Scottish Register of Tartans
Non-ministerial department overview | |
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Formed | February 5, 2009 |
Headquarters | New Register House 55°57′15″N 3°11′25″W / 55.9542°N 3.1902°W |
Keeper responsible | |
Parent department | National Records of Scotland |
Website | tartanregister |
The Scottish Register of Tartans (SRT) is
History
The
The Keeper of the Scottish Register of Tartans is the same person as the
Database of tartans
SRT's database, also named simply Scottish Register of Tartans (SRT), is accessible without fee via the website TartanRegister.gov.uk. The purpose of the register is to provide a definitive and accessible resource to preserve specific tartan designs, including their
SRT users can register new tartans for a fee via the website or post, search for and request the thread counts of existing tartans (after registering for a free account), and receive notifications of newly registered tartans.[4][5] The criteria for a new registration are fairly restrictive, requiring a clearly distinct name following one of several prescribed patterns, which must not confusingly misuse various pre-defined terms; authority to use the name, especially if it implies official recognition and acceptance by a clan, an organisation, or a jurisdiction; a design "sufficiently different" from all previously recorded tartans; and either a woven sample, a photograph thereof, or an accurate digitally rendered picture of the tartan. Thus, a significant amount of research and documentation is required, and the application fee is non-refundable, including upon rejection of an application.[5][6] Amendments to SRT-specific records require a fee, but may be declined if they would effectively result in a new design; correction of errors in data imported from ITI or STWR do not require fees but generally require documentation.[7][8]
Between 1951 and 1992, the
Intellectual property
Registering with SRT does not automatically confer a
Reception
A pre-emptive concern raised by tartan researcher James D. Scarlett (2008) was that basing the SRT database on ITI and/or STWR would import data "so seriously flawed and muddled as to be nearly impossible to correct"; Scarlett suggested instead using the smaller but "cleaner" database of the STS (RAPKT), of which he was the keeper.[12] Neverthless, the SRT was initially based on both ITI and STWR.
Brian Wilton of the STA (2010) was critical of SRT and NAS's management of it, in that its exclusivity, in both cost and criteria, could mean that it cannot actually achieve its goals of definitiveness, preservation, and open access. The STA's ITI, for example, contained a number of late-added tartans that did not appear in the SRT, and the gulf would only seem to widen, with SRT and STA both continuing to add new tartans to their databases independently.[13]
Intellectual property academic M. R. Blakely (2015) critically observed that the SRT does not limit tartan registrations to Scottish persons and organisations, nor include compulsory licensing of registered tartans for Scottish production, despite direct Scottish economic benefits being part of the rationale for the Tartans Bill in 2008 that authorised SRT's operation.[14] Many SRT registrations are by foreign persons and organisations, and they can assert copyright and trademark rights over the designs, limiting manufacture to approved parties.
Lauren Brancaz (2016) of the
References
- ^ a b "About Us". Scottish Register of Tartans. 2019. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- The Scottish Parliament. Archived from the originalon 18 June 2009. Retrieved 11 October 2008.
- ^ a b "What's New". TartanRegister.gov.uk. Scottish Register of Tartans. 2009. Archived from the original on 12 April 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ "[Homepage]". TartanRegister.gov.uk. Scottish Register of Tartans. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Guidance". TartanRegister.gov.uk. Scottish Register of Tartans. 2019. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ "Unique and 'sufficiently different' designs". TartanRegister.gov.uk. Scottish Register of Tartans. 2019. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ "Amendments". TartanRegister.gov.uk. Scottish Register of Tartans. 2019. Archived from the original on 25 December 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ a b c "Application for Tartan Registration" (PDF). TartanRegister.gov.uk. Scottish Register of Tartans. 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ a b Teall of Teallach, Gordon; Smith, Philip D. Jr. (2012). "The Lord Lyon and Tartan". TartansAuthority.com. Scottish Tartans Authority. Archived from the original on 5 January 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2020. Revised from material originally published in: Teall of Teallach, Gordon; Smith, Philip D. Jr. (1992). District Tartans. Shepheard-Walwyn.
- ^ "Noted Tartans". tartansauthority.com. Scottish Tartans Authority. 2012. Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Copyright and design right". TartanRegister.gov.uk. Scottish Register of Tartans. 2019. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
- ^ Scarlett, James D. (2008). "Submission from James D. Scarlett" (PDF). Scottish Parliament. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 December 2008. Retrieved 12 October 2008.
- ^ Wilton, Brian (2010). "Registering a Tartan". TartansAuthority.com. Scottish Tartans Authority. Archived from the original on 18 December 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- (PDF) from the original on 5 January 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023. (URL is to full-text pre-print copy; page numbers cited refer to this copy.)
- from the original on 16 July 2023.
External links
- Scottish Register of Tartans official website
- "Scottish Register of Tartans Act 2008", via Legislation.gov.uk