§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will continue to retain Crown copyright in summaries of Acts of Parliament and in the texts of Acts of Parliament published on the Internet by HMSO, so that individuals and organisations will need to obtain permission before downloading the material on to a database, adding value and subsequently using it, for example, in a commercial way.
Ear HoweCrown copyright will be retained in all such documents, to ensure consistency and accuracy in their reproduction. However, as my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster made clear in his Answer in another place on 9th February (Hansard, col. 370), no charge or prior permission will be required for use of the text of legislation in value-added printed, electronic or microform media. This concession includes the right to reproduce such material in a value-added form on the Internet, and to reproduce—whether for commercial or non-commercial purposes—material sourced from the Internet in a value-added form.