G-1 Increasing Access to Creative Works Copyrighted by Community of Christ

From the Kentucky-Indiana USA Mission Center

Resolution

Resolved, That the appropriate team or presiding officers, in consultation with other World Church leaders, consider the possibility of applying Creative Commons licenses to some or all of the creative works currently copyrighted by all corporations associated with the World Church.

Background Statement

Copyright is an important legal tool that allows individuals and organizations to claim credit for and control over creative works that they produce. An organization that owns the copyright over creative works can ensure that they are not distributed or modified without its consent. In the United States, copyright generally lasts for seventy years after the author’s death or ninety-five years after publication. Community of Christ and associated corporations (such as Herald Publishing House and Community of Christ Seminary Press) collectively hold the copyrights over many creative works of contemporary and historical importance to the church, including histories of the church, worship helps, formation resources, hymns, and even Community of Christ scriptures.

This legislation is inspired by questions about how current trends affect the ability of the World Church to continue both producing contemporary creative works and providing access to historical creative works. For example, delegates to the 2023 World Conference voted down a resolution that could have provided digital access to the scriptures, partly because it would redirect World Church employees and resources from other priority efforts. Earlier at the 2023 World Conference, the First Presidency noted the need for creative responses to financial constraints and for decentralization and flexibility in church operations.

The nonprofit International Creative Commons organization was founded in 2001 with the goal of facilitating access to creative works and allowing individuals and organizations to build on the creative works created by others. An organization that applies a Creative Commons license (instead of traditional copyright) to a creative work retains the right to be recognized as the original creator of the work; however, it also grants the right to others to copy and distribute that work so that others may have access to it. The organization may also allow others to modify and update that work within certain constraints.

Support Statement

Throughout the history of Community of Christ, the World Church and individuals within it have created a large number of works that support our Mission Initiatives. Worship helps make it possible to Experience Congregations in Mission; formation materials help Develop Disciples to Serve; scriptures, hymns, and works of theology Invite People to Christ; and many other publications teach us how to Pursue Peace on Earth, Abolish Poverty, and End Suffering. These creative works have helped welcome seekers to Community of Christ, strengthen the faith of those already in the church, and share our identity with the world. Most of these creative works are copyrighted by the World Church or by an associated corporation, such as Herald Publishing House. These copyrights allow the World Church to prevent others from inappropriately copying, modifying, or distributing these works.

Growing financial and other constraints limit the World Church’s ability to continue producing, creating, translating, and localizing creative works that it has copyrighted. Among the members of Community of Christ throughout the world, there exists the time, talent, treasure, and testimony to update, adapt, and produce some of the creative works that we have traditionally counted on the World Church to provide for us. Imagine a group of bilingual church members translating excerpts of the three-volume English-language history Journey of a People to share our sacred story in French. Imagine a congregation that puts together a study edition of recent sections from the Doctrine and Covenants so that seekers can learn our scriptures and the context these scriptures came from. Imagine a youth minister who rewrites older lesson materials to adapt them for the new generation that they are teaching. The World Church may no longer have the resources to complete all of these tasks, but we, collectively, as members of that church still do. Indeed, the financial constraints on the church provide new opportunities for us to generously respond as disciples; however, the World Church’s copyright on these works may serve as a barrier to our doing so.

This resolution invites the appropriate team or presiding officers to consider applying a Creative Commons license to some or all of the material currently copyrighted by the World Church and associated corporations. Using Creative Commons licenses would allow Community of Christ to assert itself as originally responsible for these creative works while granting others (including members, congregations, and mission centers) explicit rights, within limitations, to copy, modify, and distribute those works, thereby continuing our commitment to our Mission Initiatives throughout the world. This may be more appropriate for some works than others, and this resolution does not recommend any specific decisions. Nonetheless, sharing works copyrighted by the World Church with the world would not only be an act of tremendous generosity but also give us flexibility to adapt to the future of our faith.