MICHAEL D. WATSON B


Copyright laws and the church


By Susan Lang


Lang is an ELCA pastor who serves ecumeni- cally as a retreat facilitator and church con- sultant (www.revwriter.com).


28 The Lutheran • www.thelutheran.org


ritt Vickstrom, Bettendorf, Iowa, learned the basics of copyright law as a student at Wartburg Seminary, Dubuqe, Iowa. So when she moved to a pastoral


call where the congregation used the resource Sundays and Seasons, she knew it was important to clarify what


could be legally printed in the bulletin. “I was confused about reproducing hymns,” she said. “I wanted to


make sure we were obeying the law and respecting hymn writers. I found out it was a lot more complicated. You can’t just print everything as some assume.”


Martin Seltz, publisher for worship and music at Augsburg Fortress, the


ELCA publishing ministry, said, “Many congregations are becoming more savvy about copyright law. However, there are still some who believe that because they are religious institutions, they are exempt, or that their reprint- ing of copyrighted materials without permission is fair use.” Owning hymnals doesn’t give congregations the right to print, project or record their contents without permission of the copyright holder.


Intellectual property Michael Moore, copyright administrator for Augsburg Fortress, said most


Keeping it legal


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