Can exclusive rights be granted in Crown copyright material?
It is not normally the policy to grant exclusive licences as the government actively encourages wide access to government information. This is made clear in the White Paper, The Future Management of Crown Copyright and in the increasing amount of government material published on government websites. Exclusivity is a barrier to access. Material produced within government has a particular status and authority, as it can only be originated by one source. If exclusive rights are granted, effectively it means that access to this material is limited to the one licensee. Granting exclusive rights could be seen as government abusing its dominant position in the marketplace. Users other than the exclusive licensee would be prevented from developing their own value added publications and products and this would conflict with the government’s policy to encourage the widespread dissemination of its information through as many channels as possible.
