[sword-devel] Permision for copyrited texts

Michael Paul Johnson sword-devel@crosswire.org
Wed, 01 Dec 1999 11:18:20 -0700


Make sure you pray before asking for permission. Ask God for favor and wisdom.

Before you start asking for permission, you should familiarize yourself 
with copyright law at least a little bit, so that you know what you are 
asking for. One good place to start is with the copyright FAQ.

One of the first things to look for is if the copyright is expired or not. 
If a copyright is expired, then the work is in the Public Domain, and there 
is no need to even ask anybody for permission. This is a little bit 
complicated, in that the term of a copyright has changed a few times, and 
copyright requirements have changed. In the case of an individual, the 
copyright expiration date is based on the death of the author. In the case 
of a copyright owned by a corporation, it is based on the publication date.

The next task is to learn who owns what copyright.

At 07:58 12/1/1999 -0800, webmedic wrote:
>It has been proposed that we send letters and ask permission for use of
>copy rited texts in sword. I would be willing to help with this but I only 
>speak
>English. So the foreign translations need to be handled by others.
>
>Also this morning I am contacting Yale university press and Chicago university
>press about the two translations in my earlier post. In case anyone else is
>contacted about this.
>
>I's there anything that should be included in the request? I'm not a lawyer so
>I don't know the legality of any of this. Just thought it cloudn't hurt to
>start asking.
>
>
>
>
>--
>He must increase but I must decrease-----------------------------------
>
>                                 Holiness unto the Lord
>                                 Name:           Brook Humphrey
>                                 E-Mail:         bah@webmedic.net
>                                 webmaster:      thelinuxstop.com
>                                 webmester:      webmedic.net
>                                 Owner:          Mobile PC Medic

_______

Michael Paul Johnson
http://ebible.org/mpj