[sword-devel] local cache of module text

[Chris Little]

On 01/07/2013 11:51 PM, Peter von Kaehne wrote:
>
>> Von: Daniel Hughes <trampster at gmail.com> Am I allowed to pull the
>> text out of the sword module once it is installed (using the sword
>> libs) and put it in my local sqlite database.
>
> Not a lawyer, so my advice might be of limited value. Many of our
> modules are public domain and essentially you can do as you like.
> Many are not and some are quite restrictively licensed. Most of the
> restrictions are around (re)distribution, so that does not apply
> here. Which leaves me with "I do not know" and "you probably need to
> ask a lawyer" and "his advice might vary from module to module and
> license to license". Or not and everything is easy as it is just on
> the user's computer.

Third party extraction and reformatting are naturally not things for 
which we negotiate rights. There are a handful of modules for which you 
would end up stripping encryption, meaning you're entering a whole 
DMCA-violation arena. And other modules are going to be a problem 
because you're format-shifting and our license only permits use in Sword 
format; we can't even convert such modules to GoBible format and 
distribute them though we have licenses to distribute in Sword format.

The closest bit of case law I can think of is DVD CCA v. Kaleidescape. 
Kaleidescape built DVD-ripping jukeboxes to store DVD movies for 
playback on a multi-room system. They did everything possible to respect 
copyrights. You had to possess the DVD to rip it, but fundamentally 
their hardware was copying & storing DVDs on harddrives. Eight years 
after the DVD CCA filed its case, they're still in court trying to 
decide if Kaleidescape has a license that covers the machines it builds.

--Chris