- NOTE BY THE LEGAL ADVISORY COMMISSION OF THE GENERAL SYNOD
1. The Risks
2. Consent
3. Recognising a copyright situation
(a) Protected material
(b) Restricted use
(c) Legal liability for breach
4. Performance rights
5. Practical steps

1. The Risks

The risk of breach of copyright is present whenever copying or public performance of music, prose, poetry, drama, records or films takes place without the appropriate consent. If a breach is committed the consequences are serious for those who are responsible. Legal proceedings may be brought against them and may result in an injunction to prevent repetition of the breach, an order for payment of damages for past breaches and an order to pay the costs of the legal proceedings.

In general, it is no defence for those who are sued to say that copying or public performance was for church, charitable or other public purposes.

2. Consent

The safest way to deal with any potential copyright problem is to obtain the prior consent of the person who controls the copyright. If they give their consent no breach of their rights will take place. Depending on the circumstances, consent may be given free of charge or subject to payment of a fee and subject to other conditions, such as acknowledgement of source.

It is usually easy to find out whose consent is required. Most copyright works, such as sheets of music, books, films and records, have a copyright notice printed on them e.g. at the foot of the sheet music, behind the title page of a book or on the sleeve or cover of a record or video. The notice usually takes the form of a symbol - ©, followed by the name of the person whose permission is necessary. It may be the author or the composer or the publisher. It may be a record or film company which is named.

In some cases the copyright is controlled by a society which has been formed to collect fees and royalties for the copyright owners.

For example, the Performing Right Society grants consents for the public performance of music; Phonographic Performance Limited for the public performance of recordings; and the Mechanical Copyright Protection Society for the recording of music. If the relevant Society gives its consent to the proposed use of copyright material, no breach will take place. (There are also other bodies which control or administer copyright on behalf of the copyright owners; for example, Christian Copyright Licensing International, of 26 Gildredge Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 4SA, runs a licensing scheme for churches which covers the words and, to a very limited extent, the music of a substantial number of songs for worship).

The fees and charges payable for non-commercial, limited, local use, such as in church halls and at fetes, are usually reasonable in amount and almost certainly less than the costs of committing a breach of copyright which results in legal action.

In some cases, the Society in question may, in its discretion, waive the requirement of consent where the use is for an occasion of religious worship in a church or in any other place of worship.

3. Recognising a copyright situation

It is impossible in these notes to explain all the elements of a situation in which a breach of copyright may be committed at the risk of the incumbent, members of the Parochial Church Council and other members of the congregation. The notes, are therefore, confined to identifying some "warning signs" which should alert those responsible to the need to obtain consent for the proposed use or to obtain legal advice about the situation.

(a) Protected material
Copyright protection is widely available e.g. for literary material of all kinds, not just books, but also printed lectures, talks, sermons and the words of hymns and songs. It is also available for music and for records of music and words, for films and videos, for photos, drawings and artistic designs and also for computer programs.

Protection is not confined to the works of British authors, composers and companies. It is available to most works of foreign origin. Protection is not confined to material of recent origin. Copyright lasts for a long time: at least 50 years in most cases and, in many cases, for longer e.g. the life of the author or composer plus 50 years after his death. Even very old or traditional works, such as carols and madrigals, may enjoy some copyright protection, e.g., if they have been arranged by a more recent composer. The same may apply to modern translations or versions of biblical and classical texts. Protection against photocopying is also given to the typographical arrangement of printed books and sheet music.

(b) Restricted use
A breach of copyright may occur if only a part of the work in question is copied or publicly performed. Any "substantial" use without consent amounts to a breach e.g., one verse of a poem or a hymn. A use may be substantial, even though the material used is not copied or publicly performed word for word or note for note from the original material.

In the case of performance of copyright material, the performance may be "public", even though the audience is small and local and even though no charge is made to attend the function in the church or church hall where the performance takes place.

(c) Legal liability for breach
Legal liability for a breach of copyright is not confined to the particular individual who actually copies or publicly performs the copyright material.

Other persons may also be liable if they have participated in the breach of copyright e.g., if they have authorised the breach or if the individual has committed the breach on their behalf or as their employee.

