Copyright and marriage celebrants
What is copyright?
In Australia, original musical, artistic, literary and dramatic works, as well as sound recordings, films, broadcasts and published editions, are protected by the Copyright Act 1968.
Copyright is a bundle of exclusive economic rights granted to copyright owners for a limited period. Copyright owners have exclusive rights in relation to the publication, reproduction, public performance, communication and adaptation of their work, and can licence the use of this material by others. Some of these rights are also often managed for owners by publishers or copyright collecting societies.
The basic principle is that if you are exercising one or more of the exclusive rights listed above in relation to a work in which copyright subsists you will usually require permission or a licence from the copyright owner.
The right to reproduce (copy) material (such as a sound recording) and the right to publicly perform a work (such as a song or poem) are the rights that are most commonly exercised by celebrants and for which a copyright licence is likely to be required.
Permission is not required for the use of copyright material that is no longer protected by copyright. Copyright in published material, where the author died before 1 January 1955, has already expired. Such copyright material may be used freely. As of 1 January 2005, the term of copyright protection for published works was extended to 70 years after the death of the creator. Sound recordings and films are protected for 70 years after their publication. Also, certain limited uses may be made of works which are still in copyright without the need to obtain permission.
Below is a discussion of the legal issues arising from common uses of copyright material in wedding ceremonies and receptions.
How does copyright affect marriage celebrants?
Playing sound recordings at weddings and receptions
Usually, public performance licences are required for the playing in public of sound recordings (administered by the Phonographic Performance Company of Australia (PPCA) http://www.ppca.com.au/) and the public performance of recorded and live music (administered by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) www.apra.com.au ).
APRA has waived the requirement to obtain a licence for the performance of music within a wedding service or reception irrespective of the location of the wedding (ie whether the ceremony is conducted on church premises or in a public park or other indoor or outdoor venue) but a licence is still required from the PPCA for public playing of sound recordings at wedding receptions. While the owner/occupier of premises is responsible for obtaining a licence in most cases, celebrants should inquire whether a licence has been obtained (the responsibility for obtaining a licence may rest with the marriage celebrant under the agreement relating to the hire of the reception premises). The applicable licence will depend on the type of venue in which the reception is held.
A celebrant also needs to be aware that wedding receptions are often treated differently from ceremonies, and a licence may be required for both the service and the reception (eg making video recordings, see below).
Making video recordings of weddings
If you wish to make a video recording of a wedding and either dub sound recordings of music later, or record live music as it is being played at the service, you will need some type of licence if the music and/or sound recordings are in copyright. This also applies in cases where music is played in the background and may not be the main feature of the video. Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners’ Society (AMCOS) http://www.amcos.com.au/ and the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) http://www.aria.com.au/ offer a joint Domestic use video licence (available as a single event or annual licence) which allows video operators to make videos for special occasions and include music or sound recordings.
Making audio recordings of weddings
If you wish to make an audio recording of a wedding, for example of musical performances at the wedding, you will need to apply for a manufacture licence from AMCOS for making a mechanical reproduction of the music publishers’ musical and literary works if the music is in copyright. Also see performers’ rights (below).
Recording weddings — performers' rights
It is important to remember that any type of live video or audio recording at a wedding, for example filming the wedding with a video camera or recording the sounds from the wedding on audio equipment, also requires the performer’s consent. This is in addition to any licence that is taken out for the reproduction of the music. It would be a very good idea to make sure, prior to the wedding, that the performers agree to their performance being recorded (by video or audio equipment). Although the performer may have given permission for the recording of their performance, the performer may still be a joint copyright owner for any sound recording that is made. A ‘performer’ in this context also includes a minister, marriage celebrant, a musical performer, instrumentalist, vocalist or dancer etc.
Making recordings to play during the wedding or reception
If you wish to copy an existing sound recording (such as making a back-up copy or compilation CD), you will need to get permission from the owners of copyright in the recording. In most cases the owner of copyright in sound recordings is the record company, however, the ARIA can assist in locating the owner. In addition, you may also need a manufacture licence from AMCOS.
