Can I use others' melody in private?

[Haliepark]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

We are a small group of Christian. We wrote some lyrics for praising. We use the melody of some pop music and change the lyrics into ours. We just share these songs among my brothers and sisters and save these songs in our computers. We never make it public to people outside our church. Is it a copyright infringement to do so? If so, what will happen if I was found by the copyright owner?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY

We are a small group of Christian. We wrote some lyrics for praising. We use the melody of some pop music and change the lyrics into ours. We just share these songs among my brothers and sisters and save these songs in our computers. We never make it public to people outside our church. Is it a copyright infringement to do so? If so, what will happen if I was found by the copyright owner?

If you were discovered by the copyright holder, you would probably have to pay a licensing fee.

What you and your small group is doing by creating songs using melodies that belong to others is copyright infringement. Performing copyrighted material is an exclusive right of the copyright holder and requires permission (usually granted in the form of a license).

I do not see that your singing the songs to be as much of a problem as saving these songs that you are singing on your computers.

Out of curiosity, did you ever resolve your issue with the photographs of the golf course?