Run a compliant publishing business

Every publishing business — a magazine title, a book imprint, a directory compiler or a games studio — shares a set of duties that do not depend on what it publishes. Put these in place first, then add the rules for your kind of publishing.

Respect copyright in what you publish

Copyright is the core regime for all publishing: you must secure or license the rights in the works you publish, respect authors' moral rights and third-party copyright, and clear permissions for any reproduced material. Protection is automatic in the UK — there is no register — but the Intellectual Property Office leads on intellectual property policy. This applies UK-wide.

For specific situations, see protecting creative content and clearing music rights, AI and copyright, and — for software — protecting your software intellectual property.

Protect the personal data you hold

Publishers process personal data on subscribers, contributors, staff and marketing lists. You must handle it under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, and unless you are exempt you must pay the ICO data protection fee. This applies UK-wide.

Follow the electronic marketing rules

If you market by email, SMS or telephone, or set cookies on your website — for subscriptions, promotions or any direct-marketing list — you must follow the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), whose consent rules are stricter than the UK GDPR alone. Enforced by the ICO. This is acute for directory and mailing-list publishers.

Insure your employees

If you employ anyone — editorial, production, sales or warehouse staff — you must hold employers' liability insurance of at least £5 million from an authorised insurer. This is a duty in Great Britain; equivalent rules apply in Northern Ireland.

Keep your workplace safe

You owe a general duty to protect employees and others affected by the business — editorial offices, print sites, warehousing and distribution. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 applies in Great Britain; Northern Ireland has its own corresponding health and safety order.

Keep your premises fire-safe

The responsible person for non-domestic premises — offices, print or warehouse sites — must carry out and maintain a fire risk assessment. This is devolved: the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 covers England and Wales, with the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005 in Scotland and the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 in Northern Ireland.

Do not discriminate

You must not discriminate against employees or in services to the public because of a protected characteristic. The Equality Act 2010 applies in England, Scotland and Wales; Northern Ireland has its own equality law enforced by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.

Next steps

With the shared duties in place, follow the rules for your kind of publishing:

• Print and periodical publishing rules — books, newspapers, journals, directories
• Software and video-game publishing rules

Then confirm everything with the publishing compliance checklist.