4 Ways to Plan for Copyright Budgeting, Policies and Procedures

August 25, 2015

Many churches excel when it comes to planning. Whether Sunday school curriculum, mission trips, special outreach programs, or launching a new worship center building project, church leaders harness their best minds and talents with strategy, finances and ministry to count the cost and figure out the most efficient way to accomplish their goals. (Lk 14:28-30)

But often that planning expertise is overlooked when it comes to copyright licensing and clearances. Applying the same planning discipline is paramount for establishing copyright compliance in order to minimize your church’s risks of infringement. It’s really important that your church develop copyright policies and procedures that are clearly communicated to your staff and volunteers.

We have developed some great resource tools to help your church implement planning and budgeting for your use of copyrighted material. You can download these Fact Sheets for FREE, make copies and share with your staff:

In addition, we devote an entire chapter to Planning and Budgeting in our new eBook “Solve the Puzzle of Copyrights: Six Steps to Learning How to Do Music Right,” which you can download for FREE and share with your team and staff.

The key to copyright compliance is planning or P.L.A.N.:

Prepare list of details for the desired use of each copyrighted work;

Learn the basics of the Copyright Law or let a copyright professional help you with research and licenses. Understand what blanket licenses do and do NOT cover and what exemptions may apply to your uses;

Allow enough time to research and obtain permission (some permissions take 6-12 weeks);

Never assume you can use copyrighted material without permission or exemption; avoid legal suits and payment of high fines and fees.

Remember that you can always call and talk to one of our CCS reps at 855-576-5837, if you have any questions about copyright licensing.

 

About Christian Copyright Solutions: CCS’s quest is to help churches and 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, and  Facebook. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only, and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel.

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