[Worship] Copyright Compliance for Churches, updates in 2021

[Martha Webster]

Okay. So I've heard and read various things about copyright and these
issues.
In regards to hymns, I wonder if the license is something that UUA could
provide. I'm sure there are so many other churches in our situation and
seeking guidance from them would be helpful. I have never heard of a church
getting into trouble for displaying lyrics to hymns on the screen or in a
zoom call. I understand the issues with it, but I also know of many many
churches where this has been the practice for over a decade. I also think
that writing the name of the song, composer, and lyricist, as well as any
arranger wouldn't.
I am making sure to buy copies of the music for the choir now so that we
are not violating any copyright laws there.
Just my thoughts on the matter.

On Thu, Dec 8, 2022 at 11:36 AM First Unitarian Universalist Society of
Marietta via Worship <worship at fuusm.org> wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> Randall suggested that there might be some legal requirements for me to
> cite musical selections and hymns in the order of service. So I Googled a
> bit, and came up with this:
> https://www.ucc.org/copyright-compliance-basics-for-churches/
>
> YIKES.  Looks like we can sing hymns, but we can’t type up lyrics in the
> OOS or for on screen, or for streaming/Facebook. We should not be showing
> YouTube videos during service. And while the choir can perform a song, that
> doesn’t mean we can  post it on YouTube for rebroadcast (which seems
> CRAZY). Reading complete poems or long excerpts from books requires
> permission from the copyright owner—especially if the service is being
> streamed or recorded.
>
> And posting photos on our website requires PERMISSION from everyone in
> every image!!
>
> Man, oh man. I encourage you to spend some time on that website and
> discuss among yourselves.
>
> Regarding citations in the OOS: It’s a good idea to be thorough, but I
> couldn’t find any legal requirements. (Like, do I need to credit the
> arranger? The person who wrote the harmony? I don’t think so.)
>
> FYI. Sorry to complicate things.
>
> Dawn Hewitt
> Office assistant
> First Unitarian Universalist Society of Marietta, Ohio
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>


-- 
*Martha Webster*
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