Copyright Matters Made Clear

Misconceptions about copyright law are common. Two examples: Purchase of hymnals does not grant the right to reproduce copyrighted content for a meeting devotion; sharing copyrighted content because you don’t charge for it is not legal. This session will cover several topics: an overview of a copyright holder’s exclusive rights; fair use; some do’s and don’ts with music; licensing for service folder reprints and livestreams; what and how to report through OneLicense.net. Ample time will be reserved for specific questions that attendees bring. (No official legal advice can/will be given; rather, best practices and references to further information will be shared by experienced professionals.)

Bio | Harvey Dunn

Harvey is an attorney who spent 40-plus years handling intellectual property (IP) matters (copyrights, patents, trademarks, trade secrets, etc.). For a large law firm (Vinson & Elkins) he primarily handled IP litigation and other IP matters. For the last 20 years, he worked on IP matters (capturing, protecting, and exploiting IP) for several large corporations including General Electric and most recently Woodward, Inc., a publicly-traded aerospace company, from which he retired last year. He is a frequent presenter on copyright and other legal matters. Harvey has served on the WELS Commission on Worship and is a member of Abiding Love in Loveland, Colo.

Bio | Kristine Laufer

Kristine has served as copyrights and permissions coordinator at Northwestern Publishing House (NPH) since 2008. In this role she encounters a variety of intellectual property issues and has played a key role in securing copyright permissions for NPH music resources, from Christian Worship: Supplement (2008) to the Christian Worship (2021) suite of resources. She is the NPH representative to OneLicense and strives to be a helpful resource for church copyright licensing for service folder reprints and livestreams. Having begun her career at NPH as a copy editor more than 20 years ago, she is also the lead copy editor.