Which of these songs is still in copyright?

All three of these songs below are congregational favourites, but do you know which are in copyright and which is public domain?

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

Shout To The Lord

Rock of Ages

Many people are not aware that two of these songs are still in copyright, and therefore reproducing the lyrics without a licence is an infringement of copyright law.

Many churches maintain a database of lyrics on a computer to print lyrics in the weekly bulletin, or to project lyrics onto a large screen or wall. This is for the sole purpose of encouraging their congregation to enhance their worship experience, and ultimately grow in their relationships with God.

To comply with Australian copyright law a representative of the church needs to contact every author and composer to gain individual permission, each time they wish to reproduce the lyrics. Reproduction without permission is, of course, an infringement of Australian copyright law. No church leader consciously wants to thwart the hard work they've put in to build a congregation, and taking care of the little things before they become big things is always a sound management strategy.

Christian Copyright Licensing International (CCLI) takes the hard work out of copyright for you. CCLI represents over 5,000 music catalogues, drawing repertoire from songwriters worldwide. Our catalogues span all genres of music from traditional to contemporary, sacred to inspirational. You are probably singing songs that we administer, without even realising it!

Our Church Copyright Licence grants permission in advance for you to reproduce the lyrics to your congregation's favourite songs, and you only pay one, low annual fee. There is no need to contact individual authors or publishers, and you have peace of mind that one of those niggling but potentially serious problems is sorted.

We invite you to discover the freedom that over 7,000 churches in Australia and over 1,500 churches in New Zealand already experience: freedom to reproduce lyrics from a repertoire of over 150,000 songs. Imagine how that could enhance worship for your church's services!

See what your church would pay for a Church Copyright Licence here. If you have any questions at all you are welcome to ring our office, where one of our friendly customer service assistants will answer any questions you have regarding copyright and song reproduction or use the contact form here on the site.

Once you have your Church Copyright Licence, you can reproduce Great Is Thy Faithfulness or Shout To The Lord with confidence that you are in complete compliance with Australian and New Zealand copyright law.