Internationally the questions concerning the ownership of worship resources, particularly as they derive from and are used in churches, are not clear. There are international rules, which by force of law apply also to the church. But Christians may also have a response to these rules. Sometimes these rules currently at work seem to allow and sometimes even encourage the theft, whether intentionally or not, of worship resources originally arising communally from a people who have no idea of individual ownership of Christian worship resources. But these rights are often claimed by the person/s who transcribed a song, arranged it, translated it and published it. Over all, there is no clarity about ownership of worship resources for use in churches, and what role churches might play in enabling the sharing of such resources in an ethical way.
The consultation is open to ecumenical publishers, web managers, composers, legal experts on Intellectual Property Rights, Christian ethicists, Christian artistes and young ecumenical communicators who have shown an interest in issues related to global communications.
1. To create awareness about ownership of worship materials (hymns, prayers & other resources) and how they can be shared ethically by churches and communities.
2. To produce a framework or practical guidelines which can be used to enhance the sharing of Christian worship resources across cultures in an ethical way.
3. To work towards a creative licensing arrangement for the ecumenical movement.
For more information, please contact
Worship Consultant
WCC / Faith and Order
150, route de Ferney
P.O. Box 2100
CH-1211 Geneva 2
tel. (+41) 22 791 6486
Fax: (+41) 22 791 6407
Simei.Monteiro@wcc-coe.org
25 May 2005