Access to data is based on a principle of full, open and free access as established by the Copernicus data and information policy Regulation (EU) No 1159/2013 of 12 July 2013. This regulation establishes registration and licensing conditions for GMES/Copernicus users.

Free, full and open access to this data set is made on the conditions that:

1. When distributing or communicating Copernicus dedicated data and Copernicus service information to the public, users shall inform the public of the source of that data and information.

2. Users shall make sure not to convey the impression to the public that the user's activities are officially endorsed by the Union.

3. Where that data or information has been adapted or modified, the user shall clearly state this.

4. The data remain the sole property of the European Union. Any information and data produced in the framework of the action shall be the sole property of the European Union. Any communication and publication by the beneficiary shall acknowledge that the data were produced “with funding by the European Union”.

The Tree Cover Change Mask (TCCM) 2012-2015 is a change product based on the experimental and unpublished Dominant Leaf Type Change (DLTC) product 2012-2015 from the HRL 2015 production. First, the experimental DLTC product has been recoded to the new TCCM specifications of the HRL 2018 production. Subsequently, the resulting change classes are filtered according to the specified Minimum Mapping Unit (MMU) of 1 ha. The product covers the whole EEA39 area and is provided in European projection. National products might show a broken MMU due to reprojection.

Quality assurance follows the ISO 9001:2015 standards for Quality Management and comprises of dedicated procedures of quality checks (QA breakpoints) during implementation of the production chain, in order to keep persistent control over the various stages of production, assure fitness-for-purpose of the end-products and that all quality requirements are fulfilled. Priority has been given to the target thematic accuracy to be achieved by each product, as well as to the issues of product consistency (spatial, thematic, temporal) and homogeneity. Quality Assessment: The quality assessment has been performed according to INSPIRE Data Specifications. The data quality elements considered are: (i) Completeness, (ii) Logical Consistency, (iii) positional accuracy, (iv) Thematic Accuracy, (v) Temporal quality and (vi) Usability.

Geometric accuracy (positioning scale): Less than one pixel (20m) according to ortho-rectified satellite image base delivered by ESA.

Thematic target accuracy: not assessed.

The production process is described and explained in detail in the User Manual Tree-cover/forest and change 2015-2018 on: https://land.copernicus.eu/user-corner/technical-library/forest-2018-user-manual.pdf.