Difference between revisions of "Copyright"

Revision as of 16:40, 7 June 2008

Welcome

The CrossWire has developed a variety of tools that make it easy for people to develop Bible programs. Currently people are developing Bible software that is used on Windows, Linux, Mac, PDA's, phones and even the ability to look up Bible verses right from your Internet browser.

No matter how useful the tools are, or become, their true value lies in the texts on which they operate -- the SWORD modules. These are simple files that contain the text of a variety of well known Bible translations and references. They can either be downloaded from http://www.crosswire.org/sword/modules or are available on the SWORD CD.

The problem, however, is that most of the modern Bible translation modules can not be used because they are copyrighted and we cannot distribute them with out permission.

We need your help! To secure the permission of these copyright holders we need the help of every person using The SWORD Project's Bible programs and tools. You will find everything you need to be able to help right here!

Our Strategy

The CrossWire Bible Society would like to work with publishers and Bible societies to secure the right to distribute Bible translations for those that use SWORD software. For most Bible societies and publishers, their purpose is to distribute God's word for the benefit of others. That purpose is the same purpose we have In light of this, the CrossWire Bible Society would like to offer our modules and tools for publishers and Bible societies to use. We will send an official letter to each Bible society and publisher offering to serve them with the tools we have. We hope that this will open up a dialog to be able to distribute their works for users of SWORD and others to use.

You may be asking where you fit into all of this? Well, you are the reason The SWORD Project, Bible societies and publishers were started. So if you sent a letter to a Bible society or publisher asking to be able to use their work with The SWORD Project's software, you would provide the basis for when we open a dialog with them. They will understand that many people support The SWORD Project's efforts, as well as their own (remember most publishers and Bible societies want to get God's word to people, that's you.) Thanks for your help!

How You Can Help!

• Send A Support Letter
  You can help by sending a letter to one or more of the copyright holders of locked modules, asking that they would grant CrossWire the right to distribute their work. Explaining how useful the SWORD Project is, etc.

For more on writing a letter and example letters see below: Contacting Copyright Holders.

• Research Copyright Information
  You can also help by doing research into what companies or organizations hold the copyrights on some of the locked modules and gathering/verifying other copyright information for all modules. (You can browse a list of modules.) Note: where CrossWire has been given permission to distribute, Troy maintains the original correspondence granting permission.

Find out what needs to be done to contact those copyright holders, their address, contact information and any other special instructions. E-mail those to copyright@crosswire.org), so we can put them up on this web site. We especially need help in respect to many of the foreign language modules. So we would appreciate the help of those that can speak many different languages.

• Pray For Our Efforts
  One of the biggest ways you can help is by praying for CrossWire and our efforts in trying to get these companies, etc. to licenses their works for distribute. We want to be able to come to appropriate agreements with Bible societies and publishers to distribute their works.

Contacting Copyright Holders

Below are some guidelines to follow in corresponding and some example form letters you can use.

Guidelines to Follow in Corresponding with the Copyright Holders

• Be friendly (remember you are a Christian, act like one)
• Explain you use BibleTime, GnomeSword, or the Windows SWORD Program. These programs use SWORD modules. Tell them you wish to be able to use their work with that program. Emphasis that each of these projects are free software (Open Source), non-commercial and receive NO payment whatsoever.
• Explain you would like to see them support The SWORD Project by either granting The CrossWire Bible Society the right to freely distribute their work or setup up a way to pay a small fee to be able to use their work. Make sure you indicate you would be willing to pay the small fee to be able to use their work.
• Indicate you would be willing to answer any questions they have. If they contact you and you are unable to answer one of their questions, forward it to Troy Griffitts at copyright@crosswire.org and Troy will find an answer for you.
• If you have sent a letter to a company or organization, e-mail Troy and let him know what you are doing, especially if you receive a reply from a company that he need to be aware of! He wants to hear what people are doing to help and know that people are sending out letters.

Form Letters

Here are some form letters you can print and use. If you come up with a really good letter that you sent to a company, would you mind sharing with everyone else?! We can turn your letter into a form letter that others can use.

Basic Form Letter:

• For users of BibleTime, here
• For users of GnomeSword, here
• For users of The SWORD Windows Program, here

The form letters are saved in a plain text file. To use these form letters, download the text file by right clicking the link above and choosing "save target as" or "save link as" depending on browser. Then you must edit them by replacing everything in square brackets "[ ]", with the right information.

Information on Copyrights

CrossWire respects Copyright and other Intellectual Property Rights.

As such, it discourages the creation, or conversion of resources into a format that is used by The Sword Project unless permission to do so has been obtained.

US Copyright Law

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 stands as current US Copyright Law.

Under US Copyright law, there is no differentiation between commercial, and non-commercial purposes. Unauthorized creation is a violation of the copyright act. Unauthorized distribution is a violation of the copyright act.

There is no "safe harbor" defense for creating unauthorized derivative works. There is no "safe harbor" defense for unauthorized distribution of copyright material.

Public Domain

Generally speaking, in the United States, “Public Domain” can be assumed if all of the following conditions are met:

• The material was originally published in English;
• The material was distributed in the United States prior to 1923;

If those conditions are not met, then the only safe assumption one can make, is that the material is under copyright protection. Obtain permission for creating a resource prior to doing so.

For a more complete description of when a text is Public Domain see: http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/public_domain

Fair Use Doctrine

In recent years, courts have greatly restricted what constitutes "Fair Use". US Statute Law does not specifically define "Fair Use".

When an organization claims "Fair Use", the courts apply a four prong test.

• Type of organization that used the material;
• How easy the material is to obtain;
  • How old the material is;
• What the material is used for;
• Commercial activity related to distribution;

Moral Rights

The concept of “Moral Rights” is enshrined in French law. It is only found indirectly in US Law The Visual Artists Rights Act. 17 USC 106A.

The idea behind “Moral Rights” is that the original creator of a work has the right to declare certain derivatives, or uses to be “off-limits”.

French Law specifies the following:

• The Right of Integrity French Law 57-298 of 11 March 1957 Article 6;
  • Mutilation or Destruction that would prejudice the author's honor or integrity is not permitted;
• The Right of Attribution French Law 57-298 of 11 March 1957 Article 6;
  • The true author has the right to have his/her name attached to the work;
  • Non-authors may not have their name attached to the work;
  • Mutilation or Destruction on that would prejudice the author's honor or integrity is not permitted;
• The Right of Disclosure French Law 57-298 of 11 March 1957 Article 19; Article 56.;
  • The author has the final decision on where, and when to publish;
• The Right to Withdraw or Retract a work French Law 57-298 of 11 March 1957 Article 32;
  • The author has the right to prevent further dissemination of their material;
• The Right to reply to a critic;
  • The right to have the reply published in the same place as the critic's expression;

Doujinshi

This concept is found in Japan. It is not enshrined in Japanese Case Law. Nor is it enshrined in Japanese Statutory Law. It exists, purely because the companies that create the characters, upon which Doujinshi are based, have turned a blind eye to the copyright violations. It exists simply because it has been more profitable for those firms to ignore the copyright violations, than to enforce them.