Copyrights in the church

The issue of copyrights is a difficult subject in the church today. It is not difficult because everyone is talking about it, but for precisely the opposite reason: no one is talking about it when everyone should be talking about it. Churches can take a variety of approaches for assuming that copyright laws do not apply to them. They could simply remain blissfully ignorant. They could argue that the church is using their money more wisely by not paying royalties. Or they could argue that churches are just special and should not have to obey the copyright laws. But none of these are good reasons. Churches should be at the forefront of those setting the example of following the law in this area. How do churches break copyright rules and what can they do? Read on.

There are several areas where copyright laws are commonly broken in churches. Music is the most common, as “entering and storing copyrighted song lyrics on a computer without permission of the copyright owner is a reproduction copying activity and is a violation of the Federal Copyright Law” (CCLI). This clause would cover such things as printing the words in a bulletin or projecting the words on a screen. On the other hand, the performance of music is legal for a church gather.

Yes, "the religious services exemption" in the Copyright Law permits for the performance of copyrighted religious works in the course of services at places of worship or at religious assemblies. However, performance licenses must be obtained from the copyright owner for any musical performance outside of a specific "worship service" including concerts and special musical programs (Music Publishers Association).

However, this does not cover making copies of the music for other musicians, projecting the words during the performance or recording the performance, as it only covers the performance itself.

There are several special cases, however. A public domain song is a song that has had its copyright expire and is available for anyone to use without a fee (Music Publisher Association). Another exception is the “emergency” replacement policy, in which someone can copy copyrighted material for an imminent performance, provided that it has been previously paid for and that a legal copy will be procured in a timely manner (Legal Resource Manual). One area that many think is an exception, but is not, is out of print works. Even though they are out of print, one still must check with the publisher for permission to copy them since many songs are incorrectly reported as being out of print (Music Publisher Association). “Fair Use” exceptions, which allow for copying of material for critique, scholarship, and teaching, does not apply to performances such as a church service (Music Publisher Association).

Another area of major concern is showing movies. Showing a movie to a group is an infringement of copyright laws, since a rental covers only in-home viewing, not a public viewing (Legal Resource Manual). Owning a movie does not allow one to show it publicly (Motion Picture). Not charging admission and being a non-profit organization also does not allow one to ignore movie copyright rules (Motion Picture).

Yet another problematic area is dealing with computer programs. The church cannot simply one copy of a software program and then use that with all their computers: they must buy copies for each computer (Throop).

There is one easy option for churches that are interested in being “squeaky clean” in the area of music. This option is to buy a license through CCLI. This license covers several aspects of copyright issues, such as printing copies of copyrighted songs in bulletins, creating customized copies of songbooks for congregational singing, arrange music for congregational singing, visually project songs for congregational singing, and recording worship services. The license does not cover copying cantatas and other similar items, translating songs into another language, and renting songs to another group. For movies, there is an “Umbrella License” put out by the Motion Picture Licensing Corporation that allows public viewing of movies as long as admission is not charged and it is not advertised to the general public.

As far as computer programs, the simplest solution is simply to buy sufficient copies of all the relevant programs. While this can quickly get expensive, it is the legal and ethical thing to do for the church.

Works Cited

CCLI. http://www.ccli.com/US.aspx. May 4, 2006.

Legal Resource Manual. http://www.pcusa.org/legal/copyright.htm May 4, 2006.

Motion Picture Licensing Corporation. http://www.mplc.com/faq.php May 4, 2006.

Music Publishers Association. http://www.mpa.org/copyright_resource_center/church_musician May 4, 2006.

Throop, John. “Right Those Copyright Wrongs.” http://www.christianitytoday.com/yc/9y3/9y3038.html. May 4, 2006.

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