licence faqs

Every End User Licence Agreement (EULA) states that in order to access and use the data you must be an "Authorised User". The specific definition of Authorised User varies slightly between the EULAs so we would advise you to check each for the details. Broadly speaking, to be an Authorised User you must satisfy the following conditions:

be a fully registered member of an Authorised Institution (whether staff, student or associate)
be permitted to access an Authorised Institution's electronic information services;
and be registered with the Digimap service

Eligibility to access any given Collection is at the subscribing institution’s discretion, as long as these criteria are met. It shouldn’t matter whether individuals are part-time, full-time, in the UK or overseas, staff or student unless the Authorised Institution deems a particular group not eligible. For example, retired staff may be granted access in some institutions because they already have full access rights to the institution’s electronic information services and are regarded as "fully paid-up members". Other institutions may treat retired staff differently and only grant access to some resources and facilities. This decision is at the institution's discretion.

If you are making decisions regarding eligibility on behalf of your institution, we would urge you to consider carefully the risks involved in any given group or individual having access. The data available through Digimap are commercially valuable and useful and there are many opportunities for using the data for purposes that are not covered by the Digimap licences. You should consider whether or not the use a group (or individual) will make of Digimap falls within the permitted uses and what sanction, if any, the institution has against the user should they use the data for un-licensed purposes.

We are very happy to help you with these decisions. If you would like to discuss eligibility, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

2. How do I access Digimap?

Each institution operates it's own means of providing access to online resources to which it subscribes. You will be assigned (or told how to obtain) a set of login credentials (username and password) with which to access online resources. Once you have these login credentials you must then register them with Digimap. This is an online process, and you will be prompted to register the first time you try to access Digimap, if you have not already done so.

3. Does it make a difference who my research is funded by?

No, as long as the work you are undertaking falls under the definitions of "Educational Use" as given in the EULA for the collection you wish to use. Note that there are restrictions on who you can share data with and research sponsors are also subject to these criteria. Please check the agreements for further information. Broadly speaking, you may share data with those who are also Educational Users or who have an alternative licence for exactly the same data (both area and product) that you wish to share with them.

4. I am undertaking a degree course by distance learning and my course is entirely online. I also work part time for my local council. Can I use the data for my course and can I use it both at home and in my place of work?

Yes. You are allowed to access the maps and data online from anywhere subject to the following conditions:

you may not use the data for the purposes of your employment with the local council.
while the data are held by you they may not be issued to or used by anyone who is not an Educational User. This means that if your computer facilities are shared with others (for example, work colleagues) the data must not be accessible to or used by them. Precautionary measures you should consider taking when using shared computers include not saving your password on login pages and not saving any work locally that contains data from Digimap. You MUST NOT provide your password to any other person.
on completion of your course of study or end of your employment, all data held by you must be deleted, including any derived data. You may keep copies of maps and images embedded in coursework etc., subject to the terms of the EULA. You must also ensure that no data is left at your place of employment.

5. I am taking a course with a subscribing institution's Continuing Education department. Am I eligible to use data from Digimap?

Yes, if your status with the subscribing University or College qualifies you as an Educational User. You are still required to register with Digimap in order to gain access to the data. The status of students attending Continuing Education courses may vary between institutions or even between courses. You should check with your tutor what rules apply to you. It is your institution that decides whether you are eligible to use the data or not. See also Q1.

6. My research is funded by DEFRA, the National Lottery and the Welsh Assembly. Am I allowed to use the data for this project?

Providing you are an Educational User at a subscribing institution you may use the data for Educational Use but not for any commercial purpose. Rules about sharing the data with research sponsors may vary between the data collections. Please check the EULAs that apply to the data you are using.

7. From time to time we have individuals from other organisations who work in collaboration with our research on particular research projects. Are these individuals permitted to use the Ordnance Survey data?

Anyone requiring access to the data must be an Educational User as defined in the sub-licences your institution has signed. If these individuals are entitled to access the institution's electronic resources, either as an employee, student, retired member of staff or visitor to the Authorised Institution, then they may use the data for Educational Use. An individual's status as an Educational User only lasts as long as their involvement with the institution concerned. Individuals must also be registered for the Digimap service in order to access the data. The subscribing institution is required to make the decision whether an individual is eligible for access or not. See also Q1.

8. Am I allowed to use the data for anything other than "Educational Use"?

Data from the Ordnance Survey collection may also be used for "limited administrative use". This is defined as fair and reasonable use to show the location and extent of a Place of Education, any of their other fixed assets, and/or the location of, and directions to, an event organised by it." This does not extend to using the data for "estate management" purposes, such as site preparation work for a new building, or any site management work undertaken by the institution's Estates Department. Use of other collections is restricted to Education Use only.

9. I am a registered PGCE student currently undertaking teaching practice in a secondary school. Am I allowed to use the data in my classes?

