It is very unlikely that the laws on copyright will have no
impact on the life of your parish and school. A special
service booklet for First Communion; a video recording of a
wedding; even the weekly production of a parish newsletter:
all involve copyright.
To copy a work in copyright, you need prior permission.
Copying means copying in any way, such as handwriting,
photocopying, using computer software. Using digital musical
instrument technology is also included: a homemade MIDI
file of a hymn tune, for example.
To distribute copies of a work in copyright to others, you
need prior permission. To loan copies to others, you need
prior permission.
Distributing means issuing copies to others
in any way and to any number of people. One copy, given or
lent to one other person is a distribution.
To perform or display a work in copyright as an
entertainment, you need prior permission. You might also
need an entertainment licence for the venue.
To perform a literary or musical work in copyright in public as
part of an act of worship, you do not need prior permission.
No performance fees are payable. This is a concession granted
by the Performing Rights Society. Their conditions are:
- no one makes a sound or visual recording of the service;
- only legal copies of the work are in use;
- the work is not being broadcast.
For an act of worship in your parish hall, you do not need an
entertainment licence.
To make sound or visual recordings of a performance of a work
in copyright, you need prior permission. Further rules apply if
this will involve re-recording commercially recorded music.
To adapt or arrange a work in copyright, you need prior
permission.
To play recorded music in public, you need prior permission.
Different types of permission are needed for different activities.
Some permissions are granted. Some require payment of a
fee. You do not want to pay a fee for a permission you do not
need. Think carefully about what you want to do.