[sword-devel] Copyright Scripture distribution
Michael Paul Johnson
sword-devel@crosswire.org
Mon, 06 Dec 1999 20:45:24 -0700
--=====================_49145652==_.ALT
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
At 11:16 AM 12/6/99 -1000, Brandon Staggs wrote:
> > Perhaps it is time to challenge the laws that protect a translation as
> > a significant creative work.
>
>As I understand the law, it does *not* support a translation as being a
>creative work at all.
Nice try. In fact, legal precedent clearly shows translations to be a
creative work in and of themselves, because there is considerable
creativity used in the translation process. (Some may argue that some
translators were too creative, but that is another issue.) There is another
nasty side of copyright law, too. A translation made of a copyrighted work
without permission is a copyright infringement. Therefore, if you want to
translate the NIV into any other language, you should technically ask
Zondervan/IBS for permission, first. This is kind of funny, because facts
are not copyrightable, and paraphrasing a factual report without permission
and copyrighting your own expression of the same facts is OK -- unless you
copied a substantial portion of the original expression as well.
> It may take time and labor, but such things are
>outside the realm of copyright (and in the case of Bible translations, these
>are always paid for by donations anyway). Perhaps it is time for someone
>with more legal abilities to challenge them? I doubt if that will happen, as
>no one really wants to go to the courts over these things.
Not only that, it isn't likely to be a winnable case.
Sorry...
_______
Michael Paul Johnson
mpj@eBible.org http://ebible.org/mpj
--=====================_49145652==_.ALT
Content-Type: text/html; charset="us-ascii"
<html>
At 11:16 AM 12/6/99 -1000, Brandon Staggs wrote:<br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite cite>> Perhaps it is time to challenge the laws
that protect a translation as<br>
> a significant creative work.<br>
<br>
As I understand the law, it does *not* support a translation as being
a<br>
creative work at all.</blockquote><br>
Nice try. In fact, legal precedent clearly shows translations to be a
creative work in and of themselves, because there is considerable
creativity used in the translation process. (Some may argue that some
translators were too creative, but that is another issue.) There is
another nasty side of copyright law, too. A translation made of a
copyrighted work without permission is a copyright infringement.
Therefore, if you want to translate the NIV into any other language, you
should technically ask Zondervan/IBS for permission, first. This is kind
of funny, because facts are not copyrightable, and paraphrasing a factual
report without permission and copyrighting your own expression of the
same facts is OK -- unless you copied a substantial portion of the
original expression as well.<br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite cite> It may take time and labor, but such
things are<br>
outside the realm of copyright (and in the case of Bible translations,
these<br>
are always paid for by donations anyway). Perhaps it is time for
someone<br>
with more legal abilities to challenge them? I doubt if that will happen,
as<br>
no one really wants to go to the courts over these
things.</blockquote><br>
Not only that, it isn't likely to be a winnable case.<br>
<br>
Sorry...<br>
<br>
<br>
<div>_______</div>
<br>
<div>Michael Paul
Johnson
</div>
<div>mpj@eBible.org
<a href="http://ebible.org/mpj" EUDORA=AUTOURL>http://ebible.org/mpj</a></div>
</html>
--=====================_49145652==_.ALT--