06. Copyright Guidelines

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Lutheran Church of Australia

COPYRIGHT AND WORSHIP MATERIALS:

GUIDELINES FOR CONGREGATIONS AND SCHOOLS OF THE LCA

For use by pastors, treasurers, worship leaders, teachers, and those who prepare and type pew bulletins and worship material.

The material given below has been prepared to answer some of your questions on copyright as it is applied to worship activities in a congregation or school. It has been prepared primarily for congregational use, but what is given here applies to schools as they prepare worship materials.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the information is correct. If you feel a particular situation is not covered, please contact the National Office, and we will endeavour to help you. Congregational users should note that the basic principles of copyright as given here apply to anything the congregation copies, whether it is for worship, a song book you use at Kids Club, or items you want to publish in your parish magazine. Schools generally have other licensing arrangements for non-worship material.

Please be particularly careful about cartoons or pictures. Unless a cartoon or picture comes from a copyright-free source (such as MediaCom clip art) you may NOT reproduce it without permission. Calvin & Hobbes, Peanuts, and the like are covered by copyright, and permission must be received before they are copied.

Please note the following points.

WHEN DO YOU NEED A COPYRIGHT LICENSE?

If you regularly print the words of songs or hymns in an order of service sheet, a pew bulletin, an overhead transparency or powerpoint presentation, you need a copyright license from one of the groups which covers worship material.

If you only print the words of hymns or songs in bulletins on special occasions, you may be better off paying a fee for a one-off or special use, rather than paying for a license which runs for a whole year.

The cost of an annual copyright license is based on average weekly attendance, and some licenses allow for a larger run of copies at Christmas and Easter time.

The cost of a one-off license is based on the number of copies you wish to make. The fee might be set something like 10c per copy or $15 per song. It depends on the company administering the copyright. Some companies ask that you send them a copy of the bulletin or service order. You may be asked to pay in American dollars or English pounds, depending on where the company operates from.

There is an excellent booklet called Music Copyright for Churches available on the internet. It has been produced by Fiona Loader of AMCOS. Go to the web site www.apra.com.au

Go to ‘Licenses’, ‘Other’, ‘Churches’, ‘Downloads’ and away you go. This most helpful document includes a table outlining exactly what is permitted under the various copyright licenses, LicenSing, CCLI, CAL and Word of Life. Copies may be obtained from AMCOS if internet access is difficult.

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE THE LICENSE THAT IS BEST FOR YOU?

You will need to look carefully at the type of material you copy most often. No license will give you blanket cover, so you may have to buy more than one. Licensing agencies will not divulge the full details of the material they cover until you buy the license. You may get help from talking to other congregations and asking what they use — perhaps even asking to borrow the directory issued by their license company to see whether it covers what you want. The document mentioned above will help you with this.

APPLYING COPYRIGHT REQUIREMENTS

First look for the owner or administrator of the copyright.

Recent publications show copyright holders or administrators very clearly, either underneath the words of a song, or in a section at the back of the book.

If you have a copyright license, check the directory to see whether the copyright holder (which may be the author, the publisher, or an agency, such as Willow Connection) is listed. If the name appears, and there are no exceptions listed, you may go ahead and copy the material, showing the appropriate acknowledgment that goes with your license —you may need to quote your license number and the words Unauthorised copying prohibited, as well as the copyright symbol (©), the author’s name and the date the song/hymn was written. You may also have to show the date of printing. Be sure to record your usage in the book provided if that is part of your copyright license. The license company uses your records to pay royalties to its authors, so it is absolutely vital that you record your usage faithfully.

If you do not have a copyright license, you may contact the copyright holder directly. Openbook Publishers in Adelaide (telephone 08 8223 5468) may be able to help you with addresses. Be prepared to make several tries at locating the copyright holder or administrator. Copyrights can be signed over to different people, and companies change names and addresses. Fortunately, these days most companies have fax numbers and sometimes email addresses, so you can get a fairly swift reply.

NB: The CAL directory of authors and publishers it represents is online at http://www.copyright.com.au. You can access this on-line directory without subscribing to CAL.

What information do you need to give?

When applying for permission to reprint, give the following

What you will get back

You will be sent

Some companies ask you to send a copy of the publication.

It is advisable NOT TO PRINT anything until you have permission in writing. If you haven’t heard with a week of faxing or emailing, try again. Most administrators reply very quickly once they have received a request, so no reply could well mean your request has not arrived. In any case, it is always wise to have back-up choices! If you have tried every avenue to trace a particular author, and all you get are dead ends, and you are running out of time, include the words ‘Permission sought’ in your publication. Be sure to keep all your correspondence and notes of the sources you tried, just in case you are questioned. This is really only to be used in desperation!

