Office of Public Sector Information

Guidance - Reproduction of Court Forms

Number: 4
Date: 18 June 1999
(Revised 2 August 2007)

This guidance describes how waiver of copyright is applied in relation to official versions of court forms as listed within the Guidance Note

Background

1. In the Government White Paper, The Future Management of Crown Copyright, it was announced that copyright would be waived for certain types of material which are Crown copyright protected. One of the categories of material which is covered by waiver is Government Forms.

2. The purpose of this guidance is to describe how the waiver will be applied in relation to Court Forms.

3. Crown copyright subsists in all copyright works produced by officers or servants of the Crown in the course of their duties, in accordance with section 163 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Her Majesty the Queen is the owner of Crown copyright but she has vested this right in the Controller of HMSO, as Queen’s Printer by Letters Patent.

Which court forms are covered?

4. This Guidance Note relates to practice and prescribed forms covered by the Rules listed below. For ease of reference, these documents are referred to throughout this Guidance Note as the Forms.

• The Family Proceedings Rules 1991
• The Family Proceedings Courts (Matrimonial Proceedings) Rules 1991
• The Family Proceedings Courts (Children Act) Rules 1991
• Parental Responsibility Agreement Regulations 1991
• Enduring Powers Of Attorney (Prescribed Forms) Regulations 1990
• Court of Protection (Enduring Powers Of Attorney) Rules 1994
• County Court (Forms) Rules 1982
• The Rules of the Supreme Court - As amended up to 1998
• The Civil Procedure Rules & Protocols (1999)

[Details of any Court Forms which may not be used will be notified separately on OPSI’s website]

5. It should be noted that the waiver conditions described in this Guidance only apply to official versions of the Forms which appear in Queen’s Printer versions of legislation or to Forms which are issued by the Ministry of Justice. The waiver conditions do not apply to versions of Forms issued by private sector suppliers or publishers without first clearing any copyrights that they may hold in their versions of the Forms.

6. This list may be revised from time to time, so you are advised to regularly confirm which Forms may be used by checking the OPSI website or Her Majesty’s Court Service website.

Permitted Uses

7. Subject to the conditions specified at paragraph 8 being complied with, users are permitted to undertake any of the following activities in relation to the Forms:

• photocopy the Forms;
• publish and sell alternative versions of the Forms;
• include facsimile versions of the Forms in text books;
• include the Forms as part of a software based forms package;
• distribute copies of the Forms in all media as appropriate. This is particularly relevant to legal practitioners who may wish to supply copies to their clients;
• reproduce the Forms on computers to enable completion of individual details on screen;
• feature the Forms on Intranet sites;
• establish hypertext links to Her Majesty’s Court Service website, where many of the Forms are featured.

Conditions

8. Reproduction of the Forms in any of the ways listed in paragraph 7 is allowed provided users reproduce the Forms in accordance with the relevant Rules and subject to the following conditions:

(a) that all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the Forms are reproduced accurately and in their entirety, other than where the Her Majesty’ Court Service has stated that revisions may be made to the Forms;

(b) that all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that all Forms used, copied, published or issued are current and have not been superseded or amended. The currency of particular Forms may be checked by contacting the Ministry of Justice at the following address:

Publications Branch
Ministry of Justice
3rd Floor
Clive House
70 Petty France
London
SW1H 9EX
Tel: 020 7189 2372

(c) that the following acknowledgement should be given on each Form:

1. where the Forms are being reproduced as specimens:
   © Crown copyright.
2. where the Forms are being used or distributed for completion:
   © Crown copyright. Published*/Reproduced*/Issued* by [insert company name].(* Delete as appropriate)

(d) all official publishing and printing imprints are omitted from the User’s versions of the Forms.

9. The permission to use and reproduce the Forms conferred in this Guidance Note may be withdrawn by HMSO at any point, either for all the Forms or an individual Form, by issuing a notice or a revision to this Guidance Note. Similarly, new Forms may be added to this Guidance Note in due course. New Forms falling within the scope of this Guidance Note may involve Users submitting their versions of the Forms for approval by the Court Service.

Additional points

10. It should be noted that this Guidance Note does not confirm whether the Forms reproduced by users under the terms of this Guidance Note will be admissible in a court of law. HMSO and Her Majesty’s Court Service accept no responsibility for the currency and accuracy of Forms produced by Users.

11. Under this Guidance the Royal Coat of Arms may only be reproduced as part of the Forms and may not be reproduced for any other purpose.

12. Artwork for the Royal Coat of Arms can be obtained from HMSO in both hardcopy and electronic format from the address given below. If you require an electronic copy please provide details of the format in which you require the image, (e.g. Bit Map, Tif Image, Word 6, Word 97, Word Perfect, etc).

Office of Public Sector Information
Information Policy Team
Kew
Richmond
Surrey
TW9 4DU

e-mail: licensing@opsi.gov.uk

Carol Tullo
Controller HMSO
Queen’s Printer