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Is PRINCE2 in the Public Domain?
It depends. It depends on what you think 'public domain' means. According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law 1996, public domain is:"the realm or status of property rights that belong to the community at large, are unprotected by copyright or patent, and are subject to appropriation by anyone"
PRINCE2 is protected by copyright. By definition, therefore, PRINCE2 is NOT in the public domain.
It is true that the PRINCE2 books and CDs are available for purchase from APM Group via APMG-Business Books, TSO, and all good book shops. And it is true that any organisation, in its drive to improve its Project Management processes and practices, can use the approach described in the PRINCE2 publications. It is also true that certain Project Management self-assessments can be accessed and used/reused free of charge within OGC's Resource Toolkit - www.ogc.gov.uk/resource_toolkit.asp under the specific terms of the Toolkit's embedded shrink wrap licence.
However, it is NOT true that the contents of these PRINCE2 publications can be appropriated by anyone and everyone for reuse, reproduction or republication without the express permission of OGC. Why? Because OGC owns PRINCE2, and the PRINCE2 publications are Crown Copyright and are a 'Crown Copyright Value Added product'. The publications are therefore protected by copyright law. Training and Consultancy Organisations accredited by APMG, on behalf of OGC, have limited rights to use Crown Copyright material as one benefit of their accreditation.
Under the new contract with the Office of Government Commerce (OGC), APMG has delegated authority to license the re-use of Crown copyright value added material including material produced by OGC where the applicant wants the right to use the relevant OGC Trademark. If a re-use only licence is required (i.e. where the applicant wishes to re-use core content of OGC publications without trademarks or logos), please apply to the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI), St.Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich, NR3 1BQ - www.opsi.gov.uk.
