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Ohio-Meadville District of the UUA |
It's becoming more common. Pastors use portions of movies to enhance sermon points. Sunday school teachers and childcare workers play a full-length feature. Youth leaders show the latest videos. Educators use movies to train and inspire. For all these activities, the Church Video License provides legal coverage for your church.
Most of us fast-forward right through that FBI warning at the beginning of videos and DVDs. Ever wonder what it actually says? The Federal Copyright Act of 1976 stipulates that pre-recorded videos are authorized for personal home use only. Special permission must be granted for any public performance...and that includes churches. Violations can result in substantial fines, up to $30,000 per infringement.
CCLI has joined with Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (MPLC) to form Christian Video Licensing International (CVLI), providing the Church Video License for churches and other ministry organizations who show videos and DVDs in a public setting. The Family Values Producer Package covers videos and movies focused on religious and family-based themes. The Total Producer Package also covers many big-name studios like Universal Pictures, Warner Brothers, Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone, Paramount, and Fox.
Your church may need to purchase a license. To learn more about church licenses, visit Church Video License at www.ccli.com Click on What We Are and Church Video License
To learn more about this issue, read this article:
Video Copyright Guidelines: For Pastors & Church Workers
from http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=7299
by Dr. Jerome K. Miller
Copyright 1986 Jerome K. Miller
This document was produced under contract with the National Council of Churches. The contract authorizes publication in church magazines and unlimited duplication for distribution to pastors and church workers, on condition the document is reproduced in its entirety and without revision. All other rights are reserved by the author.
This document addresses the pressing issue of video copyrights. Other important issues, such as record and music duplication, were omitted to concentrate on this key issue. Information contained herein represents the author's informed opinion, but does not constitute legal advice.
I. Introduction
The Copyright Law (Title 17, US. Code) is designed to protect the interests of "authors," including the creators of film and video. Copyright protection gives "authors" almost complete control over the duplication of their creative works, including videocassettes. It also gives "authors" the right to regulate public performances (showings or screenings) of copyrighted videocassettes.
II. Performing Videocassettes in Churches, Classrooms, Meeting Halls, etc.
Public Performances: When the copyright act was revised in 1976, Sect. 106(4) gave copyright proprietors substantial control over public video performances. With two exceptions, all video performances require a license from the producer or distributor--usually from the distributor. The first exemption centers on "public" in public performance, which is defined in Sect. 101:
To perform or display a work "publicly" means-- (1) to perform or display it at a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is gathered; or (2) to transmit or otherwise communicate a performance or display of the work to a place specified by clause (1) or to the public, by means of any device or process, whether the members of the public capable of receiving the performance or display receive it in the same place or in separate places and at the same time or at different times.
The exemption was intended to authorize performances in the home for the family and immediate circle of friends. Questions have arisen about performances for other small groups of people. This question was recently tested in Columbia Pictures v. Redd Horne. The federal district and appellate courts held that video performances in a small booth that was open to the public, regardless of the number or the relationship of the viewers, were public performances. To put it simply, almost all performances outside the home are public performances and those who organize or conduct these performances violate the copyright law if the performances are given without a license.
One should not be too easily discouraged, though. Films and video supplied by religious distributors frequently include a limited performance right, called "audiovisual rights." This is a restricted right authorizing film and video performance in a nonprofit setting, without an admission charge. Audiovisual rights are also available for titles distributed by educational film and video distributors, such as: Encyclopedia Brittannica: Films,; Simon & Schuster; Time-Life; etc. If information about audiovisual rights does not appear in the catalog, ask the distributor for the information.. Videocassettes labeled "For Home Use Only" are sold without audio-visual rights.
Face-to-Face Instruction: The second exemption from the right to regulate performances concerns face-to-face instruction in the classroom. Schools and colleges, including Christian and parochial schools, have a special exemption in Sect. 110(1) that permits teachers and pupils to perform copyrighted works in face-to-face instruction, without a license. This permits teachers to use any videocassette in the classroom, if the following criteria are met:
1. The performance must be made from a legitimate copy;
2. The performance must take place in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction;
3. Attendance at the performance is limited to the teacher and pupils in the course;
4. The performance must be part of a "systematic course of instruction" and not for the entertainment, recreation or cultural value; and
5. The performance must be part of the "teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution."
To comply with Sect. 110(1), all the above criteria must be met. The first criterion is easily met, so long as the videotape was not illegally duplicated. The second criterion can be met by holding the performance in a classroom, meeting room, library or other room where classes meet. The third criterion indicates the performances are to be seen only by the teacher and enrolled pupils. The presence of other viewers appears to invalidate the exemption.. The fourth criterion requires the performances to be part of a "systematic course of instruction," which should not be a problem for Christian or parochial schools. The fifth criterion specified that the performance must be part of the teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution. The guidelines were written for public and nonprofit private schools, so Christian or parochial schools should have little difficulty meeting the requirements.
The question then arises about classroom use of videocassettes labeled "For Home Use Only." Products displaying that label may have been sold for the home market, but the Sect. 110(1) exemption is not restricted by labels on a product. They may be used in the classroom so long as all the Sect. 110(1) criteria are met.
Does this exemption apply to Sunday school classes? The criteria for Sect. 110(1) are very specific and if Sunday school can meet these criteria, I assume the exemption applies to them. The question centers on the last two requirements, "a systematic course of instruction" and "nonprofit educational institutions" Some Sunday schools may be able to demonstrate that they follow a "systematic course of instruction." Subject-oriented materials (not entertainment programs) incorporated in a well-organized and well-documented Sunday school program seem to meet this test. The other problem centers on the definition of "nonprofit educational institution." This term is not defined in the copyright act and it has not been clearly defined by the courts. It is unclear at the moment if church education departments meet this requirement. The application of Sect. 110(1) to Sunday schools is not entirely clear, so it seems best to act cautiously in this regard. It seems quite clear, though, that religious services, Sunday morning nursery programs, youth meetings, weekend retreats and similar gatherings do not meet the requirements. Video performances in those situations require licenses.
