PRC - Practical Resources for Churches
Copyright
Check out PRC's Facebook group Online Church from PRC to share resources as well as ask and answer questions about doing church online, including help with copyrights, virtual choir, and more.
RECORDED WEBINARS
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Copyrights and the Church with CCLI and CCS
Leader: CCLI and CCS
Basics of Copyright and the Church
Churches and Copyright: How To Be a Weekend Publisher/Broadcaster Without Going to Prison
Leader: Michael Moore
Churches and Copyright Seminar Handout
Music Copyrights 101 for Churches
Leaders: Kirsten Foyles and Terri Sinclair
Copyright Resources List
Your Copyright Questions Answered
COPYRIGHT FREE MUSIC AND VIDEOS
PD Hymns
This site offers sheet music, lyrics, MIDI, PPT music, and Finale (2002) files of public domain hymns.
Small Church Music
This website has music and video which you can freely stream because all songs are public domain, and all performers have surrendered their copyright performance rights.
COPYRIGHT GENERAL INFORMATION
Can I Use That Video on My Website?
TechSoup investigates the rules for using videos from YouTube, Vimeo, and Instagram.
Complying with Copyright Laws
Brotherhood Mutual offers information about copyrights and what churches should know about the use of audio, video, and written works.
Copyright and Plagiarism: The Bare Minimum Instructors Need to Know
This article from Wiley Education Services looks at ways instructors can legally share the work of others in their online classrooms.
Copyright Compliance Basics for Churches
This article from the United Church of Christ website covers different aspects of copyright law for church services, websites, etc.
Copyright Questions from the Field
Podcast about copyrighted materials, who owns them, and who can give permission to use them for worship.
Creative Solutions to Growing Concerns: COVID-19
This webinar from One License addresses issues such as transitioning from in-person services to live streaming, the licensing differences between YouTube, Facebook, and your organization's website, and keeping contact with worship aids and hymnals to a minimum during in-person services.
Website Legal Issues
Bitlaw.com discusses legal issues involved with the creation of a website including copyright concerns, domain name concerns, trademark concerns, defamation, linking and framing.
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COPYRIGHT INCLUDED MUSIC
Convergence Music Project
This subscription service offers new songs of all kinds and musical styles for worship that reflect the theology and transforming biblically based agenda at the heart of Convergence Christianity. Permission to use the music is included with purchase.
The Resourceful Church Musician
This website sells SAB, two-part, and unison sheet music pieces which it gives permission to perform. It also provides articles and other resources for church music directors. Permission to use the music is included with purchase.
LICENSES
CCLI Streaming License
The CCLI website lists the terms of agreement and permitted music and video activities for its streaming license.
Christian Copyright Solutions
They offer performance licensing covering more than 28 million songs for in-person and online performances.
One License
One License provides access to thousands of congregational hymns, songs, and service music from today's top liturgical music publishers.
LINKING AND COPYRIGHT CONSIDERATIONS
The Best Ways to Avoid Legal Issues When Linking to Other Websites
The Mighty Recruiter website lists practices to take to ensure you don’t run into legal issues with your website.
Connecting to Other Websites
This post on the Stanford Libraries site includes a sample Linking Agreement and a sample Linking Disclaimer.
Does Sharing a Link to Online Content Amount to Copyright Infringement?
This article on the Above the Law website discusses whether those who link to websites can be held liable for copyright infringement if the site they link to infringes on copyright.
The Growing Problem of Internet “Link Rot” and Best Practices for Media and Online Publishers
This Journalist’s Resource article about linking best practices looks not only at copyright but also at minimizing broken links, choosing linking text, and selecting stable links.
Linking to Copyrighted Materials
The Digital Media Law Project looks at ways of linking to websites (such as deep linking, inline linking, and framing) and the different legal issues each one raises.
Posting Third Party Content and Linking
This post from the American Bar Association notes the limits of your ability to post content that you obtain from other sources.
Potential Liabilities for Web-Linking to Copyrighted Content
This article on the Finnegan site discusses Circumvention of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Contributory Copyright Infringement, Trademark Infringement, YouTube Videos and Online Linking, and Best Practices for Linking.