Who owns the rights to silent night

Yes, with enough time all of these works will become public domain, but many are not yet. So, as you celebrate the holidays, enjoy your time with your family and your friends. Likewise, support the creators that are helping to make your holiday special with content that you enjoy. Interested in learning more about copyright law and how it affects your church? Enter your information here to download the 5 Myths about the Religious Service Exemption. It adds clarity to some of the top areas of misinformation regarding copyrights.

Jonathan Bailey is a copyright and plagiarism consultant and has been helping small to medium sized creators protect their work for over 10 years. Follow us on Twitter , Facebook , and YouTube. The information contained herein is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice or a substitute for legal counsel.

Myth 1: Most Christmas Songs are Public Domain When it comes to Christmas music, most of the songs seem like timeless classics destined for the public domain.

It ensures that there will be much more Christmas joy for years to come. Every artistic work falls under one of two categories: public domain or copyrighted.

This means that we may use the words and melody from any of these works without permission. However, while a centuries-old carol may be in the public domain, a modern recording of the same carol may be copyrighted. Accordingly, the freedom to use the melody and lyrics does not mean that one can reproduce any version of these songs freely since the performer or publisher may hold a copyright to the recording.

The commonly held misconception that all Christmas songs, carols, and hymns are available for use without permission could prove costly for churches. Just for fun, take a look at the list below and see if you know which songs are in the public domain and which require licensing:.

How do you think you did? The song was first performed by Eddie Cantor on his radio show, instantly making the song a huge success. First sung by Judy Garland, the song became a hit.

Louis home. Frank Sinatra further popularized the song in the s, with some lyrical tweaks, further catapulting it in the limelight. The lyrics were written by Glen MacDonough. Though many versions of the song are actually re-writes of the original, the one they date back to has long since lapsed into the public domain.