-date=9 October 2015 | archive-date=9 October 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151009124001/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/453483/20150812_MOD_Copyright_Licensing_Information.pdf | url-status=live }}

}}

{{commons category|OGL}}

• {{official website|https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/information-management/re-using-public-sector-information/uk-government-licensing-framework/open-government-licence/}}
• [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ Open Government Licence, version 3.0]

Category:The National Archives (United Kingdom)

Category:Open government in the United Kingdom

Category:2010 introductions

Category:United Kingdom copyright law