Screen Lyrics and Copyright Law?

Joe F · 08-30-2006, 08:23 AM

If someone knows right off the top of their head, can you clarify this for me?

As I understand it, if you put the lyrics of a song on a screen in your church for congregational singing, you must stick pretty exactly to the copywritten published version. You can leave a verse or chorus out, or repeat them more often, but you can't add new words, or substitute words or phrases you come up with on your own.

The reason I ask is that we just recently started using "My Savior, My God" from Aaron Shust. We have our CCLI license, and are using the CCLI version from Song Select for our lyric reference. (Totally great worship song by the way!)

One of our members is an english teacher. She is having a major problem with the phrase "My God He was, My God He is, my God He's always gonna be..." She feels that using the term "gonna" is reinforcing bad grammar to our youth/kids and asked if I could change that part to "my God forever He will be..." or something similar.

Not that I neccessarily want to make this change, but I told her that I probably could not because it would be a copyright infringement/violation. Was I correct or telling a tall tale?

Brent · 08-30-2006, 08:32 AM

In section 4.1 of the full terms of the CCLI license it says the following:

Quote:

4.1 Church agrees that it will not alter or change the basic lyric, melody, or fundamental character of any Song.

So my guess would be no, especially not when you've properly attributed the song to its respective writer and publisher.

Tony · 08-30-2006, 08:40 AM

At least in the US, copywrite law is pretty specific.

The ones that annoy me are the US publishers who leave in UK spelling, ala "Be the Centre."

Joe F · 08-30-2006, 08:50 AM

Thanks guys,

I just took over as Worship Leader recently and have not yet located our license to read in the mountain of stuff left behind in the music room. Just wanted to make sure I was not telling stories to a member. "always gonna be" it is!

Nate · 08-30-2006, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe F

As I understand it, if you put the lyrics of a song on a screen in your church for congregational singing, you must stick pretty exactly to the copywritten published version.

I guess... but not really.

Copyright law is actually quite lenient for those who seek no profit whatsoever from their alleged "infringement" on copyrights. If you're not looking to make a buck (or, on the reverse, to take away from the market for the original) from your changes, there is very little that copyright law has to say against you, in reality.

Quote:

You can leave a verse or chorus out, or repeat them more often, but you can't add new words, or substitute words or phrases you come up with on your own.

Again, technically, you can't, because that's "making a derivative work." In all reality, nobody cares... neither the law nor the copyright owners. I change words all the time, and add my own parts as well. I feel no moral or legal qualms with it, and I have studied copyright law in a formal setting.

As an aside, the CCLI license is, in my opinion, one of the greatest acts of theft against the Church that has ever been devised. ALL you need it for is to reproduce lyrics in a bulletin. It covers NOTHING else that copyright law does already grant you the right to do. Lyrics on the screen? Playing a song for service? Section 110 of Title 17 allows churches to DISPLAY OR PERFORM any non-dramatic musical or literary work during the courses of their services! Copying from songbooks? You can't do that anyway, even if you have a CCLI license... read every single songbook's fineprint! The absolute only thing that you "need" a CCLI license for is if you plan to print songsheets with the lyrics, and, even there, it's debateable whether you really do need it.