copyright laws

Can a church use clips of TV programs during worship without breaking copyright laws ??
Posted by Barry Wolfe on Aug 22, 2001.


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I did some looking around on the net, but found nothing pertaining to television. I did find several things about renting home movies and showing them. Here are a couple of sites that might be helpful:
http://www.mplc.com/index2.htm
http://www.copyright.com
http://www.camanche.k12.ia.us/libstart/page41.html
Hope this helps,
Kevin Willis
Posted by Kevin Willis on Aug 27, 2001.


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An excellent resource on all sorts of copyright info is available from WillowCreek Association. They held their annual Arts Conference this summer and had a session on copyright. You can order a copy of that tape from their website (www.willowcreek.com). Click on "Resources" then "Conference Tapes" then go to the "Arts Conference" 2001. There are a large number of topics that I have found extremely helpful from video & media helps to copyright & much more! Great resource. Cheaper if you're already a WCA member, too.
Posted by Sandy Sutter on Aug 27, 2001.

[nathandiehl]

It is illegal to show a purchased or rented video that is liscened for private, in-home use. The vast majority of all videos are liscened for private, in-home use and may not be shown in public. This includes viewings such as during a worship celebration or even at a childcare facility.

Copyright laws have recently changed to allow a means past this. Christian Video Licensing Int. has been established to license a church to publicly show such visual media.

Check out the website www.cvli.org for more information. It is pretty darn cheap, too...we pay just $200/year for our licensing.

God Bless.
Nathan

[David Reddel]

Nathan-

You are correct. However, the federal Copyright Act itself has not been recently amended to allow this.

Instead, groups like cvli.org have worked with many producers to obtain permission rights that can now be acquired by a church at one time rather than working with the producers directly. Very similar to what ccli.com does for copyrighted music and lyrics.

Blessings!

...And concerning the original post, TV shows can be recorded for home use. However, showing the recorded show in public, even at a church, and even a short clip, is breaking the owners copyrights.

The CVLI license does not cover TV broadcasts.

You must (1) purchase original media from the broadcast company and (2) obtain written permission to use it for your purposes.
You must do both.

KK.

I have the same Question in a dif. way.
Can I take Pictures off the intenet and paste them to a PPT

[dljordaneku]

Sorry, but no. If you go back and look at your other post you will see where you can find some graphics to use. Just because it is on the internet, doesn't mean it is free. Sorry.

dj

There is some debate about this actually... At M3 - Ginghamsburg's tech/arts conference, they quote a section of copyright law that they say allows for use of single-nonconsecutive images (read stills, not video or TV or Movies) to be displayed in a church service.... I don't have my notes right in front of me, but it did muddy the water a bit in my eyes... I'll see if I can track it down so you can see how they are interpreting this.

[David Reddel]

David-

I would be curious as to who made that presentation at M3.

Sderfelt-

Here is some info to look at in this regard. The exemption that is being discussed is the one found in 17 USC Section 110(3) That section states that, notwithstanding someone's exclusive rights in a work, as set forth in 17 USC Section 106, the following is not an infringement of copyright:

(3) performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work or of a dramatico-musical work of a religious nature, or display of a work, in the course of services at a place of worship or other religious assembly;

17 USC Section 110(3)

The highlighted section is the one at issue, as the other language deals with musical, dramatic or literary works. Here, we are talking about a pictoral or graphic work.

Here are the historical and legislative notes to the statutory section:

Religious Services. The exemption in clause (3) of section 110 covers performances of a nondramatic literary or musical work, and also performances ''of dramatico-musical works of a religiousnature''; in addition, it extends to displays of works of all kinds. The exemption applies where the performance or display is
''in the course of services at a place of worship or other
religious assembly.'' The scope of the clause does not cover the
sequential showing of motion pictures and other audiovisual works.
The exemption, which to some extent has its counterpart in
sections 1 and 104 of the present law (sections 1 and 104 of former title 17), applies to dramatico-musical works ''of a religious
nature.'' The purpose here is to exempt certain performances of
sacred music that might be regarded as ''dramatic'' in nature, such
as oratorios, cantatas, musical settings of the mass, choral
services, and the like. The exemption is not intended to cover
performances of secular operas, musical plays, motion pictures, and the like, even if they have an underlying religious or
philosophical theme and take place ''in the course of (religious)
services.''
To be exempted under section 110(3) a performance or display must be ''in the course of services,'' thus excluding activities at a
place of worship that are for social, educational, fund raising, or
entertainment purposes. Some performances of these kinds could be covered by the exemption in section 110(4), discussed next. Since the performance or display must also occur ''at a place of worship or other religious assembly,'' the exemption would not extend to religious broadcasts or other transmissions to the public at large, even where the transmissions were sent from the place of worship. On the other hand, as long as services are being conducted before a religious gathering, the exemption would apply if they were conducted in places such as auditoriums, outdoor theaters, and the like.

As highlighted above, part of the intent of Congress in enacting Section 110(3) was to provide some limited exemptions in worship settings. As we have discussed at length, sequential works, such as movies, must either have performance rights granted by the owner upon purchase or rental or the rights can be licensed from CVLI and other entities. That does not cover all movies intended for home use, as the CVLI license is not truly universal but covers most major movie studios. Non sequential works, like a still photo or a graphic, is covered by this exemption.

However, that does not fully answer the question. as noted above in the notes, the exemption is not intended to cover performances of secular plays or opera as a dramatico-musical work, even if they have a underlying religious theme. That language is not found in conjunction with the other types of works found in Section 110(3), leaving a possible implication that musical and other works (like nonsequential graphic works) are covered by the exemption.

As others have suggested, the best advice is to use photos and graphics that are owned by you, whether purchased or made by you, in a PPT that will be used in a church service.

little old country lawyer from Nebraska

David et al.,
As a photographer I took issue to their interpretation of the law as well, thus my comment about "muddying the water". Just thought I would share a respected church's interpretation of the law on this one specific point... I'll see if I cant' find my notes from the conference - I know they're around here somewhere.

[David Reddel]

David-

Thanks for sharing that information. I would be interested in understanding the legal approach they may be taking. Unfortunately, Congress did not provide much guidance on the full intent of 110(3) when they revised the Copyright Act in 1976 and there have been few cases that deal directly with the section. Most of those cases are not on point in terms of the coverage of a non sequential graphic work under 110(3). I am sure that much of what we do in terms of graphic and visual works in worship settings today was not contemplated by Congress.

Thanks!