Christians and Copyrights
(The following is an edited email correspondence.)
The topic has to do with software and music piracy, and thus this disclaimer: I am not a legal expert, so that as I draw from my minimal legal understanding in addressing the topic, what I say should not be construed as legal advice or an authoritative statement on copyright laws. Instead, this article should be considered only as an application of biblical teaching.
I am wondering about the issue of software and music piracy.
I take that piracy of any kind would be considered as stealing? Do you think that it is OK to purchase a product and reproduce it for your own personal use?
What is your position on pirating Christian music and sermons? The former may be considered stealing since they are often copyrighted, but the latter may sometimes be considered as "church properties" and may also be copyrighted as well.
What's your position on the above? I am considering my own actions in this area.
First, I will address the issue from the Christian author’s perspective.
Once a person produces a Christian work, like a book or sermon, it is his intellectual property by law.
As a Christian, I think he has the right to receive money for his work ("the laborer is worthy of his wages"), but I think that it is also his duty to make it available for free in some form ("freely you have received, freely give").
In my case, I offer my materials free of charge in a format that is inexpensive to me (electronic format), and then, when it comes to offering my materials in a format that I cannot afford to underwrite (paperback books), I forgo all royalties to lower the price for my readers, so that at least from my perspective, I am still offering it for free.
Now, "the laborer is worthy of his wages" still, and it is in fact my right to demand financial compensation from the people of God (1 Corinthians 9). But since it is my right, it is also mine to forgo, against the repeated urgings of some concerned friends and believers.
I am unwilling to offer the Word of God on the condition of or in exchange for financial compensation. Therefore, I have chosen to disassociate the two, so that on the one hand, I offer all my materials for free, and on the other hand, I will teach about the believers’ responsibilities toward their ministers, and accept donations that are willingly given, that are not offered in exchange for the Word of God. That is, I am not going to actually withhold biblical teachings from someone who is unable or unwilling to make a donation, even though the people of God are often sinfully stingy. This policy also makes it possible for the poor to equally benefit from me as the rich.
Then, if someone violates the Christian author’s copyright, I do not think that he should enforce his rights, that is, to sue for damages and for unpaid royalties, etc. I derive this from Paul’s principle, that one should rejoice as long as Christ is preached.
The exception occurs when Christ is not preached, or when the message is distorted. For example, I am not going to take any legal action against someone who reprints my Systematic Theology and sells it for his own profit. In this case, he violates my rights, but I am going to let him do it. In fact, I am going to rejoice because of the increased distribution and readership. However, if he changes the content (e.g. if he removes all the references to hell from my book) before he reprints and sells it, either with or without my name on it, but especially with my name on it, then I might consider doing something about it.
Therefore, I think that the Christian author should retain all legal rights to his works, but these rights should not be enforced other than to protect the integrity of the Christian message.
Second, I will address the issue from the Christian consumer’s perspective.
Of course, many Christian copyright owners would follow a very different policy than the above, treating their works just like secular authors would, so that they would strongly forbid and condemn all copyright violations.
If it is made clear that the owners forbid such violations, the Christian should abide by the relevant restrictions, or he would indeed be stealing. If it is unclear whether the copyright owners would insist on their rights, then the Christian should still abide by the relevant restrictions, since a right should not have to be explicitly and repeatedly asserted for the Christian to take it seriously.
In other words, whether we are dealing with Christian songs or sermons, if it is clear that the copyright owners restrict their use (or if the restriction should be assumed), then the Christian should not violate this in the name of spreading Christianity or to excuse themselves by saying that the copyright owners have disobeyed God, even when the latter might be true in some cases.
And believers must not argue as many secular music listeners do, that because the artists are greedy, or because they have already made so much money, this makes it acceptable for the consumers to violate their copyrights. But of course this is unbiblical, and it is just a fallacious argument to justify theft and robbery. A Christian cannot condone robbery against the rich just because they have already made enough money.
At least in the United States, once you have produced an intellectual work (song, book, etc.), it is automatically copyrighted (although your rights are legally more secure if you will register your work), so there is no essential difference between songs and sermons.
However, there is such a thing as "fair use," so that if I buy a book, it is not a copyright violation if I let my wife read it after I finished it, or if I take a number of quotations from it for scholarly discussions in my own works.
You also asked, "Do you think that it is OK to purchase a product and reproduce it for your own personal use?" This would be included in "fair use" — your purchase of a music or software CD includes the permission to make a personal "backup" copy, and also includes the permission to convert music CDs into MP3 files, that is, if it is for your personal use. So you still have some freedom and flexibility even when you work within the legal restrictions.
Recommended:
Freely You have Received, Freely Give
Vincent Cheung, Commentary on Philippians (p. 31–33)
Vincent Cheung, The Sermon on the Mount