Most of the texts used in liturgy are copyright; it is against the law to copy them without permission. They are either texts of the Church and so copyright protects their liturgical and literary integrity or they are the work of individual authors and composers.
ICEL is the copyright holder for most liturgical texts, no fee is charged and no permission need be obtained for non-commercial, one-off reproduction. The texts should be acknowledged and reproduced in the form they presented in the liturgical books.
If scripture is, for some special reason, to be included permission generally needs to be obtained beforehand.
For hymns and liturgical music it is important to remember that there are three areas of possible copyright: music, text and graphics (the design of the printed page). If all three are being reproduced there may need to be three distinct copyright permissions. The acknowledgement section of hymnbooks are a useful source of information, though it is important to remember that the inclusion of a hymn in a hymnbook does not mean that the copyright of the hymn is owned by the publisher of the hymnbook.
There are also a couple of music copyright licence schemes which allow for an annual fee the reproduction of words (and melody line of music) of publishers who are members of the scheme. (See CCLI and Calamus below).
Whatever material is used, text or music, in a people’s booklet it should be acknowledged.
This information has been taken from the Guidelines for the Production of one-off Service sheets (pdf). It is concerned with single service sheets for one-off occasions. For other situations — a permanent or semi-permanent edition or commercial publication — the advice of the copyright holders should be sought.
When texts from different rites are used in one booklet the acknowledgements are placed in chronological order.
Any other enquiries about the copyright text of the Divine Office should be addressed to AP Watt at United Agents
Darton Longman and Todd allow up to 500 words without application with the following acknowledgement:
Upto 5 Grail Psalms maybe used in one booklet without permission. For other enquiries contact HarperCollins. The acknowledgement required is:
One License covers Decani Music, Oregon Catholic Press, GIA Publications Inc, World Library Publications, McCrimmons, Taizé, Kevin Mayhew Publications, Oxford University Press, Make Way Music, Jubilate Hymns and others.
covers Kevin Mayhew Publications, Oxford University Press, Thank You Music, Make Way Music, Jubilate Hymns and others.