by Norene Morrow
In 2006, I wrote an article about copyright law as it relates to church music. At the request of the editor, I am offering this information once again as a refresher on this very important topic.
I do not pretend to be an expert when it comes to church music and copyright law, but having been involved in the planning and delivery of music for countless Sunday services and diocesan events I have learned a few things that, I hope, will help congregations become more aware of these laws and to clear up any confusion.
Probably the biggest myth is that copyright laws do not apply to the church. Congregations may not legally photocopy, reproduce in bulletins, or project on overheads, any material that is in copyright unless they have permission. Buying a book does not give the purchaser the right to make reprints in whole or in part. I believe that most worship leaders recognize this but sometimes stray due to a restricted budget, lack of knowledge about how to obtain permission, or not planning well enough in advance in order to secure permission.
As a way to alleviate the copyright quandary the most obvious solution is to purchase the resources needed. If this seems financially impossible, churches may have to come up with creative ways to raise money for them. Another way to deal with this issue is to purchase an annual license that entitles a congregation to reprint words and music for one year. This includes the creation of music booklets. Christian Copyright Licensing International (www.ccli.com) and LicenSing (www.joinhands.com) are probably two of the most common licenses used in Canada. Their Web sites outline the conditions regarding the licenses. You will notice that annual fees are based on the size of a congregation. Note that these licenses are for congregational use only, not for the reproduction of choral music.
There are some instances when copyright may not apply and is said to be "in the public domain." This usually occurs if a composer/author has given up the rights or if the copyright has expired. Copyright lasts for the lifetime of the author, through the end of the calendar year in which that person dies and for a period of 50 years after. Extreme caution should be used in the reproduction of what seems to be public domain material, however, because editors and/or publishers often introduce their own alterations that are copyrighted. In other words, do not assume that all music written by Bach or Mozart may be reprinted. A great Web site that I mentioned in last month’s column is the Choral Public Domain Library (www.cpdl.org). Those editions are free for public use.
Sometimes churches may wish to reproduce the words and/or music for a one-time-only event. Permission must still be sought and may involve the payment of a nominal fee. In preparation for Bishop John’s consecration, I had the task of securing copyright permission for all the music used in that service. The job entailed contacting publishers, and/or the composers. When I described the event to them, I was pleasantly surprised that all gave their permission free of charge! The only stipulation was that proper credit be given in the Order of Service regarding the name of the composer and publisher and the date of publication.
It is really important that everyone try to obey the copyright laws. Ignoring them denies the writers their livelihood, drives the cost of published music up, and can even cause these publications to go out of print. Also, infringement of these laws may result in legal action and cost congregations thousands of dollars in fines. For more detailed information on the subject, the United Church of Canada provides a valuable resource called "A Copyright Guide for Congregations." The easiest way to find it is to go to their Web site at www.united-church.ca and type the word, "copyright," into the sire's search engine. It will link you to this resource, along with others.
