In the lead-up to Easter, we saw some really phenomenal work come through the Church Marketing Lab. You can see one example to the right of this entry. One church, however, was unclear on the purpose of the photo pool, and they ended up using this work as their Easter art. To make a long story short, an astute member of the Church Marketing Lab noticed this inappropriate use and brought it up. This led to a conversation with the church’s pastor, an apology and a lesson learned.
It’s just another example of how the Church Marketing Lab is helping churches and giving us all a little bit of a lesson, and it’s also an example of the importance of copyright issues with churches. This could have led to a lawsuit had the victim been less gracious, and that could be devastating for a church. So take this week’s roundup as a reminder to properly value art and legal art, and err on the side of caution as your church moves forward.
Of course, we’ve seen tons of other activity this week. Here’s a little sample of what’s been coming through:
This flier is for Easter at Zion Lutheran Church.
A series on identity is coming up, and here is the graphic.
Motus is an impromptu worship gathering, with a flier in progress.
Shane
April 13, 2009
Lawsuits? Copyrights? You know what’s funny (or sad depending on how you look at it)…when you get down to it, it all belongs to God anyway.
This is going to offend some, but it’s crazy how some people take entirely too much credit (or all of the credit) for something they are supposedly doing to “market God” and then get upset when others want to spread the word using the same “tools”. People should take a step back and look at the bigger picture (not themselves) and realize who ultimately gets the recognition. THAT is priceless and not something you can stick a circle c on.
I, personally, do not use work of others without permission but I have had churches & ministries use my photography without my permission and then found out by having members of the church contact me. My response? Awesome! I’m just blessed to have something I’ve spent my time doing go to promote the word of God. Do I care that I don’t get credit for it? Why should I? God should get all the credit. Otherwise, I’d be missing the entire purpose.
So like I said…it all belongs to God anyway. So who really deserves the recognition?
Michael Buckingham
April 13, 2009
Ah yes, the “it all belongs to God so it’s okay to steal” theory.
I’ll be thinking about that after I stop by and use your car without permission.
God indeed gets all the credit for any ability I have, but that doesn’t mean you should steal it. In fact if God gives me the ability to create something and you steal it maybe you’re not stealing from me, maybe you’re stealing from God.
Check out the OT, it mentions something about not stealing…I think He meant what he said.
Brian
April 14, 2009
I think it is a shame we have to worry about all the copyrights in the church arena. Who should the glory really be going to? Why do churches copyright or let alone charge for their resources? The churches that usually really need them are smaller/newer churches who don’t have a media guy on staff. They are just wanting to have the best look available to engage their audience. For instance, most church plants can’t even afford the items that could really get them going from places like pastors.com and creativepastors.com. Why sell the stuff if it can help others reach their community? I don’t get their logic.
If someone saw that graphic and it go their attention and got them to come to church and they got saved, isn’t that what matters? In most cases that is why people “steal” things, so they can have something that looks good to help their church and the kingdom of God, NOT themselves.
Cameron Smith
April 14, 2009
I think you two, Brian and Shane, are completely missing the point here. This is not about “glory” or giving credit where credit is due. It’s not about the “it all belongs to God” theory, I think that’s all hogwash. Bottom line is this.
1. The artwork was created by someone and it belongs to them… and it SHOULD NOT BE USED without permission. Just because it’s art, doesn’t mean it’s free reign to use. In the same way, as Michael alread referred… if you have have a car in front of your house, and a stranger comes over and takes it… he’s stealing from you, and he would not be able to justify that to the authorites by saying “I was just borrowing it for my own cause”.
2. Just because a church can’t afford a media person; that DOES NOT JUSTIFY using something that doesn’t belong to them WITHOUT ASKING PERMISSION to do so. Since when is it ok to steal when we don’t have money to pay for something? That’s ridiculous.
3. People need to start seeing artwork as a legitimate commodity, especially in the church. For too long, graphic design has been under valued and not taken seriously.
It’s true, God is the only one that should get the glory. But please don’t steal my stuff and justify it by saying God deserves the glory and not me.
Shane
April 14, 2009
Like I said, I knew it would offend some, but using a car analogy?
1) You’d have the car and I wouldn’t any longer…much unlike using media in which the original “owner” still “has”…there is no “transfer” of ownership.
2) The person is using the media to spread the gospel and lead people to salvation. Would they be using the car in the same manner? That’s kind of out there, but I’m just making a point.
Look, it’s like Leo Buscaglia once said, “Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.”
There really isn’t any argument that doesn’t come across as selfish.
And if a person *really* wanted to dig deep into the heart of the issue, it can be summed up in one word:
Pride
That’s the root of it to put it bluntly. I’m not “condoning” or justifying the act of “stealing” anyone’s work as I myself don’t use the work of others without permission…I’m simply shedding some light on the underlying issue that this stems from.
Is it *really* better to have your work never be used without your permission rather than it be used to get the Word out to others? If it was used for ANYthing other than spreading the Word, I would absolutely see the issue. However, to tell a church to take something down……well……who ultimately pays the price?
