Changing Words: Legal Position

I was interested in the responses to my previous blog, so asked a rights lawyer to explain the legal position. Brett Farrell is a good friend and a lawyer who has practiced for many years in the music business working on complex rights issues, including recently some ground-breaking work on the Compassion Art project.

I asked Brett to have a look at the threads below and here is his informal advice. --- BRETT FARRELL WRITES: "The issue you've raised is whether or not you need permission to make derivative works (editing, adpating translating). Changing a song, even by one word, is technically creating a derivative work which would require permission of the copyright owner. Changing the musical structure or pattern would create a new arrangement and that too would require permission. I prefer to think in terms of permission rather than illegality. I've read a number of the replies on this thread (on changing song words if we disagree with the theology) and there are many myths and ideas on what is right and wrong from a legal perspective: First let me say, that as a rule of thumb, if you don't own it or control it... either don't use it or change it without permission. That should keep you out of most trouble. Second, there are some US concepts in copyright law which may allow you to 'get away' with small changes but not here in the UK unfortunately. Fair use in the UK is a very narrow concept and my guess is most church contexts would fall outside fair use. Which brings me to what people are really talking about on this thread - changing words for theological reasons. Whose theology and with what authority do you think your theology trumps anothers? Most people would rightly say it's wrong of me to take the chorus of "Here I am to Worship" and add my own verses to worship Santa Claus and not Jesus - and rightly so, but why is it OK (from reading the threads) to alter a word here or there to suit your particular take on theology? The real reason why we bend the rules a little and not ask permission I suspect is where there is no fear of consequence (that is no one will sue us!) then we tend to stretch the boundaries some more and justify it however we need. I think one poster wrote about changing Bluetree's song "God of this City" because that poster did not live in a city. Whilst I'm sympathetic with the conundrum the law doesn't bend for those situations - but permission can!" --- Interesting stuff Brett - thank you for helping clarify that.