Are Bible translations copyrighted?

This includes scriptures such as the Torah, the Bible, the Quran, and the Bhagavad Gita. However, most translations of these works are far newer, and translations are often under copyright of the translator. Works created by such beings are not eligible for copyright and churches can’t claim copyrights on their behalf.

Are any versions of the Bible copyrighted?

Currently voted the best answer. The Bible itself is not Copyrighted, but many translations are, such as the Phillips, NIV, Moffatt, NKJV, RSV, NRSV, Amplified, and NASB. Wiki HQ has advised that according to US law, a work is automatically in the Public Domain if it is pre-1923.

What Bible is copyright free?

The World English Bible is one of the few public domain, twenty-first century English translations of the entire Bible, and it is freely distributed to the public using electronic formats.

Is there a copyright on the King James Bible?

The crown has a perpetual copyright on the King James Bible, through “letters patent” originally issued to stop unofficial editions and then to protect the country from ranters, shakers, Quakers, nonconformity and popery. …

Is the KJV Bible copyright?

Who owns the copyright of the NIV Bible?

The NIV copyright is owned by an organization named Biblica. Instead of publishing the NIV themselves, they chose to sell the license to the copyright for more money than God (pun intended). And guess who bought the NIV license for North America? Rupert Murdoch & News Corp.

Do I need permission to quote the King James Bible?

For the King James Version, non-commercial or educational uses are permitted with some restrictions—for example, how many verses you can use. Other than that, if you wanted to quote that translation of the Bible in your novel and sell it, you need permission.

Who gets royalties from the Bible?

Whenever a modern translation is released the person who wrote the translation or the company that commissioned it would earn the royalties, older translations whose translators have been dead for more than 70 years are in the public domain.

Is the Bible copyrighted or not?

The Bible itself is NOT copyrighted. The original text (written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) has been around for thousands of years and so isn’t even eligible for copyright protection in any country.

Is the King James Version (KJV) copyrighted?

The King James Version (KJV) is an example of a translation done so long ago that there is no copyright (1611); that’s also why there is a proliferation of editions and formats of that translation]

Can I use the Bible in a book without permission?

All modern Bible translations have reasonable “fair use” clauses in their copyright statements, meaning that a limited use of the text is allowed without receiving special permission from the publisher. Below are links to the copyright statements for some of the more popular Bible translations: http://www.harpercollinschristian.com/permissions/.

Is it legal to reprint a Bible translation?

Many modern Bible translations are copyrighted, and thus place restrictions on the extent to which you can quote or reprint passages from them. Publishers retain rights to their translations because producing a Bible translation is an enormously extensive (and expensive) project.