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Global Converged Security Board

Legal

Copyright & Intellectual Property

Last updated: 15 October 2026

© 2026 Global Converged Security Board. All rights reserved, except where this page or a document says otherwise.

Automatic international protection

GCSB is based in the United Kingdom. Its original works are protected by copyright automatically, without registration, in the UK and in every country that is party to the Berne Convention and the WTO TRIPS Agreement. GCSB publications carry a © notice with the owner's name and year of first publication.

Who owns what

  • The Converged Security Framework standards and the CCSO Policy, owned jointly by Prof. Dr. Vladimir Bunic and GCSB, as stated in each standard's notice.
  • The framework procedures and advisory playbooks.
  • Policies, announcements, certificate and badge designs, programme documents and website content.
  • The GCSB name, logo, seal and the GCSB Trustmark names and badges.

What you may do

  • Read, download and print documents for your own organisation's internal use.
  • Quote short extracts with a clear credit and link, for example: "Source: Global Converged Security Board, [document title and code], [year], gcsb.uk".
  • Cite documents by their DOI.

What needs written permission

  • Selling, republishing or redistributing GCSB documents, whole or in substantial part.
  • Using GCSB documents to build commercial courses, tools, audits or software.
  • Translating or adapting documents.
  • Using the GCSB name, logo or any Trustmark except as allowed by the Certificate, Badge & Trustmark Use rules.

Protection at the UK border

HM Revenue & Customs has granted GCSB an Application for Action to protect its intellectual property rights at the UK border, valid from 6 November 2026 to 5 November 2027. While it is in force, UK Border Force may detain imports and exports suspected of infringing GCSB's rights, such as counterfeit certificates, badges, seals or printed materials bearing the GCSB name, logo or Trustmarks, and pirated copies of GCSB documents. GCSB is told of each detention and decides whether to agree to destruction or start court proceedings.

The legal basis is Regulation (EU) No 608/2013 on customs enforcement of intellectual property rights, kept in UK law and adapted by the Intellectual Property (Enforcement, etc.) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/514). In summary:

  • What is covered (Articles 1 and 2): goods under customs supervision that are suspected of infringing a trade mark, design, copyright or related right, or other right listed in the Regulation, as those rights have effect in the United Kingdom. "Counterfeit goods" infringe a trade mark; "pirated goods" are unauthorised copies infringing copyright or a design.
  • What is not covered (Article 1): non-commercial goods in travellers' personal luggage, and genuine goods made with the right-holder's consent, including overruns.
  • Detention and destruction (Articles 23 and 26): suspect goods can be destroyed without a court case where both GCSB and the holder of the goods agree, or the holder does not object in time, normally within 10 working days (3 for perishable goods). Small consignments can be destroyed through a simplified procedure.
  • Use of information (Article 21): details Border Force shares with GCSB are used only to bring infringement proceedings, support criminal investigations such as by Trading Standards, seek compensation or agree destruction.
  • Responsibility (Article 28): GCSB meets the storage, handling and destruction costs of detained goods and is liable to the owner if goods turn out not to infringe.
  • Renewal (Article 12): GCSB extends the application before it expires so protection continues without a gap.

The border protection adds to, and does not replace, GCSB's ordinary remedies under UK copyright and trade mark law. To report suspected counterfeit GCSB certificates or materials, use the report form or email info@gcsb.uk; anyone can confirm a genuine credential on the public register.

Journal articles

Journal authors keep their copyright, and articles are published under CC BY 4.0. See the Journal & Repository Terms. Where a document or Zenodo record states its own licence, that licence applies to that document.

Third-party material

Material owned by others stays with its owners and is credited where used.

Requests and reporting misuse

To request permission or report copying or misuse, email info@gcsb.uk with the material concerned and where it appears. GCSB may take action in the UK or abroad, in line with the UK Government guidance on protecting copyright abroad.