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