Copyright : Copyright and Worship

For many hymns and songs, the copyright for lyrics and the music may be held by different different creators and expire at different times. In some instances, the lyrics will be protected by copyrights, but the music will not. The inverse is often true as well.

An easy and common way for a congregation to increase the ways in which they can use copyrighted material into their services is to purchase licenses. Often, these licenses will cover thousands of different musical works and include permission to print lyrics and perform the music in online worship. 

Sometimes, the copyrighted material that you wish to use is not covered by a license or the the specific type of use you require is not covered. In that case, you can try to reach out to the publisher or the copyright holder to acquire permission 

Online Worship and Copyright from Meadville Lombard on Vimeo.

The UUA provides excellent information about copyright and worship.

Music: Non-dramatic copyrighted music can be performed and music recordings played during a religious service without permission from the copyright holder. Dramatic musical works, such as operas and musicals, do not full under the religious service exemption and will require permission from the copyright holder(s). 

Readings: Short stories, poems, and other readings can be read aloud during a worship service without receiving permission from the copyright holder

Videos: Showing copyrighted videos is not covered under the religious service exemption and playing a copyright video will require permission from the copyright holder(s). 

Printing lyrics and musical notation: Copyrighted lyrics and/or music notation cannot be printed and distributed in the orders of service or handouts without permission from the copyright holder. However, in some cases, lyrics and/or music can be projected onto a screen. See "Projection" below. 

Printing reading: The text of readings cannot be printed and distributed in the orders of service or handouts without permission from the copyright holder. Fair Use does allow, in some cases, limits excerpts or quotes to be used. 

Projection: This is an important exception. According the Unitarian Universalist Association legal counsel "congregations may project the lyrics to any hymn as long as the congregation owns a single copy of the hymnal. Furthermore, the projection does not have to be from the purchased copy; it’s permissible to project a photocopy or scanned copy or retyped lyrics. However, those projected lyrics or music may not be included in a videostream." (https://www.uua.org/worship/copyright)

The exceptions for religious services that are so useful for in-person worship do not apply to worship that is recorded and/or streamed. Simply put, the act of streaming and/or sharing a recording will count as copying and distributing any copyright material used in the religious service. All material used in a digital religious service must be be in the public domain, have permission or be covered by a license. 

Despite you best efforts, the correct application of Fair Use, and acquiring permission and/or licenses, a video posted to YouTube could still be flagged. Don’t worry, in some cases this is automated and in nearly all cases you will have a chance to contest the decision to YouTube and show that you followed copyright. This link, while for a specific service, provides an overview of how to respond to a copyright strike or ContentID claim