We are a non-profit organization (church). We want to use clips from
movies and news stories in our church services to illustrate a point
or edit into "big screen" videos announcing openings in our choir,
potluck dinners, etc. Can we leagally do this at all or is there a
limit on how much we can use -- several seconds or a minute? Can we do
it like the TV stations do by putting "Courtesy of:" along with the
clip?

lorosars..

Thanks for your question.  The church I attend uses movie clips and
other material pretty regularly and I often wondered how the copyright
issue was handled. Turns out, it is a bit more complicated than I
thought, but then again, copyright law wasn't meant to be easy.  I
would like to remind you, however, that answers are general
information, and are not intended to substitute for informed
professional legal advice.

More and more churches are using video and movie clips to illustrate
points during services and Sunday school.  This raises an interesting
dilemma in regards to copyright as movies that are rented or purchased
are intended for private use as opposed to public showing, unless
permission is granted from the copyright holder.  This is even if
admission is not being charged and applies to non-profits.  Now,
churches and ministry groups can show videos and be in good graces
with the Copyright Act of 1976 in one of three ways:

1.  Showing videos which have "Public Performance Rights," 
2.  Receiving written permission prior to using the video, or 
3.  Obtaining coverage with the Church Video License

So, you could limit yourself to those videos that have PPRs attached,
or you could go through the administrative nightmare of trying to
obtain a PPR or get permission from the copyright holder of each video
you would like to use.  That leaves option 3, which up until recently,
wasn't even an option.

The Motion Picture Licensing Corporation (MPLC), the group who has
offered umbrella licenses to show Hollywood productions in public
groups, has now teamed up with Christian Copyright Licensing
International (CCLI) to create Christian Video Licensing International
(CVLI). For one small annual licensing fee, you can obtain a license
to show all most Christian and Hollywood titles. The CVLI provides
legal coverage for churches to show home videocassettes and videodiscs
of motion pictures for a variety of church activities, whether the
videocassette or videodisc was purchased, rented or borrowed. These
may include church services and programs, education sessions and youth
activities. You can show anything from a few seconds to an entire
video

This license does NOT cover materials that have been copied from
another source or recorded from television and it also does NOT cover
charging an admission fee for video showings.

For more information on obtaining a church video license, you can
contact CVLI at 1-888-771-2854 or visit their website at
http://www.cvli.org/cvli/index.cfm

Thanks again for your question and I hope the above information has
been helpful.  If you need any additional clarification, please let me
know prior ro rating my answer.

Regards,

-THV

Search Strategy:
non-profit use of movie clips
Christian Video Licensing International.

References:
Video In The Church
http://www.jjonline.com/communicator/200201/special01.php

Very Helpful. I took the advice given and joined CVLI. We were already
CCLI members but I was not aware of this new service. Problem solved!

You also may be allowed to use clips under the "fair use" provision of
the law, but it depends on how they're used.  An permissible use might
be to show a clip of a movie as part of a movie review or social
commentary that involves the movie. (For example, if you had an
educational presentation on how society views religion, it might be OK
to show clips portraying ministers in films.)  But using a clip for
artistic reasons (such as using a clip of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding"
to announce an upcoming Greek-themed social you're having) probably
wouldn't be "fair use."  The church license might be the way to go,
but you should read the terms of the license carefully to make sure it
lets you do what you want it to do.

Dear lorosars,

As mvguy suggests, the use of clips, as opposed to showing an entire
movie, may be covered by "Fair Use" doctrine. Stanford University
provides an overview of Fair Use on its website:
http://fairuse.stanford.edu/

(A note of interest, albeit unrelated to copyright - did you notice
who is identified as Stanford Provost on that page?)

Simply stating that content is "courtesy of" the copyright owner will
not resolve the issue of copyright ownership. That language indicates
that the copyright owner has granted actual permission for the use of
the material.

lorosars..

Thank you for the rating and your generous tip!  I am very glad I
could be of assistance.

Regards,

-THV