This Tripod site is used for temporary storage of scans of OS maps as an alternative to sending large email attachments via SMTP. Links to other pages on the site are only sent via email, so there are no direct links from this page. The scans are removed from the site once receipt is acknowledged, usually within a couple of weeks.
Ordnance Survey maps are Crown Copyright for 50 years from the end of the year of publication.
However, many maps from the middle years of the 20th century show the date that the sheet was first published - with revised editions being published years later. Nearly all OS maps from the 1920s onwards carry a special printing code, usually in the bottom left corner of the sheet, that identifies the specific revision of the sheet. To confuse matters, the type of code was changed twice in the late 1940s and early 1950s, and the codes from around 1948 onwards have to be looked up in a table to get the year: All maps with 'dated' codes and 'unique' codes are now out of copyright, and some 'letter' codes are now starting to slip through.
Copying maps which are still in copyright requires a license from the Ordnance Survey. The license fees are are extremely high - in most cases it's cheaper just to buy another paper copy of the sheet. Derived mapping, i.e., completely redrawn mapping using OS data as a source, fall under the same Crown Copyright rules as the original maps.
Extracts less than A7 size on the original map may be copied without fee, provided the notice "Crown Copyright NC/A7" is included. As a rough guide, A7 is slightly larger than
Scanning of copyright maps for use on a computer requires a license from the Ordnance Survey. Scanning is permitted for transmission by e-mail or by fax - but the scanned images must be printed and then deleted from the computers' hard disks.
Mapping software, such as Memory-Map or Anquet, usually includes a license to print from within the software. Similarly, mapping downloaded from Internet web sites, e.g., multimap.com or streetmap.co.uk, usually includes the right to print a single copy.
Additionally, some youth organisations have an agreement with the Ordnance Survey that allows some copying of maps for educational use only: Information on the Scout Association's licence can be found in factsheet fs120005 on www.scoutbase.org.uk.
There is no restriction on copying OS maps which are out of copyright, but it's safest to clearly mark the copy with a note of its source: E.g., "Copied from the <date> Ordnance Survey map."
If mapping is derived from old OS maps which are out of copyright, several precautions should be taken to avoid being accused of using more recent maps as a source.
Copyright on maps from other publishers usually lasts 75 years from the end of the year of publication. (If a map was the work of a single individual, then the copyright term may run from the year of their death rather from the year of publication.)
The rules on copying maps from other publishers depend on who the current copyright holder is. Some are more protective of their rights than others. It's sometimes difficult to even identify the copyright holder - for example, Bartholomews copyright is now owned by Harper-Collins.