If you are an Educational User, you may use the maps and data to create teaching materials for use in your classes. If you are using the Ordnance Survey Collection, your pupils may be regarded as Educational Users if they have access to the Digimap for Schools service. If your home institution is a Teacher Training Institution, you too may have access to Digimap for Schools. Digimap for Schools offers both Ordnance Survey maps, historical maps from the National Library of Scotland and aerial photography from Getmapping plc. For any other Digimap Collection you cannot give your school pupils direct access to Digimap, since they are not and cannot be Educational Users for these other collections.

10. We have a student who wants to use geology and land cover data to create a virtual landscape as part of a final year project. The project will benefit a local pressure group and a national charity, but there is no money or commercial activity involved. Is this permitted?

Providing the student is an Educational User and the project is for Educational Use, the data can be used in the course of completing that project. However, the student must not share any data with either the local pressure group or the national charity. This includes data and derived data held in application software.

11. We would like to publish "How to find the College" maps in our College prospectus and on our College website. Is this allowed?

Yes, you may publish such maps using the Ordnance Survey data in your prospectus and on your website. This also applies to events you may be organising. This falls under the phrase "limited administrative use" in the Ordnance Survey collection sub-licence. EULAs for other collections do not specify that limited administrative use of this kind is permitted.

12. I belong to an ornithologist's club. Am I allowed to use the maps and data as part of a bird habitat study I am undertaking with the club?

Use of the data for such purposes is permitted within the bounds of "fair dealing". This may cover limited personal use of the maps and data, so long as it falls within the scope of the term "Educational Use". Sharing of maps or data with those who are not Educational Users is not permitted.

13. Can I teach a Continuing Education course using the licensed data?

Yes, but only if all the course attendees are Authorised Users. The status of Continuing Education students varies between institutions. You should check the rules which apply to you. See also Q1 and Q5.

14. I run a training course for staff from external companies, who pay to attend the course. In some institutions these courses are called "Continuing Professional Development" courses. Can I use Ordnance Survey maps and data in the course?

If those attending your course are regarded as full members of your institution and have been granted rights to access resources and facilities accordingly, then they may qualify as Educational Users and may be permitted to use Digimap. Your institution decides which individuals are and are not eligible to access Digimap, but the definition of Educational User must always be met. See Q1 for more information.

15. I am trying to publish an article in an academic, peer-reviewed journal, but my publisher wants to see proof that I am entitled to publish the illustrative maps which I have produced from Digimap. What should I tell them?

We suggest you send your publisher a copy of the EULA for the maps you wish to publish. You are permitted to publish maps in a variety of publications. If you need assistance in demonstrating this to your publisher, please contact us.

16. What is the appropriate wording for the copyright statement?

The copyright statements vary between Collections. You should check the EULAs for details of the copyright statement that applies to the data you are using. You may need to include more than one copyright statement. You must ensure that the appropriate acknowledgement of copyright and database ownership is included in a conspicuous position on any display or reproduction of the data, in any materials/media. This includes, without limitation, within any mapping images displayed on a screen, printed materials in journals or theses, coursework or screenshots for publication on any internet location. Where multiple images are used in a single publication, each one must be acknowledged individually.

We have put together a list of all the current copyright statements in the Q&A section of the Digimap Blog for ease of reference.

If you have any data which is licensed under a different agreement from the Digimap licence, the copyright acknowledgement will be different. You should check the terms of your alternative licence or ask your data provider for the correct wording.

17. Can I publish maps in books and journals and on the web?

You can publish small extracts of maps taken from Digimap or created by you. You can do this in a variety of publications to inform others about your Educational Use of the data in articles and at events that intend to share or widen knowledge, such as in academic papers or in presentations at educational conferences. However, there are some exceptions and the publication permissions can vary between data collections, depending on the licensor's agreement. If you are in any doubt, please ask. You can contact us by email on digimap@ed.ac.uk.

Publishing maps in books:

Ordnance Survey require you to have both a current licence to the data you're using (whether that is through Digimap or through a licence you have purchased separately) and a Publishing Licence;
BGS look at each publishing request individually. Please contact us (digimap@ed.ac.uk) if you wish to publish any geology data;
for publishing any other data in books, please contact us (digimap@ed.ac.uk) with details of what you want to publish and where.

Publishing maps in PhD theses, dissertations, papers in online academic journals and similar publications: these are permitted under all the licences for all collections. Again, if in doubt, please ask. Note that if your publisher requests that all maps are published under a Creative Commons licence, you should check this with the appropriate data licensor before proceeding.

18. Can I use the data in a demonstration at a conference?

Yes. This is permitted explicitly by the EULAs for Ordnance Survey, Marine, Geology and Aerial Digimap. It is implicit under the bounds of Educational Use in the EULAs for Environment Digimap and Historic Digimap. Remember, however, that you must be an Authorised User and that you cannot give the data to a third party for any reason or leave the data on any device in any form.

19. Can I make copies of data and exchange it with colleagues working on the same project?

Yes, you can make copies of data and you can share data with other Educational Users. These Educational Users do not need to be in the same subscribing institution as you, but everyone involved must be an Educational User (see Q1 for more information on this).

