Ok, so you want to show a clip from a DVD or from a TV show. It illustrates a point perfects and you only want a short piece. It is not like you are pirating the stuff, let alone making illegal copies for profit. In fact, showing the will not only serve the purpose of illustrating the point but will also promote the actual media source; maybe even result in a few sales and royalties for the content owners.
Right?
…
Wrong.
It could not even suck any more. I mean here you are; serving God, using content – not maliciously or for self gain, and they say it is theft?
Ok, I hate it when people rip or download content illegally. Their excuse is usually; “it’s not like I am ripping hundreds of DVD and running a business”. It’s a choice I have made not to partake in that activity.
However, what about the Church scenario? How often have you seen film clips shown? Maybe even ripped a DVD that you were allowed to show because it is easier to manage as a file? You would think that copyright stuff would have moved on from there, realizing that there is a intangible profit in having having their content shown to hundreds of people for a specific purpose. While I do not condone the infringement of copyright I also see the value of social marketing. Filmmaking is a passion of mine and I will not support piracy but I would definitely love to see my film go viral on the internet or used at almost every Church – even if I loose out on immediate royalties – that’s the independent filmmaker speaking hey?
What about Creative Commons? Surely that would cover scenarios like this?
There are ways to make life easier when it comes to displaying video content, not perfect. CCLI kind of comes to the rescue by doing all of the work in handling copyright issues, but that does not come without conditions. For instance, here in South Africa where we fortunately have access to CCLI(Christian Copyright Licensing International) and also CVLI (Church Video License), we are faced with the following cans and cannots:
You Can
- Ask for a contribution from people.
- Show any number of films/film scenes from the producers signed.
- Promote the film title within your church
- (notice board, newsletter, etc).
- Show films from television series that have been published by an authorized studio.
- Put the DVD in your computer and cue it up.
You Can’t
- Charge an entrance fee.
- Show any film – check the producers list.
- Promote the film title outside of your church (including billboard, websites etc).
- Show films that you have recorded from television.
- Burn the film onto another media for adding into a presentation.
I am not sure what your experience is at your Church or maybe even your company, but I think that this is ridiculous. That’s my opinion of course. What if you have clips from 5 dvds?
Have you been faced with theses issues? Have any alternatives, suggestions or thoughts? Please write them down here.
[Photo By(modified): laubarnes]
Hey Philip, thanks for commenting on and following my blog! I look forward to interacting with you. This copyright stuff is pretty important, especially with some churches planning on doing Superbowl parties. They really need to know how they can avoid trouble.
My recent post Who Are You?
Thanks for stopping by
I can hazard a guess and say that most small Church adopt the attitude that it does not matter – so long as they are Glorifying God. Hmmm, Glorifying God thru theft, hmmmm.
My recent post Copyright Issues for Churches
Thanks for stopping by
I can hazard a guess and say that most small Church adopt the attitude that it does not matter – so long as they are Glorifying God. Hmmm, Glorifying God thru theft, hmmmm.
My recent post Copyright Issues for Churches
I remember a while ago someone in our church contacted one of the local distributors (NuMetro I think), we were told that we could use clips from any film they distribute as long as we did not charge entrance or show more than x minutes of the film (can’t remember how long x was but it was somewhere around 5).
I don’t know if that applies to all South African churches or if it even still applies to us.
I think the best way would be to follow the points you lay out and make sure you are beyond reproach.
.-= Ron´s last blog ..Caption Please =-.
The problem with copyright is that there are so many parties in the chain from performer to distributor that get royalties. Each party has a legal right for loss of royalties when copyright is infringed. CCLI covers this.
But if the content comes from a DVD we are not allowed to rip it into a more manageable format.
Following the letter of the law and being beyond reproach is admirable to say the least.
My recent post Copyright Issues for Churches
In the USA Fair Use rules allow excerpts to be used for “educational” purposes without conflict. I cannot think of a more educational situation than church. Most Christian radio and TV stations in the USA are licensed as educational for that very reason.
I do not intend to say the USA should be a paradygm for the rest of the planet nor would I. It is quite possible that broadcasting is strictly state controlled in S.A. I have no idea. Its beginning to feel that way in teh US too!
Enginator