D045 (Task Force for Reviewing Intellectual Property of the Church)

House of Bishops Message #76

The House of Bishops informs the House of Deputies that on Jun 24, 2024 it considered resolution D045 (Task Force for Reviewing Intellectual Property of the Church). The house acted to:

Adopt


Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring,

That the 81st General Convention authorize the establishment of a Task Force for Reviewing Intellectual Property of the Church, composed of 10 people as follows: 2 Bishops, 2 Priests, 2 Deacons, and 4 Lay Persons, to complete a comprehensive review of the canons of the church as they pertain to matters of Intellectual Property and recommend any changes that are needed to modernize the canons based on changes in practice and law since the last changes in the Intellectual Property canons; and be it further

Resolved, That the Custodian of the Standard Book of Common Prayer, the Chief Legal Officer of The Episcopal Church, the Chancellor to the Presiding Bishop, and the Chancellor to the President of the House of Deputies should serve ex officio; and be it further

Resolved, That the Task Force will look specifically at canon II.3.6.b as to the meaning of “copyright shall be relinquished”; and be it further

Resolved, That the Task Force offer best practices for the church for streaming and digital evangelism based on updated copyright and trademark laws; and be it further

Resolved, That the Task Force offer a first draft of a comprehensive Branding and Marking guidance document for Interim Bodies of General Convention to use when creating deliverables on behalf of the General Convention; and be it further

Resolved, That the Task Force submit a report to the 82nd General Convention summarizing their recommendations, identifying best practices, submitting any relevant resolutions to the 82nd General Convention, and offering any amendments to the constitution and canons as determined by the task force’s work; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council Joint Standing committee on budget allocate $30,000 for this work.