20. My PhD is sponsored by a commercial company. They would like to have copies of the model I am creating along with my final report. Is this ok?

You can give a copy of your final report to your sponsor (including any map images it may contain) but you may not share any data unless your sponsor already holds a licence to use the same area of the same dataset. If they do not already hold an appropriate licence, they may apply separately to the appropriate data vendor for a licence under which to hold or use the data.

21. Am I allowed to keep the data from my course if I leave my university or college?

When you leave your University or College you are no longer an Educational User. This means that you are no longer entitled to keep or use the data you have downloaded from Digimap. However, you may keep printed copies of maps and electronic mapping images. You may not re-use these for any other purpose once you cease to be an Educational User at an Authorised Institution.

The mapping images that have been used in your dissertation or thesis can be published in an academic publication after you leave University provided they are raster and not georeferenced and pertain to the work you undertook during your time as an Educational User.

You must also make sure to include the copyright statement on each image in the publication.

You may not keep copies of the original data.

22. Is there a limit on the number of maps that I can produce in Digimap?

No.

23. Can I use Ordnance Survey maps from Digimap in lectures to the public?

Yes. You may not distribute materials (either electronic or hard copy) to members of your audience.

24. What are the licence numbers for the data offered through Digimap?

The licence number for the Ordnance Survey Education Services Providers Licence is: 100025252

The licence number for the OceanWise licence is: EK001-20180802

The licence numbers apply for every user and every institution. You do not need a licence number that is unique to you as an individual or to your institution.

There are no specific licence numbers for the data in Historic Digimap, Geology Digimap, Aerial Digimap, Environment Digimap or Global Digimap.

25. Can I use Ordnance Survey maps and data for planning applications?

No. Ordnance Survey maps and data can only be used for Educational Use.

26. I am a student at a UK university but I am going to be studying abroad. Can I still use the data?

Yes. Remember you must not share the data with anyone who is not an Educational User. Members of any overseas institutions are not Educational Users. The exception to this is members of a subscribing UK institution's overseas campus.

For example, if you were to go abroad to study at the University of Paris in France or Harvard University in the USA, you would not be permitted to share the data with staff or students there. If you were to go abroad to study at an overseas campus of your own institution, you would be able to share the data with peers and colleagues there, providing that they too were granted access by the institution and were registered with Digimap.

27. I am contracted by a University to deliver a course. Can I access data from Digimap?

Yes, but only if you qualify as an Educational User as defined in the EULAs and only for the duration that you qualify.

28. My sponsor is a government department. Can I share my Ordnance Survey research data with them?

You are permitted to share Ordnance Survey data with government departments as long as they are PSMA/OSMA members AND they are licensed for the same products of the same area of coverage. Your sponsors should check that their licence permits them to hold the data that you wish to share with them.

Please note that Points of Interest Data may not be shared. You should also keep records of what data were shared, when and with whom.

29. My research partner is a government department, can they share their Ordnance Survey data with me?

Yes, as long as they are PSMA/OSMA members, they are sharing the same products that are available through Digimap and it is for your Educational Use.

30. Is PointX Points of Interest data included in the public sector data sharing arrangements?

No.

31. Can I post map images on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube?

You are permitted to post map images on social networking websites as long as it is for Educational Purposes. Images must be non-georeferenced and only as large as necessary to illustrate the point being made.

32. I want to publish a map to a website. Can I include a grid overlay on the map?

Yes. A raster map that contains grids and/or graticule or other location information as part of the image is regarded as permissible. However, a raster image must not be accompanied by any technical means of georeferencing the image so that a user can easily determine real world coordinates from the image. For example, it must not be a GeoTIFF (with embedded georeferencing information), TIFF with World File, georeferenced PDF, or similar.

33. Am I allowed to use the licensed data in an app I am creating for mobile phones and tablets?

You may use licensed data in an app provided that the data is not shared through the app with individuals who are not Educational Users. This may mean limiting the distribution of your app to those you can guarantee are Educational Users.

34. Can I deposit my dissertation or thesis in a library repository and who may access it if I do?

Yes you can. Copies of your thesis or dissertation can be deposited. If you wish to deposit data, please contact us for advice.

35. Can I use licensed data for my distance learning course?

Yes you can. Remember you must not use it for any commercial purposes and must not share it with anyone else who is not an Educational User according to the definition given in the Digimap EULAs (see Q1 for more information).

36. Can part time students use the data?

Yes, part time students can use the data as long as they fulfil all the criteria for being an Educational User. Their part time status does not affect these criteria. See Q1 for more information.

37. My research has led to an opportunity to undertake work that is not covered by the educational licences provided by Digimap. How do I obtain data licences to cover this additional work?

If there is work you wish to do which is not covered by the educational licences provided through Digimap, you should contact the appropriate data vendor directly to establish what options exist for licensing data. You will need to describe the kind of work you wish to do and how you wish to use the data. It is likely that a non-educational licence will incur a charge.