[sword-devel] Copyrights and cash

[David Burry]

I'm all for someone forming a separate for-profit company (or joining with an existing one) that sells copyrighted royalty-laden sword modules... of course the base of sword would still be for free and so would all the freely distributable modules, only the copyrighted modules that must have royalties paid for them would be encumbered in such a way.... just a matter of who wants to do it.

Dave


At 07:59 PM 6/18/2002 +0100, Barry Drake wrote:
>Hi there ....
>
>I've been thinking a lot about the big copyrights issue.  The Sword Project 
>has some exceptional software to offer now.  The performance outshines any 
>of the commercial programs and the potential is growing rapidly.  The Sword 
>library itself is awesome and completely platform independent.  But at the 
>end of the day, it is only as useful as the modules that we are able to 
>offer.  In English speaking countries, the majority of Christians seem to 
>want the NIV.  Second to that is possibly the NRSV maybe followed by the 
>NJB.  I could be wrong, but I guess there will be few other real 
>contenders.
>
>We may eventually get some success with the copright holder of the NRSV - 
>but Zondervan will never, I'm sure allow free issue of the NIV.  Is it 
>totally against the policy of the Sword Project (that's us, I think) to 
>refuse to allow anyone to charge a copyright fee for a locked module which 
>we would provide?
>
>I know we have no mechanism or desire to handle copyright funds.  Could we 
>not consider arranging with a copyright holder together with a commercial 
>retail organisation such as Amazon to handle the commercial side of 
>transactions involving downloadable modules only?  Or maybe Zondervan 
>themselves could set up a mechanism to arrange the supply of the Sword 
>module?
>
>This would not mean that we would (ever) charge for the software.  Simply 
>make it available as we do now, but with a method of buying copyrighted 
>modules.
>
>I seriously believe we ought to do something in that direction and would 
>like to propose that listmembers offer their thoughts. 
>
>God bless,
>
>Barry
>
>>From Barry Drake (The Revd - minister of the Arnold and the Netherfield 
>United 
>Reformed Churches, Nottingham - see http://www.arnold-urc.supanet.com for 
>our 
>church homepages).
>
>Replies - b.drake@ntlworld.com
>Fax: 0705 069 8746
>
>
>