How do you use this information?

The copyright acknowledgment should be shown at the end of every piece of reproduced work, and not in a blanket statement at the end of the booklet. Your licensing company’s manual will give a sample acknowledgment. It usually includes the name of the author, plus a statement like Used by permission÷ with the name of the licensing group and your license number.

Please read very carefully the terms and conditions for copying which are listed in the manual you receive when you take out your license!

CAL, CCLI, LICENSING

Each of these cover different styles of songs or hymns. You must decide for yourself which one suits your needs. The list included with this material shows which songs and hymns are covered by the three licenses. The list should help you to determine if one license will be sufficient, or if you need all three.

We do not recommend CAL for worship material. It covers very little worship material. If you are currently paying for a CAL license, we recommend that you check very carefully that it is appropriate for your needs.

WHAT IS THE PLACE OF THE NATIONAL OFFICE IN ALL THIS?

The LCA National Office has undertaken to collect license fees from LCA congregations and return them in bulk to the CAL and CCLI agencies. Both of these groups offer ‘denominational licenses’, You pay a discounted price for the license, as well as a small administration fee, which gives the LCA cover for its publications, something we use at the annual Ordination service, or at General Synod services. LCA sends out reminder notices when fees are due, congregations pay the LCA, and the LCA remits the appropriate amount to the agency.

LicenSing does not offer a denominational license, and each congregation signs up individually. Fees are paid directly to LicenSing. Contact them at (08) 8371 1399 or PO Box 610 UNLEY SA 5061, or by email Error! Bookmark not defined.

The fact that the LCA administers CAL and CCLI licenses in no way indicates that congregations must automatically take out a license with one of these bodies. Each congregation must decide for itself which is appropriate for its needs.

CONGREGATIONAL LICENSE OR PARISH LICENSE?

The license should normally be bought on a congregational basis, as the fee is based on the congregation’s average weekly attendance. A license based on parish attendance might mean a higher fee which might not be justified by the amount of copying done.

ROBIN MANN’S SONGS

Robin’s songs are arguably the most copied, in the Lutheran church and in other churches as well. Please consider the following comments about his works.

TAIZE MATERIAL

Material which is © Ateliers et Presses de TaizÀ (commonly known as ‘TaizÀ’) is covered by Word of Life, whose address is: PO Box 345 MIRBOO NORTH Vic 3871. Phone: (03) 5668 2723; fax (03) 5668 2724; email: freelink@sympac.com.au; web address www.freelink.com.au

They also cover a range of other authors and publishers, and offer an annual license. The booklet Music Copyright for Churches gives further information on this agency.

MAKING AUDIO CASSETTES OF THE SUNDAY SERVICE

If you make audio cassettes of the Sunday service, please read the following carefully. The information is from The Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS), which represents virtually all music publishers in Australia and New Zealand, and, by way of reciprocal arrangements with similar international organisations, the vast majority of the world’s composers, writers and music publishers.

AMCOS can grant a complimentary license to churches in regards to the audio or video taping of worship services. These are granted on a case-by-case basis. AMCOS requires in writing the intention of the recordings made by the church.

AMCOS grants the complimentary license if the following conditions are met:

A congregation need only apply once for a complimentary license, unless its circumstances change.

Address the request to:        AMCOS

                      The Mechanical Rights Licensing Department

                      Locked Bay 3665

                      ST LEONARDS NSW 2065

Please list the approximate number of recordings made (or number of services recorded) and an approximate number of copies made.

Video recordings and audio recordings fall under the same terms and conditions for shut-ins.

Please, if you make videos or audio tapes, do comply with this simple, one-off request.

WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES TO BUYING A LICENSE?

MISUNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT COPYRIGHT

It is not correct that

FINAL ADVICE

CONTACT DETAILS OF CHURCH LICENSING ORGANISATIONS

This table has been copied from Music Copyright for Churches, © AMCOS. Copies of the complete  document may be obtained from AMCOS or downloaded from www.apra.com.au This is a document well worth having.

USE OF ALL TOGETHER SONGS IN POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS

Pastor John Pfitzner, publishing manager at Openbook Publishers, has prepared the following information on powerpoint presentations and CD-ROMs.

