This can very slightly between locals. That said....

I'm in no way a legal authority, so this is just opinion gathered during past years review of material from many sources. And my conclusion is the gray areas between the legal and illegal touch nearly all the areas you mentioned. Everything you mentioned and even some sermon use "could be" considered illegal by some under some circumstances. The issues might seem so many that you're tempted to ignore a few.

Given that, here are some reflections on items mentioned:

• Music other than that created or determined specifically to be "copyright safe" is best avoided. "Copyright safe" means licenses have been obtained as needed from composer, arranger, publisher, performer, etc. For some traditional pieces, most of these elements may be beyond the copyright limits.
• Written works operate under same legal rules as the music, but publishers and authors have not demonstrated an agressive enforement program opposing presentations and performances in the audio/vido form. Concerns here seem widely ignored by Churches.... with little apparent consequence.
• Use of audio "clips" is slightly risky for your live presentation, but could be much more risky if included in a digital distribution. The USA has exemptions for study and analysis presentation and satire. These "might" apply to your use, but the legal interpretations and case law seems very inconsistent. I'd avoid this entirely or use this stuff with great caution.

Beyond that, just be considerate. Try within reason to obtain permission for all other contributions (original creators, sylistic contributors, publishers, presentors, performers, etc.) and to adhere to their requested conditions and provide the attribution or anonimity they request. Try to include attributions found in source materials. Ministers and speakers usually retain property rights to all sermon compositions and such even though the works may have been developed for use by and during employment by a specific church.

The laws you are dealing with are intended to protect the financial interests and the reputation of creative contributors and their assignees. Try to excercise a scrupulous respect and concern towards those interests and you'll minimize your risks.

Thanks for the well thought out reply. Honestly my concern is more about doing right, than not getting caught doing something questionable.

I'll add some more questions here on the same topic as they come to mind.

Steve

I do know a little, though I am no expert on this. So, please continue to look deeper.

Always look at the copyright and license you have to use that. For example, translations of the bible have restrictions on redistribution. It's part of the license when you use them. And, each translation may be different. Unless the specific translation is in the public domain. But, none of the popular ones today are.

This holds true with music. Two questions to always ask yourself is what is the copyright for a particular song and what license do you have to use it that way.

Anything in the public domain you can use. If it's not, take a look how they say you can use it.

Matt Farina
Geeks and God Co-Host
www.innovatingtomorrow.net
www.mattfarina.com

Steve -

First off, the other comments so far are right, there are a lot of gray areas here. Second off, it may depend on where you are publishing the content. According to your profile, you are in Brazil. The rules there are almost certainly different than the rules in the US. If you are publishing to a Brazilian audience, you need to look at those rules. If you want to publish to a US audience, look at those laws. However, be aware, that on the internet, you are probably publishing to the entire world, which creates even more issues.

If you are talking about Bible translations, look at the copyright for the translation that you want to use. For example, the ESV translation (which I happen to like) has its copyright information online. Of particular interest to you will be the provision:

The ESV text may be quoted for audio use (audio cassettes, CDs, audio television) up to two hundred fifty (250) verses without express written permission of the publisher providing that the verses quoted do not amount to a complete book of the Bible nor do the verses quoted account for 50 percent or more of the total text of the work in which they are quoted.

For information that is public domain, go ahead and use it. Older hymns are mostly, but not always, public domain. So are a lot of older books (however translations may be more recent and may still be protected by copyright).

For information that is protected by copyright laws, the US law does allow fair use. This is generally speaking the right to comment on the copyright information, or to use it for education, etc. This is where the gray area exists. It is very murky water. I think the best bet is to avoid copyright music, unless it is just a snippet of a song. With books, you probably are within fair use to quote a short passage to comment on what the author is saying. The question is really how much can you use. This is the area to be conservative in your use and be considerate to the author.

For the disclaimer, I am a lawyer. However, I do not know Brazilian law, and I am not a copyright lawyer. This post should not be considered legal advice, it is simply my personal take on common sense and copyright law. This post does not create an attorney-client relationship with anyone who reads it. Rely on my advice at your peril.

John
john-simons.com

I appreciate the replies. I am still brainstorming on ideas for podcasts. Some of these ideas I am just saving for when I am back in the US. Here in Brazil, I am thinking of making a Bible narrative podcast. The Bible narratives, or stories, would be told rather than read, so I doubt there would be any issue at all there. I am thinking of selecting 52 stories that would go through the Bible in chronological form. I may do two feeds each week, one OT and other NT. I would tell 52 stories Chronologically through the OT and do the same thing with the New Testament.

I know that one podcast.. The Daily Audio Bible... is just Bible reading and uses a different translation each week. I imagine he contacted the copyright owners, because he is a publisher and this podcast is in its 3rd year now.

Okay well, thanks for the info

God bless
Stephen