[sword-devel] Copyright Scripture distribution

[Birger Langkjer]

Den søn, 12 dec 1999 19:27:21 George Washington Dunlap III skrev:
> On Wed, 8 Dec 1999, David L. Earle, Sr. wrote:
> 
> > Purchasing a stock in a company allows you to attend stock holders meetings.
> > Perhaps that could be an option for getteng someone's attention.
> 
> Yeah -- a hostile takeover of Zondervan is what we need.  =)
> 
> I wonder -- has anyone ever tried to buy a copyright from some person /
> organization in order to put it into the PD early, or reduce the
> restrictions (kind of like GPL)?  How much do copyrights go for these
> days?

Katolik organisations have bought stock in big corps in order to stop human
rights violations, but copyright is after all not as bad as killing workers
who try to organize themselves in unions etc.

You _can_ get companies to release things as opensource and stuff, but you have
to convince them that it is ultimately in their own interest. With linux it is
easy now because it's the new craze that everyone wants to be in on, but how to
do it with books I don't know.

It's probably easier with a nonprofit org who do it for the cause and not for
money. The Linux example shows it can be done, but it takes time to get people
with a traditional business mindset to think the way we do, and first we have
to show an example that it _can_ be done and that you wont go bankrupt and that
people wont do bad things to your 'property'.


Med venlig hilsen/Best regards
Birger Langkjer
http://members.xoom.com/langkjer