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How does Hymnary.org determine whether to show or hide copyrighted material?
It's not just a simple matter of whether it's under copyright.
So far, I've encountered five different treatments for copyrighted hymn lyrics. Here's an example of each:
(a) https://hymnary.org/text/from_the_dawning_of_creation_god_was – “text cannot be shown for this hymn due to copyright.” The copyright is listed in the Text Information section.
(b) https://hymnary.org/text/sing_praise_to_our_creator_o_you – lyrics are not shown; the Text Information section says they “may” be under copyright.
(c) https://hymnary.org/text/o_threefold_god_of_tender_unity – “text cannot be shown for this hymn due to copyright. To see the text, purchase a flexscore.”
(d) https://hymnary.org/hymn/WLP1997/750 – lyrics are under copyright and hidden, but by clicking a button to accept a license agreement, the user “may download one copy of this selection for your own personal use.”
(e) https://hymnary.org/text/loving_spirit_loving_spirit – all the lyrics are displayed, even though the Text Information section explicitly states that it's under copyright.
I scoured Hymnary.org for something like a detailed copyright policy, but was unable to find anything that explained the different circumstances under which copyrighted material is made available.
Can anyone shed light on this mystery?
Thank you,
– Ed
My Starred Hymns
My FlexScores
My Hymnals
My Purchased Files
Comments
Some copyrighted material available
Some publishers and copyright holders have given us permission to display their copyrighted material. Hope Publishing allows us to display their copyrighted material with a license agreement. Both Hope Publishing and GIA Publications have been willing to license their material so we can sell FlexScores of their copyrighted texts and music. As for the “may be under copyright statements" for “Sing praise to our Creator, O you of Adam's race." those are based on the hymnal publication date and are generated automatically if there is not either an explicit “Public Domain” or copyright statement on the text summary page.