The incumbent and the Parochial Church Council may be liable for breach of copyright if they give permission for premises, such as the church or the church hall, to be used for a public performance for which the consent of the copyright owner has not been obtained e.g. a recital or concert or play reading in the church or a disco or performance of a play or presentation of a video in a church hall. They may also be liable for breach if they supply apparatus for the performance (e.g. video or audio equipment) or if, as occupier of the premises, they give permission for apparatus to be brought into the church or church hall to be used for the performance in breach of copyright.

4. Performance rights

Live performers also have rights in their performances of drama, dance, mime, music and reading or recitation of prose, plays and poetry. A breach of those rights is committed if, without the consent of the performer, their performance is recorded on tape or film, except for "private and domestic use". For example, the members of a choir, the organist, the actors in a play or the musicians in an orchestra are all performers whose consent is required for the making of an audio or video recording, unless the recording is simply being made for home listening or viewing by the person making it.

Most recordings of weddings and baptisms fall within that exception, but there may be cases where the ceremony will attract more widespread interest and the recording may be shown on television or in some other commercial way. In these cases, consent must be obtained from the performers whose performances are taped.

5. Practical steps

The incumbent and Parochial Church Council would be well advised to take the following practical steps in order to minimise the risk of incurring personal liability for breach of copyright:-
i) If any church activity involves any copying or public performance of copyright material outside the normal service of divine worship steps should be taken to identify the person who controls the copyright and to obtain the necessary consent for the proposed use. Remember that "copying" includes photocopying and recording of material.
ii) If the activity involves the use of more than one piece of material, it may be necessary to obtain consent from a number of different authors, composers or publishers, depending on the nature of the material.
iii) If consent is obtained make any payment which is required and also observe carefully any conditions which have been laid down by the person giving consent. It is wise to obtain the consent in writing in order to avoid possible misunderstandings.
iv) If, by some oversight, consent has not been obtained prior to the use of the material, and a complaint of breach of copyright is made, be prepared to ask for consent then and apologise for the oversight promptly.
v) If the incumbent or the Parochial Church Council is approached by a parishioner or other person who wishes to copy or publicly perform copyright material or to make an audio or video recording of a live performance in church premises, permission should only be granted to that person on terms that they obtain all the necessary consents for the use which they propose to make
vi) If in any doubt about what to do in any situation which involves potential copyright problems, expert legal advice should be taken. The relevant legislation is the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 which contains over 250 sections dealing with complexities of copyright and performance rights.

ADDRESSES OF ORGANISATIONS FROM WHOM FURTHER INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED:

The Performing Right Society Limited, Public performance of music and lyrics
29-33, Berners Street,
LONDON W1

The Mechanical Copyright Protection Society Ltd, Recording of music and lyrics
41, Streatham High Road,
LONDON SW16 1ER

The Music Publishers' Association, Copying of published music
103, Kingsway,
LONDON WC2B 6QX

The Publishers' Association, Copying of typography of material
19, Bedford Square, published in the last 25 years.
LONDON WC1

The British Theatre Association, Public performance of plays
9, Fitzroy Square,
LONDON W1P 6AS

Phonographic Performance Limited, Public performance of sound recordings
14-22, Ganton Street,
LONDON W1V 1LB

The British Phonographic Industry Limited, Recording of sound recordings
273-287, Regent Street,
LONDON W1

These notes are copyright © The Central Board of Finance of the Church of England 1992 and are reproduced with permission.

NOTE: In 2000, Christian Copyright Licensing (Europe) Limited and the Performing Rights Society (PRS) introduced new licensing arrangements for copyright music performed in churches.
Previously, CCLE issued annual church copyright licences and music reproduction licences. PRS had been issuing licences for the performance of music in churches and church halls. CCLE now provides a “one-stop” resource for all aspects of copyright licensing, ie. the copyright of words and music and the performance rights for church use.

Details of the new arrangements, including fees, can be obtained from CCLE on 01323-417711. CCLE also produces a guide “Copyright Licensing and the church” giving details of what is covered by the various licences they offer and what is
excluded.