Applying for a copyright licence

Copyright permit fees

BGS fees for issuing a copyright permit take into account many different variables. Enquiries will therefore be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The minimum fee for a copyright permit is £50 + VAT (at the standard rate). 

This copyright fee does not include the cost of purchase of the BGS material.

With the exception of photographic materials or costs of supplying bespoke graphics, which are handled separately, those seeking a copyright permit are expected to already be in possession of the BGS material that they wish to reproduce e.g. maps, reports, guides and other published literature.

In some cases, copyright permission fees can be waived when taking the following discretionary factors into account:

  • type and level of use of the material
  • term or duration of the reproduction of the material
  • whether the use fits within our remit in terms of the promotion of geosciences locally, nationally and internationally
  • special cases, where the enquirer is from a registered charity or is a representative of specialist interest group whose geological remit BGS wishes to support by waiving copyright charges

Apply for a copyright permit:

Copyright and scanning licence (CSL) fees

A copyright and scanning licence (CSL) is an annual licence that allows for reproduction of extracts from analogue (paper) BGS geological maps for use in analogue (paper/hard-copy) or non-queryable electronic format (e.g secured .pdf files) at these scale ranges:

  • 1:625 000, 1:250 000, 1:100 000, 1:63 360, 1:50 000 and 1:25 000 scales
  • 1:10 560 and 1:10 000 scales

The total licence fee is comprised of two elements:

  • a variable annual reproduction fee, based on
    • the scale of map you wish to use
    • how many reproductions you wish to make
    • the size of the reproductions
  • a standard £52 handling fee

How to calculate the cost of your annual licence

Calculate the cost of a licence
Information icon
  1. What map & scale: choose the fee table relevant to the scale of map you want to reproduce extracts from.
  2. What size: choose the size you wish to reproduce extracts in e.g. A4
  3. How many: choose the number of extracts you wish to reproduce
  4. Calculate fee: find the fee per extract on fee table (based on steps 2 and 3). Multiply this fee by the number of extracts you wish to copy. This is your variable fee.
  5. Add standard fee: add the standard £52 handling fee to your variable fee.

Please note: the minimum total licence fee is £104 +VAT.

BGS © UKRI.

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Licences cover one site/premises. Additional premises can be included on one licence, at an additional cost of £47 + VAT per premises.

Licences can also be tailored made to suit the number of reproductions your organisation may need to make in various extract and paper sizes or map scales.

Annual reproduction fees for extracts of BGS mapping at scales 1:625 000, 1:250 000, 1:100 000, 1:63 360, 1:50­ 000 and 1:25 000

Number of extracts
to be reproduced
A4 x 1* A3 x 1* A2 x 1* A1 x 1* A0 x 1*
50–99 1.04 1.98 3.75 4.38 10.95
100–199 0.94 1.78 3.38 3.94 9.86
200–299 0.84 1.61 3.05 3.55 8.87
300–399 0.76 1.45 2.74 3.19 7.98
400–499 0.69 1.30 2.47 2.87 7.18
500–749 0.62 1.17 2.22 2.58 6.46
750–999 0.55 1.05 2.00 2.32 5.81
1000–1499 0.50 0.95 1.80 2.09 5.23
1500 + 0.45 0.86 1.63 1.88 4.70

 

Annual reproduction fees for extracts of BGS mapping at scales 1:10 560 and 1:10 000

Number of extracts to be reproduced A4 x 1* A3 x 1*
30–49 2.61 4.17
50–99 2.50 3.96
100–249 2.43 3.88
250–499 2.35 3.75
500 + 2.29 3.67

* Size and charge per extract £ (excludes VAT to be added at standard rate)

Examples

  • Over the course of a year a licensee wants to make up to 50 extract copies up to A4 in size of a BGS map which is 1:625 000 in scale.
    Using the fee table for the 1:625 000–1:25 000 scale range, the total licence fee would be £104 + VAT. This is made of a £52 reproduction fee (50 × £1.04) and £52 standard handling fee.
  • Over the course of a year, a licensee wants to make up to 100 extract copies up to A3 in size of a BGS map which is 1:100 000 in scale.
    Using the fee table for the 1:625 000–1:25 000 scale range, the total licence fee would be £230 + VAT. This is made of a £178 reproduction fee (100 × £1.78) and £52 standard handling fee.

Apply for a CSL: 

As part of BGS’s accreditation with the Government’s Information Fair Trading Scheme, we regularly review our prices are even, fair and fit for purpose. Increases are in line with annual HM Treasury guidelines, which are published publicly each financial year.

Contact us at ipr@bgs.ac.uk

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