DATELINE: February 2, 2008, Hong Kong
Although Hong Kong has been unseasonably cold and foggy this past week, it has not been cold enough to remind us that Super Bowl Sunday is now upon us. But in perusing the Washington Post online after a tasty dinner of Peking Duck, we came upon Jacqueline L. Salmon’s article entitled, NFL Pulls Plug On Big-Screen Church Parties For Super Bowl (February 1, 2008). Seems that after partaking of good old fashion religion on Sunday morning, some...
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churches in recent years have provided their congregants the opportunity to enjoy the NFL’s secular version of religion in the late afternoon and evening by hosting Super Bowl parties. Of course, some churches chose to substitute religious DVDs for the halftime gala, meaning that viewers have missed the evil Prince and the Rolling Stones, as well as the angelic Paul McCartney. Those viewers also missed Justin’s and Janet’s wardrobe malfunction, at least the live version.
According to Salmon’s reporting, the NFL has decided to put an end to what is nothing more than copyright infringement. Yup, the NFL’s version of the Miranda warning that we have become so accustomed to really does carry some bite.
This telecast is copyrighted by the NFL for the private use of our audience. Any other use of this telecast or any pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the game without the NFL's consent is prohibited
When read in conjunction with the copyright laws, that means that churches cannot host these parties if the TV's screen-size is more than 55 inches. This is true whether the church charges a fee or not. What irks those churches that have cancelled the events this year is the right of sports bars to show the game on larger-screen TVs, a right that is written into U.S. copyright law. Apparently they just don't understand how sellers of demon alchohol can be exempt, but not preachers of the gospel. What would Mike Huckabee have to say about this?
No doubt we can expect to see legislation introduced to expand the rebroadcast rights to churches, but until that happens, churches must accept the fact that they may be exempt from taxes, but they don’t have blanket exemption from the copyright or other laws governing intellectual property. Doing good doesn’t give nonprofits the right to simply exploit other people’s private property and avoid licensing fees.
There are those who believe this is rather hard-hearted on the part of the NFL. After all, it is easy enough to see the free broadcast at home, so what is the big deal? Being in Asia for the last eleven days has provided us with an answer to that question. We suspect many U.S. copyright holders find that the availability of Windows Vista, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, and the just released movie, the Bucket List, for $5 each in a Cambodian shop located in a brand new mall to be a big deal. You would be amazed at how good the packaging is.
One civil liberties group has said that it may bring a suit against the NFL on behalf of one church over the prohibition. We simply don't know on what basis this suit will proceed. Religious organizations are protected from government interference under the U.S. constitution, but freedom of religion doesn't give religious organizations the right to violate the property rights of others.
The Lesson: Before incorporating movies, music, plays, and other intellectual property into their activities, nonprofits need to check the intellectual property laws.
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