Although exceptions to allow for the private copying of sound recordings have been recently implemented into Australian law, these only cover private and domestic use. For more information on the scope of this exception see the Attorney-General’s Department’s Copyright Fact Sheet on Private copying of music.
Reproducing poetry or literature
Copyright in published works subsists for the life of the author plus 70 years (or 50 years from the date of death where the author died before 1 January 1955).
It is important to note that reproducing a literary or dramatic work on a printed order of service (as opposed to merely reciting it) requires the permission of the copyright owner (author or publisher). If the work is out of copyright and you are copying from a publication, such as a book (eg a modern edition of the poetry of Keats), the published edition may be protected by copyright (copyright in a published edition lasts for 25 years from the date of publication). Taking one short poem or extract from a large edition is unlikely to require permission from the owner of copyright in the edition.
Reading or reciting an extract from a book
Reading or reciting a reasonable portion of a published literary or dramatic work in public (provided the work is acknowledged) is an exception to copyright, and no permission needs to be obtained.
Copying sheet music
Sheet music, copied for use by choirs, singers and instrumentalists, also involves separate copyrights in the music, in the lyrics, in any translation or arrangement of the music or lyrics and in the published edition of the print music. The term of such copyrights is 70 years from the date of the death of the author (or 50 years from the date of death where the author died before 1 January 1955). Permission to copy sheet music should be sought from AMCOS for the copying of the musical work in the recording. Copyright may also subsist in sound recordings of the works of traditional composers, such as J.S. Bach, as copyright subsists in sound recordings for 70 years from the date of the publication of the recording.
Reproducing traditional hymns or song lyrics in wedding booklets
As hymns are protected for the life of the lyricist plus 50 years, where the author died before 1 January 1955, copyright would have expired in many older hymns, in which case they can be freely used. Many hymn books list the date of death of composers or lyricists under the hymns, so expired copyright can be easily calculated. If the lyricist of a song is still alive (or died after 1 January 1955) permission to reprint the lyrics may also be required. If there is doubt about who the music publisher is, or their contact details, AMCOS may be able to assist. For example, to reprint the words of ‘I will always love you’ by Dolly Parton in an order of service, the copyright owner should be contacted to obtain permission because the song is still in copyright.
Religious organisations can purchase a ‘Worship licence’ from the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) (http://www.copyright.com.au/) which allows the copying of lyrics for songs and hymns, poetry and other literary works by CAL members. Further information on the licence is available on the CAL web site. The licence does not cover copying of print music, which is covered by licences issued by AMCOS.
Other organisations that collect royalties and grant licences for the use of Christian music published by their members include Christian Copyright Licensing International (http://www.ccli.com.au), LicenSing (http://www.mediacom.org.au) and Word of Life International (http://www.freelink.com.au).
Using older musical compositions (eg hymn melodies) that are out of copyright
These may be copied as long as they are not in the form of a modern arrangement or transcription that is still in copyright.
Downloading material from the Internet
Caution should be taken in purchasing or downloading materials via the Internet. Downloading music from another person’s computer via a peer-to-peer network will infringe copyright if the music in question is still under copyright and the copying is not authorised by the copyright owner. However, it is possible to legally purchase copyrighted music and other material via the Internet. Licensing conditions may apply in such transactions with respect to how the music or other material can be used. Marriage celebrants would be well advised to check the terms of such licenses, if they exist, for provisions that are relevant to them.
Moral rights
In addition to economic rights, authors of works also have ‘moral rights’ over their works. This means that where material is reproduced, although a licence or permission from the copyright owner may not be necessary or has been obtained, there are still requirements to acknowledge the author and to not falsely attribute the work. Moral rights also protect the author against the derogatory treatment of their work. Caution should be exercised when making changes to hymns, literary pieces and musical works. Moral rights over literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works last for the duration of copyright protection.
This fact sheet provides general information only and is not a substitute for professional legal advice.