Frequently Asked Questions About Distributing Content and Sharing the Username and Password

Part 1: Frequently asked questions by local church leaders
Part 2: Frequently asked questions by denominational leaders and parachurch ministries
Part 3: Frequently asked questions by individuals, partnerships, and corporations who provide professional services

Part 1: Frequently asked questions by local church leaders

1. Can we make copies of articles that we find in the online Legal and Tax Library for other people, such as other church members, a colleague, or a friend?

No, that is a violation of copyright law. You can make one copy for your own personal use. If you want to make more than one copy you must obtain advance permission from the copyright owner.

2. How about other materials on the ChurchLawToday.com site such as the online seminars or risk management lessons or checklists? Can we make copies of those?

You can make one copy for your own personal use, but not to give to anyone else unless you have written permission from the copyright owner.

3. Are there any materials on the ChurchLawToday.com site that we can make copies of without violating copyright law or getting advance permission?

Yes, but restrictions apply. Active subscribers can make copies of the email newsletter content from both the Church Law & Tax Update and the Church Treasurer Update for internal church use.

4. What does "internal church use" mean?

It means that you can make copies for any member of your local congregation. You cannot make copies for any other individual, group, or ministry.

5. Our Yearly Membership authorizes the sharing of our Username and Password with any member of our church. Doesn't that permit us to make copies of materials that are available on ChurchLawToday.com if we only use them for our members?

No, there is a bit of a distinction.  Your Yearly Membership provides access to all the members of your church so they can individually go online and make their own personal copy, but it does not provide you the right to make copies. You must obtain advance permission from the copyright owner to make copies.

6. Can we email articles that we find on the site to someone else, such as our church members, or to a friend?

No, that is a violation of the terms of agreement and copyright law. You must obtain advance permission from the copyright owner.

7. Can we print articles from ChurchLawToday.com in our bulletin or newsletter?

No, that is a violation of copyright law. You must obtain advance permission from the copyright owner.

8. We are a local church and have purchased a Yearly Membership. With whom can we share the Password?

Your Yearly Membership provides access for everyone in the church including clergy, board members, the church treasurer, paid staff, volunteer workers, and any other member of a single, local congregation or parish. If you meet together, work together, and worship together at the same site, then you can use the same membership plan. Otherwise, each group needs to purchase it's own Yearly Membership. The following examples illustrate this principle.

Example 1. A local church purchases a Yearly Membership. The pastor, board members, church treasurer, staff members, volunteer workers, and other members within the church all use the same Username and Password to obtain resources and training. This is an appropriate use of the privileges.

Example 2. Same facts as Example 1, but the church starts a mission church with twenty-five families from the congregation, and supports a new pastor for the new mission church. They allow the pastor of the new church to use their ID and Password to gain access to the website. This is a violation of the membership privileges. The new congregation must obtain its own membership account.

Part 2: Frequently asked questions by Denominational Offices and Parachurch Ministries

1. Can we make copies of articles that we find in the online Legal and Tax Library for other people such as our staff, ministers in congregations, missionaries, or colleagues?

No, that is a violation of copyright law. You can make one copy for your own personal use. If you want to make more than one copy you must obtain advance permission from the copyright owner.

2. How about other materials on the ChurchLawToday.com site such as the online seminars or risk management lessons or checklists? Can we make copies of those?

You can make one copy for your own personal use, but not to give to anyone else unless you have written permission from the copyright owner.

3. Are there any materials on the ChurchLawToday.com site that we can make copies of without violating copyright law or getting advance permission?

Yes, but restrictions apply. Active subscribers can make copies of the email newsletter content from both the Church Law & Tax Update and the Church Treasurer Update for internal office use.

4. What does "internal office use" mean?

It means that you can make copies for staff members who all work at the same location in the same building. You cannot make copies for any other individual, group, congregation, or ministry.

