Copyright is an automatic right given to the creator of a piece of work. If the creator is an employee, then generally the right to copyright sits with their employer. There is no formal need for registration.

Any work that is copyright protected must not be used, copied, displayed, communicated or adapted by anyone who is not the creator or owner, unless they have the appropriate consent (sometimes called a licence) to do so. Attempting to use copyrighted work without acknowledgement or relevant permission may result in civil and criminal penalties.

Yes, all Qualifications Scotland (formerly SQA) content is copyright protected, including National Qualifications (NQ) past papers and marking instructions. To use our content, please contact us at permissions@qualifications.gov.scot before any use, to identify the required permissions, costs and steps (as applicable).

If you use our content, you must acknowledge that the content being reproduced is Qualifications Scotland’s property. You must include the following wording on any work that reproduces our content:

'This content is an original creation of Scottish Qualifications Authority. Scottish Qualifications Authority does not promote or endorse the use of any content associated with its reproduction. Copyright © Qualifications Scotland.'

Note: including the acknowledgement does not mean that we have provided consent for you to use the copyright work. Further information is given under Do I need a licence to use Qualifications Scotland content?

Including an acknowledgement to Qualifications Scotland does not mean that you have appropriately credited the creators of other, non-Qualifications Scotland content that you have reproduced within or alongside our content. If you reproduce non-Qualifications Scotland content within or alongside our content, you must obtain the appropriate copyright clearance as specified by the copyright holder.

You will need to obtain a licence to use our content unless you fall within an excepted category. Once you have obtained a licence, your use of our content will be limited to the purposes agreed under the licence, for example, for publication on a website. If you wish to use our content for an additional purpose, you must obtain a further licence.

You do not need a licence to use Qualifications Scotland content for:

• non-commercial research and private study, provided you are not generating any revenue from the use of our content
• teaching in educational establishments, for example:
  • using our content to illustrate or instruct for an educational and non-commercial purpose
  • displaying our content in an educational establishment (for example a school) for educational purposes to teachers or lecturers, learners, and other members of that establishment
  • making copies of our content for an educational establishment for a non-commercial purpose
• limited commercial use (de minimus), provided you generate a gross revenue of less than £1,000 per year

If you think your use of our content falls into one of these excepted categories, please complete our self-certification form (226 KB). The acknowledgment in the 'Is Qualifications Scotland content protected by copyright?' section must be included on all reproductions of our work. We understand that the information you provide in a self-certification form may constitute personal data under UK Data Protection Laws (such as the Data Protection Act 1998). We confirm that we will comply with all relevant Data Protection Laws while holding and processing your personal data.

Note: we make no guarantee that any of our content published five years or more before use will comply with the assessment criteria specifications in place at the time of use, as these are subject to change.

Digital use

To reproduce our content digitally (for example, on online platforms), you must obtain a licence and pay a fee based on you or your organisation’s annual gross revenue as follows:

If you or your organisation generates gross revenue of over £10,000 per year from the use of our content, please contact permissions@qualifications.gov.scot for further assistance.

Print use

To reproduce our content in print, you must obtain a licence and pay a fee as follows:

Notes:

• There is no additional charge if you produce an electronic version of a print publication for either single or multi-edition use.
• Single edition use allows reprints of the original publication provided no content is changed. Multi-edition use allows revisions of the original publication to be printed as often as required, for up to three years.
• It may be possible to opt out of the digital fee model and pay for digital use on a 'per question' basis using the print fee model, should this be appropriate for your project. Please contact permissions@qualifications.gov.scot to discuss further.

If you are not sure if the exceptions apply to you or if you think you need to apply for a licence to use our content, please contact permissions@qualifications.gov.scot. Qualifications Scotland reserves the right to withhold and/or withdraw a licence to use its content at its sole discretion.