Yes, Minister/Yes, Prime Minister

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Images

Sorry, at the request of the B.B.C., these images have been taken off line.

I apologise if this reduces your enjoyment of this site, we don't want it being closed down, now do we?

There now follows a copy of the email I was sent...


We at the BBC don't want to discourage fans from enjoying their favourite
programmes on the Internet.  However, the BBC has a problem in that it
cannot sanction the widespread use and copying of its and others copyright
material on the Internet without at least permission first being obtained
from the BBC.
 
In much the same way as the BBC cannot allow publicity photographs or
screen grabs from its programmes to appear in a book or a magazine (whether
it is being sold or given away) without a licence from the copyright
holder, it cannot officially sanction inclusion of such material on
Internet sites. Whilst the material  might not be being used for commercial
gain, it is being given away for free and therefore might end up removing a
possible source of revenue for the copyright holder. The law concerning
rights clearances, potential liability to the BBC and the industrial
relations with the various talent unions, without whom none of the BBC
programmes could be made, make it imperative that we try and act in
everyone's interest, which is often not easy.
 
I hope this helps explain our position.

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