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This article is from the World English Bible Translation FAQ, by Michael Paul Johnson mpj@ebible.org with numerous contributions by others.

02 Why is the copyright such a big deal? (World English Bible Translation)

The copyright laws of most nations and the international treaties

that support them are a mixed blessing. By granting authors and

translators a legal monopoly (for a limited, but very long, time) on the

right of copying and "first sale" of their works, the law makers have

made writing and translating very profitable for some people whose works

are in great demand. This has, no doubt, been a factor in the creation

of many of the good Modern English translations of the Holy Bible that

we now enjoy. The problem with this system, with respect to the Holy

Bible, is that it has had the effect of limiting distribution of God's

Word in modern languages. For example, I cannot legally post copies of

the entire New International Version of the Holy Bible on my web site in

a downloadable, searchable, and readily copiable format without the

permission of the International Bible Society and Zondervan (copyright

owner and publisher). Zondervan won't grant such permission unless they

get a significant royalty (they quoted me $10,000 + $10/copy

distributed) and unless I convince them that my Bible search software is

"good enough" for them. Needless to say, the Bible search software that

I am writing with the intention of distributing as donorware will not

come with the NIV.



The problem of copyright protection of Modern English translations of

the Holy Bible is not just significant on the Internet and various

electronic information services. It also affects people who want to

quote significant portions of Scripture in books, audio tapes, and other

media. This drives up the price of preaching the Gospel. Basic economics

tells us that this is not a good thing when our goal is to fulfill the

Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). For example, the "free" Bibles that

the Gideons place cost more if they use a modern version, like

Thomas-Nelson's New King James Version, than if they use the (more

difficult to read) King James Version.



Naturally, I'm not suggesting that we abolish the copyright law or

that existing Modern English translations be immediately released to the

Public Domain. I understand the way that the profits from the sales of

the NIV, for example, help fund other language translations at the

International Bible Society (as well as helping to enrich some folks at

Zondervan). I also understand that the business of Bible sales has

helped establish a good supply of Bibles in many parts of the world, in

a variety of formats, sizes, styles, and colors. What we are doing is

liberating at least one Modern English translation of the Holy Bible

from all copyright restrictions -- a translation that is trustworthy,

accurate, and useful for evangelism and discipleship.



Another concern where copyright restrictions come into play is in

translation and creating derivative works. For example, the copyright

notice of the NASB expressly forbids making translations or derivative

works based on the NASB without getting permission from the Lockman

Foundation. I don't know if they would make this easy or hard, expensive

or cheap, but I do know that there will be no need to even ask when

using the WEB.







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