Cameron Smith
April 14, 2009
Your logic and reasoning is selfish and flawed. What’s mine is mine… if I created it, you can’t use it unless you ask. That’s the bottom line. There’s no arguing that point. Just because it’s artwork and it’s used to spread the gospel doesn’t make it the right thing to do. It’s cut and dry.
It’s not about my pride, it’s about seeing artwork for what it is. It’s an object, and if you take an object without asking, you’ve stolen it. Period. END_OF_STORY.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m the first person to give away source files, let people churches use my artwork for free. Just look at my blog, I’ll give away everything. But that’s MY CHOICE to give it away… it should not be TAKEN from me. It’s a matter of principle… it’s a matter of integrity. Churches need to do the right thing…. and everyone else needs to stop trying to justify their poor actions by saying that “as long as we’re all spreading the word of God.. it’s OK”. That’s bunk.
If I go steal a candy bar to give to a homeless man and pray for him, is that ok? I mean.. I was using it to spread the gospel.
If I steal a bible from a bookstore and give it to a prostitute, is that ok’? I mean.. I was using it to the spread the gospel.
You get the point. If it’s not yours, don’t use it without permission. Period. END_OF_STORY.
Brian Holt
April 15, 2009
This is a legitimately tough issue. Both sides have somewhat compelling arguments. I think the key to the issue is not pride, as one commenter said, but permission.
There’s really no way around that. I think God does call us to help one another. If you see any of my work and want to use it for your church, you’re welcome to it. So long as you ask. When you ask, you’re given permission. When you don’t ask, you’re stealing. It may all be God’s, but that doesn’t mean it’s yours. You can talk all day about how we should help other churches, and I totally agree, but that doesn’t make stealing acceptable. Would you download a song off of Limewire to use in your service? Why is it any better if you’re taking from another church?
Hal
April 15, 2009
This is yet another example of people thinking that because something is “for God’s glory,” commonly accepted rules don’t apply.
It’s very simple: if anyone pulled this stunt outside of the “church world,” a lawsuit would ensue. It is an open-and-shut case of copyright infringement to intellectual property. If this practice is commonly accepted as wrong (and illegal) by our world, then we undermine the credibility of the Gospel when we excuse copyright infringement “for the cause of Christ.” When you are doing that, you are essentially saying that the ends justify the means.
I do applaud the “victim” in this scenario for responding in a Christ-like manner and forgiving the infringement. But forgiveness is not a license to commit an offense (Rom. 6:1).
Chris
April 15, 2009
Let’s look at this from another perspective.
Until recently, most worship music was created by individuals to be used within their own church. This was done in the individuals in their spare time as they worked other jobs. Paying these folks royalties has allowed many of them to earn a living doing this, allowing them to dedicate more time to creating more songs, which results in more high quality songs to support ministry.
All issues of legality and morality aside, the payment of royalties to worship musicians is a form of patronage of the worship arts.
The same applies to payment of royalties for other media including video and graphics.
Cameron Smith
April 15, 2009
@Chris:
Once again, you’re missing the point. It’s not about royalties, it’s not about the artist trying to make money. I think that you will find, in MOST cases, that designers who work for churches are willing to let other churches use their artwork for free — when they’re asked.
As a designer, I don’t want to make money off the work that I create for the church… I want to further the Kingdom and help provide resource churches. That being said,this conversation is about copyright infringement. It’s about asking permission to use things that aren’t yours.
This is a basic concept that we learn at a very early age… if it doesn’t belong to you, don’t use it. Or, if you would like to use it, please ask.
It’s not an issue of pride, money, or royalties. It’s an issue of integrity and doing the right thing. In my humble opinion, there is no argument here… really, there isn’t.
Chris
April 15, 2009
Cameron Smith:
Fair enough, but I’m not disagreeing with you. I’m just trying to make folks who are uncomfortable with the notion of copyrights understand that there is more than base greed involved.
Michael Buckingham
April 15, 2009
Actually Chris makes a very valid point. As a designer I find I’m consistently expected to do work for free. But as Chris points out, if I worked for free, I couldn’t do the work. There are certainly times that I’ll work on a reduced rate and maybe even free…but I and my network of designers, illustrators, etc. need to make a living. But because I am paid, I am blessed to be able to commit all of my time to work for the church.
Interesting note, if we were talking about web development the tone changes. I don’t hear of people saying someone should give their code away, or that it would be okay to rip off a website’s code and design…much of this is a respect issue. And I’m not sure that we, as designers, will ever gain the respect until we demand it and stop letting people walk over us as if we, and our abilities, are second rate.
Cameron Smith
April 15, 2009
Chris:
My apologies. After going back and reading your response, I saw that you were looking at royalties in a positive light. My first thought was that you were saying that designers who get royalties is a bad thing.
My bad… I do apologize. This is a sensitive subject for me. I want to see designers in the church start to get credit for what they’re doing to further the cause of Christ. I want to see churches stop abusing those same designers by using artwork without permission.
That’s all… :)