Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Pennsylvania

Re: Prayer

Gee, that's an interesting question.

In general, yes, the text of a prayer is subject to copyright, just like any other written expression would be. So if you were to create a new prayer today, it would automatically be protected by copyright.

What about traditionaly prayers? It's likely that they are are now in the public domain. In general, under U.S. copyright law, any work of authorship created before 1923 has passed into the public domain. And many other works created since then are also in the public domain. For a chart that shows when various kinds of works are in the public domain, look on the Web for Peter Hirtle's chart.

Re: Prayer

Great question, for sure. Though if I were representing the alleged infringer I'd argue that prayer, unlike a writer's muse, is by definition, divinely inspired. In which case, only the divinity could bring the cause of action. But I wouldn't wear any metal if there was a thunderstorm on the way to court.