Is your Church having a Super Bowl® watch party?

Intellectual Property, Videos copyright infringement, lawsuit, Super Bowl

The Super Bowl marks the final football weekend for America and many churches are gearing up for their own watch parties.  You may or may not be aware that for the last few years, the NFL has taken a hard stance against groups wanting to show the big game outside of the traditional family living room environment.  During these years, the NFL has gone as far as sending legal demand letters to churches that intended to hold watch parties, threatening to prosecute them for violation of copyright laws if the churches did not cancel the watch parties.  However, members of Congress were quick to respond and threatened to change copyright laws that would allow churches and other groups to show the Super Bowl without fear of any legal action.  As a result, the NFL has recently adopted new guidelines that will allow church sponsored events to show the Super Bowl.

The good news is that churches are free to show the big game between the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts, on February 7, 2009, on large screens in their public facilities without fear of violating copyright laws, so long as the church abides by two simple guidelines: 

1. The game is shown on equipment the church regularly uses in the course of ministry—so if the church already owns a big screen and sound equipment, then the game can be shown using this equipment; and
2. Churches cannot charge admission for the party.  

In addition, the NFL has stated that churches may take up a donation to defray the cost of the event, if they desire to do so.

If you have any questions regarding copyright law, feel free to call our office at 972-444-8777.  You might also want to consider purchasing the Church Law Group Guide to Intellectual Property.

 Are You Ready For Some Football?

Intellectual Property

There is considerable confusion among church employees and leaders on how to avoid committing copyright infringement.  Churches and other religious organizations can avoid copyright infringement liability by implementing policies that ensure copyright compliance.

One of the simplest ways to avoid copyright infringement is for a church to obtain a “blanket license” for the use of copyrighted materials.  The church will pay an annual fee for a blanket license, and such license will allow a church to use copyrighted materials—such as lyrics, printed music, audio and videos—for the term of the license. 

For example, a church could obtain a licensing agreement from an organization such as Christian Copyright Licensing, Inc. (CCLI).  A church that obtains a Church Copyright License from CCLI enters into a contractual agreement with songwriters and publishers.  By paying CCLI an annual license fee, a church receives legal authorization to copy from over 200,000 songs for congregational use.  Churches can obtain similar blanket licenses from other organizations such as:

• American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP)
• Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI)
• Christian Video Licensing International (CVLI)
• Society of European Stage Authors and Composers (SESAC)

Once a license is obtained, churches must act in compliance with the terms of their contract with the licensing authority.  For instance, some licensing organizations require that the church include copyright information on all songs reproduced under the license.  This means that the church would responsible for including the song title, writer credit(s), copyright notice, and your church’s license number on the bulletin, song-sheet, or computer projection.  In order to avoid liability, always remember to abide by the terms of your contract!

Statutory damages in cases of infringement can range from $500 to $20,000 or more per violation–and the recording industry IS watching, as exemplified recently when a woman was charged $1.9 million dollars for illegally downloading music.  (See here for full article.)

The Church Law Group has released a Guide to Intellectual Property (with forms) that is now available for purchase.  Email churchlawgroup@amlawteam.com or call 972-444-8777 if you have any questions about intellectual property matters or are interested in the Church Law Group Guide to Intellectual Property.

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Think twice before singing that new worship song next Sunday or before using that movie clip as an illustration in your sermon.  Believe it or not, even with the very best of intentions, courts have found churches financially liable for using the works of another person without permission.

Copyright is an important concept for all churches and ministries to understand in order to protect themselves, both against infringing on the rights of others and on having their own rights infringed upon.  With the incredible creativity that has been flowing out of Christian ministry in the last decade, it is probable that many churches will create their own copyrightable works, and those works should be afforded every legal protection…

Click here to read the rest of the recent article written by David Middlebrook.  You can also visit www.churchlawgroup.com for more information regarding intellectual property concerns affecting today’s churches and ministries.

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