I have received some inquiries about the possibility of schools and congregations using songs from the All Together books in powerpoint presentations. One or two, in particular have asked if they would be allowed to put the songs on computer for powerpoint presentations if they had bought a copy of the overhead masters produced for the more recent books. I have researched the matter and discussed it with other publishers, licensing agencies, and people involved in copyright issues and can give the following advice.

Putting the words of a song on computer for the purposes of a powerpoint presentation is regarded under copyright legislation as being another form of reproduction. This means that the same principles apply as for other forms of copying.

If your school or congregation has a church copyright license, the license may allow you to make a digital copy of a particular song. If you are wanting to copy a song, you should look to see if the song is on the directory of the licensing organisation, and you should check to see whether the license allows copying for computer projections.

If your school or congregation doesn’t have a license, or your license doesn’t allow for copying onto computer, or the song you want to copy isn’t listed in your license directory, you must get permission from the copyright holder to make a computer copy. The copyright holder may or may not give permission, and, if giving permission, may charge a fee. Having copies of a book or a set of overheads does not entitle your school or congregation to make a digital copy of the songs.

Another matter that your school or congregation needs to consider is the way in which you make a digital copy: you can either do a transcription (key in the words of the song) or a publication (scan the words from a book). If the latter, you will need to make sure that you have a license that allows you to make copies from the book. If you don’t have a license that gives this permission, you must seek permission from the publisher of the book. The publisher may or may not give permission and would be entitled to charge a fee.

The normal conditions that apply to making copies of copyright material apply also to making a digital copy. The song should be correctly acknowledged. A licensing agency will normally indicate the proper form of acknowledgment. You should at least acknowledge the author of the song, the copyright holder (if different from the author) and the year of copyright. Particularly if you are scanning a song from a publication (eg one of the All Together books), the publication and the publisher should also be acknowledged. Under more recent moral rights legislation, the author of a song should be listed even if the song is out of copyright and in the public domain. Copies are non-transferable (they can’t be passed on to another party for their use) and must be non-commercial (not for the purpose of making money). Also, a copy is valid only as long as the license or permission under which the copy was made is current. If you failed to renew your license, for example, any copies made under that license, whether hard copy or in digital form, would no longer be valid and should be destroyed.

On the basis of my investigations I would say that the best license for schools or congregations to have if they want to use All Together songs for powerpoint presentations is LicenSing or CCLI. CAL is not suitable, because it allows only photocopying. Most of the song writers represented in the All Together books are in the directory of LicenSing and CCLI.

A question for Openbook Publishers is whether the songs in the All Together books should be made available on CD-ROM for the benefit of schools and congregations that want to use the songs for powerpoint presentations. We thought about doing this with the most recent book, All Together Whatever, but in the end didn’t have enough time to research the matter properly. It’s something that could still be considered for the future.

I spoke with the editor at HarperCollins about their experience in producing a CD-ROM for the new Australian Hymnbook, Together in Song. She said that demand for the CD-ROM had been small. Some copyright holders (between 20 and 30 out of six or seven hundred) had refused permission for their song or hymn to be included on the CD-ROM. HarperCollins have had difficulties with the CD-ROM. The size and boldness of the material was at first not satisfactory. When they increased the size of the print, they had difficulties with ‘widows’ (single line or word at the top of an otherwise empty page) and ‘orphans’ (single line after a heading or space at the foot of a page). They took the product off the market at present (June 2001) while they tried to solve these technical problems. Songs on the CD-ROM can only be used for powerpoint presentations (as if it was another form of overhead transparency). Purchasers can’t take a song off the CD-ROM and ‘paste’ it in an order of service to be projected on a screen. Also, they can’t print out a song from the CD for inclusion in a printed order of service.

It would presumably help some schools and congregations if we here at Openbook were to produce one or more CD-ROMs containing the All Together songs. However, it is difficult to know whether, from our point of view, the effort would be worth it. There is a lot of work involved in contacting copyright holders, making a contract with each of them and paying them a royalty. It is difficult to know how many CD-ROMs we could expect to sell. Schools and congregations might decide that it was easier to copy songs under their existing copyright license (LicenSing or CCLI) than to pay a relatively large sum for a CD-ROM with strict conditions of use. I feel that at this stage we would need more evidence of a significant demand for the product before we decided to produce it. We will keep monitoring the situation.

The information given here is believed to be correct at the time of writing. Questions on copyright may be directed to the Lutheran Church of Australia National Office, on 08 8267 7300. A booklet listing copyright references for The Supplement to the Lutheran Hymnal and the All Together songbook series is also available from the National Office.

JENNY WAGNER

President’s Office

Lutheran Church of Australia

April 2002