Find Out How Churches Benefit from Religious Service Exemption

May 16, 2014

There aren’t many exceptions or exemptions to the U.S. Copyright Law, but churches can really benefit from the religious service exemption (RSE) in the law (Section 110[3]) if they fully understand it.

The exemption is vital for churches, but it also can be very confusing for church leaders to understand and identify what it covers and what it does not include. There is a lot of misinformation or myths when it comes to the RSE, so I’ll break it down in simple terms and address common questions.

First, here’s what the exemption states:

“performance of a non-dramatic literary or musical work or of a dramatico-musical work of a religious nature or display of a work, in the course of services at a place of worship or other religious assembly” shall not constitute infringement of copyright.

Let’s break it down into three important elements:

  1. Types of copyrights: Only musical works and non-dramatic literary works (like poems, prose, short stories, books, periodicals) are exempt.

  2. Types of rights: Only “public performance” and “public display of the works are covered.

  3. Location and setting: During the course of services at a place of worship or other religious assembly.

In other words, you do not have to get permission from the copyright owner or pay royalties to perform music or display the lyrics of a work in a religious service. This applies to the “performance” and “display” rights, which are only two of the six rights of the copyright owner. The exemption does not apply to the exclusive rights of the copyright owner to:

  1. reproduce a copyrighted work;

  2. distribute the work;

  3. make a derivative work (like a translation or arrangement) or;

  4. perform a digital sound recording (through digital transmission on the Internet or by satellite).

Download CCS’s FREE Fact Sheet on “Copyrights 101” for more details about copyrighted works and the owner’s bundle of exclusive rights.

As long as services are being conducted at a religious service gathering, the exemption would apply even if they are held in “non-religious” venues such as an auditorium, stadium or theater. The exemption excludes and does not apply to performance activities at a place of worship that are for social, educational, fund raising or entertainment purposes.

The exemption allows you to play or perform music, and this includes playing recordings of music.

The exemption does not apply to music being performed or played outside a religious service for activities such as concerts, aerobics and dance classes, youth and children’s programs, social events, fundraisers, coffee shops, or music-on-hold. A performance license is required and a simple solution is provided with CCS’s one-stop PERFORMmusic blanket license, which covers more than 17 million songs from ASCAP, BMI and SESAC.

It also does not apply to the copying of religious music, since copying is not a performance or a display. The exemption also does not apply to recording music played or performed during a service, because recording or “reproducing” music is not a performance or display right.

The exemption does not cover videos or films, which are classified as a audiovisual work and one of eight works of authorship that can be copyrighted. Performance licensing is required if you want to show them in your services or anywhere in your church facilities. Blanket licensing to show videos is available from CVLI for many film producers.

The religious services exemption also does not cover recordings of services or the retransmission of services over TV, radio or the Internet. The exemption only covers the on-site service, so unfortunately, it does not apply to your webcasting efforts. Blanket licensing for streaming music performed by your church musicians and singers is available from WORSHIPcast.

Still confused? If you have any additional questions about how the Religious Service Exemption impacts your church’s activities and how to get performance licensing in place, you can call 1-855-5SOLVER (855-576-5837) to speak with a CCS rep, or leave a comment below.

About Christian Copyright Solutions: CCS’s quest is to help churches and Christian ministries “do music right.”  CCS is an expert on church music copyrights and our primary focus is providing licensing and clear educational resources to churches, as well as representation, administration and advocacy for copyright owners. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook andPinterest. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only, and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel.

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