
25 May Everything You Need to Know About Copyright
Posted at 09:05h
in Art, Art, How to Get Started, Music, Resources, Streaming 101, Uncategorized, Video
Theft–it’s illegal, immoral, and immodest. However, not all stealing involves money or physical objects. If you’ve used any creative work without permission, you may have broken the law and violated the creator’s fundamental rights. Copyright refers to any permanent, creative work and protects this work from being shared and used by others without recognizing the original creator.
The first US federal copyright law was passed in 1790, in the country’s infancy. Its aim was to encourage creativity and learning and was based on the British Copyright Act of 1709. Since then, US copyright law has seen many changes, with the most recent iteration being the Copyright Act of 1976, a protection for creators of original content including literary works, movies, music, and visual art. Even this law continues to receive periodic updates and amendments as Congress races to keep up with the internet. Churches are not exempt from this law for their religious status, and it can be difficult to know what can be posted where.
Facebook, YouTube, and all the other video sites
Posting on external sites can be tricky. They often claim ownership of your content and remove your content for copyright. The reason for this comes down to one addition to copyright law.
Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) web hosts are not liable for copyright infringing content posted to their websites as long as they immediately remove content that has received a copyright claim. That means that video platforms like Facebook and YouTube remove content automatically before manual examinations. While it is possible to challenge copyright claims by submitting a counternotice, it is easiest to simply avoid triggering automatic responses from copyright holders.
How do you do that? Ask for permission from the copyright holder of any content your church wishes to feature on social media platforms, including short clips that may otherwise not be considered copyright infringement. Note that web platforms do not necessarily have access to your licenses, so content may still be initially flagged for disrespecting copyright. One option that many churches choose is to start streaming and/or recording services after the worship music to avoid complications.
My Website | Facebook, YouTube, etc. | In-person Worship Service | In-person other Church Events | |
Music | Fair use/license | License | None | License |
Nondramatic literary work | Fair use/license | License | None | License |
Movies & TV | Fair use/license | License | Fair use/license | Fair use/license |
Plays (ful) | License | License | License | License |
Visual Art | Fair use/license | License | Fair use/license | Fair use/license |
Sound recordings | License | License | License | License |
- Type of use: Use that is educational, for noncommercial purposes, or transformative in nature is allowed
- Nature of the work: Published, nonfictional works are much more likely to fall under fair use than nonpublished and/or fictional works
- Amount of work used: Smaller amounts of the work, such as shorter movie clips, are more likely to be considered fair use as they usually indicate transformation or illustration of a point. This is generally relative
- Effect of use on the original content’s market: Use should have a minimal impact on financial revenues for the copyright holder
- Copyrighted music, music lyrics, and nondramatic literary works (poems, newspapers, etc.) may be used without a license during religious services
- It applies to any religious service regardless of the venue
- It does not apply to educational, fundraising, entertainment, or social events, regardless of the venue
- It only applies to live public performances. It does not apply to recordings or retransmissions on TV or over the internet, nor does it apply to pre-recorded music
More information: Fair use http://www.churchmarketingsucks.com/2009/02/fair-use-and-your-church-part-1/ Religious Service Exemption https://www.christiancopyrightsolutions.com/blog/three-steps-understanding-religious-service-exemption/ US Copyright Law https://www.copyright.gov/title17/ Facebook Copyright Policy https://www.facebook.com/help/1020633957973118 YouTube Copyright Policy https://www.youtube.com/yt/about/copyright/#support-and-troubleshooting