[HANASHIR:12807] Re: more copyright information, please

[Jeff Klepper <jeffklepper...>]

> My congregation is assembling a Friday night prayerbook, to be distributed at
> a service and collected.  The prayerbook will not be sold, and musical
> notations will not be included.
> There will, however, be plenty of music included.  So, if it's directly from
> the liturgy, we're fine.  But, if it's a song from one of you, then the
> question is: a) do we write you directly to get permission? b) do we need to
> go through ASCAP?
> What are your thoughts about this?  Have you ever done this?  I am SO looking
> forward to your responses.

www.blackboard.com has an article on Fair Use in academic settings.
The article states:

> Copyright law allows portions of a copyrighted work to be used without the
> author's permission for specific purposes. This is referred to as "fair use."
> Fair use allows for portions, or in some cases the entirety, of copyrighted
> works  to be used for purposes such as "criticism, comment, news reporting,
> teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or
> research."

I see a direct (legal) analogy between printing a service for a single
congregation and a course packet for a single class.  All the more so since
study and prayer are so closely related in our tradition. [This is my own
interpretation and I am not a lawyer.]

The generally accepted guidelines (as the article states) allow for 1000
words of copyrighted text to be used before permission must be granted.
This would allow for the use of individual songs or prayers, as long as the
copyright information is included in the material.

If the service were to be sold, or distributed beyond the walls of the
synagogue, this would create a new situation where Fair Use would not
protect you.

Jeff Klepper

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