Copyright & IP Policy — MedicalPracticeUK.org — CDPA 1988 & Takedowns

1. Our Copyright

The original editorial content of medicalpracticeuk.org/ — directory entries, guides, comparison tables, step-by-step procedures, the six-tier source hierarchy, the eight-step verification workflow, and our methodology — is protected by copyright under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (CDPA 1988). All rights reserved, subject to fair dealing and the permitted-use clause of our Terms of Use.

We do not claim copyright in facts — a practice address, a phone number, an opening time, or a CQC rating is not itself copyrightable. We do claim copyright in the original editorial presentation, structure, prose, and curated selection of facts.

2. Fair Dealing

UK law allows limited use of copyright material without permission under the fair dealing exceptions in the CDPA 1988 — including for non-commercial research and private study, criticism or review, and reporting current events. Fair dealing is narrower than US "fair use". When relying on it, you must use only what is necessary, and you must attribute medicalpracticeuk.org/ with a link to the source page where practicable.

3. Crown Copyright and the Open Government Licence

Much UK public-sector information — including a great deal of NHS and government guidance — is Crown copyright and is often made available for re-use under the Open Government Licence (OGL). Where we re-use OGL material, we comply with its attribution requirement. CQC inspection reports and NHS website content have their own re-use terms, which we follow. We attribute and link to all such sources.

4. Trade Marks and the NHS Identity

The site refers to many names protected by the Trade Marks Act 1994, including:

• The NHS and NHS England
• The Care Quality Commission (CQC), the General Medical Council (GMC), the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)
• NICE, the MHRA, Healthwatch, and the PHSO
• Individual GP practice and medical-practice names

We use these names nominatively — honest referential use to identify the body or practice our guide describes. This does not imply endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation.

5. Identifying Real People — Defamation

Where the site names real people — for example, a named GP partner in a professional capacity — we work to factual accuracy and to the standards of the Defamation Act 2013, including the “serious harm” threshold and the defences of truth, honest opinion, and publication on a matter of public interest. If you are named and believe a statement is inaccurate or defamatory, email us with the page URL, the statement, and your basis; we review promptly.

6. Hosting and the Electronic Commerce Regulations 2002

For any third-party content on the site — user-submitted corrections, comments, or suggestions — we rely on the hosting defence in the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, which can limit a host’s liability for third-party content where the host acts expeditiously to remove or disable access to unlawful content once it has actual knowledge of it.

7. Notice-and-Takedown Procedure

If you believe content on medicalpracticeuk.org/ infringes your copyright or is otherwise unlawful, email info@medicalpracticeuk.org with the subject “Copyright notice” / “Takedown” and include:

1. Your identity and contact details — name, email, and capacity (rights-holder or authorised agent).
2. Identification of the work you say is infringed, or the content you say is unlawful.
3. The exact URL(s) on medicalpracticeuk.org/ where the content appears.
4. An explanation of why the content infringes or is unlawful.
5. A statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorised by the rights-holder or the law.
6. A statement that the information in your notice is accurate.

We acknowledge within 5 working days and, where the notice is well-founded, act expeditiously to remove or disable access to the content.

8. Counter-Notice

If we remove material you posted and you believe the removal was mistaken, you may submit a counter-notice to info@medicalpracticeuk.org with the subject “Counter-notice”, including your identity and contact details, the URL of the removed content, and an explanation of why it should be restored. We review and, where appropriate, restore the content.

9. Repeat Infringers

We may, in appropriate circumstances, restrict or terminate the access of users who repeatedly post infringing or unlawful content. We retain a record of valid notices.

10. What We Cannot Do Via This Procedure

• We cannot change a CQC inspection report or rating
• We cannot alter an NHS website practice profile
• We cannot change anything on a GP practice’s own website or its records
• We cannot amend the GMC register or any NHS record
• We cannot remove search-engine results — that is between you and the search engine

11. Contact

For any copyright, trade-mark, defamation, or hosting question, email info@medicalpracticeuk.org with a clear subject line.