5. Our Yearly Membership authorizes the sharing of our Username and Password with any member of our paid staff. Doesn't that permit us to make copies of materials that are available on ChurchLawToday.com if we only use them for our paid staff members?

No, there is a bit of a distinction.  Your Yearly Membership provides access to all paid staff members in your office so they can individually go online and make their own personal copy, but it does not provide you the right to make copies. You must obtain advance permission from the copyright owner to make copies.

6. Can we email articles that we find on the site to someone else, such as our staff members, pastors, field workers, missionaries, or to a friend?

No, that is a violation of the terms of agreement and copyright law. You must obtain advance permission from the copyright owner.

7. Can we print articles from ChurchLawToday.com in our newsletter or other publications?

No, that is a violation of copyright law. You must obtain advance permission from the copyright owner.

8. We are a denominational agency or parachurch ministry and have purchased a Yearly Membership. With whom can we share the password?

Membership privileges for denominational agencies and parachurch ministries are limited strictly to paid employees who work together in a single building. The following examples clarify the appropriate use of the membership privileges.

Example 1. A Diocese and a denominational agency each purchase a Yearly Membership. They cannot share the Password and ID with any missionary, congregation or parish within their jurisdiction. Nor can they reprint articles or any other information from the site and distribute it in any means whatsoever to the churches with which they work. Rather, each individual congregation or parish must purchase its own individual membership.

Example 2. A parachurch organization has its headquarters in Colorado Springs. The organization also has staff members serving in other cities throughout the United States. The organization purchases a Yearly Membership. Only paid employees who work at the Colorado Springs headquarters can access the site. Staff members who work in other cities, or even in other locations in Colorado Springs, must obtain their own membership account.

Part 3: Frequently asked questions by individuals, partnerships, and corporations who provide professional services

1. Can we make copies of articles that we find in the online Legal and Tax Library for other people such as clients, staff members, friends, or colleagues?

No, that is a violation of copyright law. You can make one copy for your own personal use. If you want to make more than one copy you must obtain advance permission from the copyright owner.

2. How about other materials on the ChurchLawToday.com site such as the online seminars or risk management lessons or checklists? Can we make copies of those?

You can make one copy for your own personal use, but not to give to anyone else unless you have written permission from the copyright owner.

3. Are there any materials on the ChurchLawToday.com site that we can make copies of without violating copyright law or getting advance permission?

Yes, but restrictions apply. Active subscribers can make copies of the email newsletter content from both the Church Law & Tax Update and the Church Treasurer Update for internal office use.

4. What does "internal office use" mean?

It means that you can make copies for staff members who all work at the same location in the same building. You cannot make copies for any other individual, client, group, congregation, or ministry.

5. We have a Yearly Membership which authorizes the sharing of our Username and Password with any member of our paid staff. Doesn't that permit us to make copies of materials that are available on ChurchLawToday.com if we only use them for our paid staff members?

No, there is a bit of a distinction.  Your Yearly Membership provides access to all paid staff members in your office so they can individually go online and make their own personal copy, but it does not provide you the right to make copies. You must obtain advance permission from the copyright owner to make copies.

6. Can we email articles that we find on the site to someone else, such as our staff members, clients, colleagues, or to a friend?

No, that is a violation of the terms of agreement and copyright law. You must obtain advance permission from the copyright owner.

7. Can we print articles from ChurchLawToday.com in our newsletter or other publications

No, that is a violation of copyright law. You must obtain advance permission from the copyright owner.

8. We are a professional office and have purchased a Yearly Membership. With whom can we share the password?

Membership privileges for law offices, CPA firms, professional organizations, and businesses are limited strictly to paid employees who work together in a single building. The following examples clarify the appropriate use of the membership privileges.

Example 1. A law office purchases a Yearly Membership. An attorney in the office has a church client. The attorney cannot share access to the website with the client. The client must obtain its own membership account. All attorneys and paid employees in the firm who work in the same building may access the site.