Big Problem for KJVo

I think the copyright issue is not as important as you might guess. Copyright laws do not require significant changes. I can even obtain a copyright for a certain printing of a "KJV" with my own introduction and short blurbs at the top of each chapter. I do not imagine that scholars serious about translating the documents are considering copyright laws. If you take ten people and ask them to translate a chapter in the Bible, you are going to have ten different translations, period. It is just the nature of the beast.

 

Let me give you a little history on the KJV. The KJV became known as the "Authorized Version" because King James did indeed copyright the 1611 edition with a decree from the King only allowing certain printers to have the authority to print it. During this time, Americans were rebelling against England and many Americans were printing copies against the law of England.

This was not a "copyright" per se' as we in America understand copyrights. Copyright law was a relatively new concept when it came into being with the creation of the United State Patent and Trademark Office.

By King's decree the King James version Yes, The Word of God) did indeed have what today would be referred to as a copyright and the King ONLY allowed certain printers the right to print and receive profits from those printings. Thus, the name "authorized version" came into being. Printers "Authorized" by the King placed the mark "Authorized Version" so that readers would indeed realize that they had been given permission to "print and sell" their Bibles.

Copyright law in America only allows for a certain amount of time. It was changed when the Copyright laws were changed during the Clinton Administration and although I used to be very familiar with the laws, the terms have indeed changed and will extend past the life of the author (or owner of the copyright) for a period not to exceed 100 years (I believe).

This puts the KJV in the public domain by law. Actually, many Bible companies have made a lot of money on The Word of God over the past hundred years or so because up until about one year ago, it was still the number one best-seller in the nation. Whether it had a copyright or not was not an issue.

New companies who translate Bibles do have a right to make a profit on their work. Everybody has to eat and that includes Bible salesmen and printers. Pricing and amount in America is based on freedom and the economic law of pricing vs. demand. Pricing is set by the company and if you do not wish to buy their version, then you have the freedom "not to". If the Bibles are priced too low then expenses and overhead are not covered.

The NIV, for example, was an extremely expensive Bible to produce. You don't think all of those translators, editors and producers donated their time? They could have, but so much time was required they were paid a fair salary for the amount of work they produced. In doing so, the company racked up some very large debt that has to be paid back over a period of time. Then, when it is time for the company to make a profit, they have every right in the world to do so, and you have every right in the world not to purchase it.

This is America---the land of opportunity where we are allowed to make a living in any legal manner, so your blunt remarks regarding Bible companies getting rich are somewhat out of line. What if they did? Are you griping at Donald Trump because he makes money selling buildings? (my guess is -- yeah, probably).

There is ANOTHER very important reason that copyrights are used. They are used to prevent corruption of texts. If, for example, the company that owns the copyright of the NIV were to put it in the public domain, what would there be to stop another company from changing the text and selling it as an NIV? NOTHING...... So, this is a valid reason for anybody to obtain a copyright to protect the integrity of the work.

The bottom line is, whether YOU like it or not, the KJV was protected by a "copyright", but it was not named a copyright. Indeed, the king allowed only certain companies to profit from printing the KJV. This ended in America when we declared our independence and blatantly violated the king's declaration and made copies of the translation here in America. Do NOT think the companies who printed it in America did not make a good piece of change when they sold their books.

There is a Bible in the Public Domain besides the KJV, it is the WEB Bible. I do not know the history behind it and who translated it, but they chose to provide it under the Public Domain laws of the United States. If you will read that particular code, I think you will find restrictions to how the translation can be used and again they may have just given it to the public; but you will find very few companies that have to pay huge amounts of money for professional translators to provide that material simply for the cost of printing. In fact, most copyright owners are non-profit corporations and although they draw royalties from printers, they must NOT show a profit by Federal Law and therefore all money goes to overhead (granted salaries--you do want to eat, don't you?) and paying back the translators, editors, proof-readers, etc.

Do you feel it is wrong to pay a preacher to preach the Word to you? Just because the chosen profession of someone is in the field of Christianity does not mean that they are not allowed to make a living at what they do. In fact, working in the secular world it is my opinion that they should be paid, and paid well because they are providing us with a service that is more valuable than any doctor or lawyer could provide. Just like underpaid teachers.

Let me give you a little exercise. Let us assume that you want to provide a new Bible in a new translation. Why don't you do a little math and make a few contacts and see how much you will be out-of-pocket to hire the upper-level scholars you need to accomplish this task in a timely fashion to bring it to market within (for example) five years. By the way, you don't have income until you sell to your first printer. Secondly, you are not going to sell any until you advertise and advertise heavily. So, include the cost of advertising into the equation also.

 

By the way, you are required by law to "sue" any abusers of your copyright or you will loose your rights. If you have to make money to pay back large debts from translators, etc. It would be very stupid not to protect that copyright and allowing someone to infringe is one of the fastest ways to loose your copyright.

The same thing with trade-marks. Why do you think McDonald's sues everybody using the golden arches? Not because some old boy in a small town is going to take any money away from McDonald's, but because McDonald's can loose their rights to their own trade-mark if they do not agressively protect it.

 

double post, sorry

 

We are talking about the Word of God not a fast food chain. Big difference. </font>[/QUOTE]Next time, I highly suggest that you read MY post first before YOU respond. In fact, read it carefully because you obviously missed a lot of information.

By Federal Copyright Code of the United States Patent and Trademark (USPTO) office. The owners of the copyright or trade-mark are REQUIRED BY LAW to aggressively fight their copyright infringement or THEY LOOSE IT.

YES, McDonald's has everything in the WORLD to do with this because I am giving you an example of someone who agressively protects their trade-marks.

If NIV allows someone to print and give away their Bible, the USPTO (I'm not going to get into the details) can revoke their ownership of the copyright. The company that OWNS the copyright MUST SUE to protect the copyright or they will LOOOSE IT. Might I suggest you re-read my post so that you will understand that it is NOT the fault of the copyright owner that they have to sue. You can blame that on the copyright office, but what works for McDonald's also works for the copyright owners of the NIV. This is NOT just United States law, this law goes for every country the copyright is registered in.

If you allow one single person to print your copyright without suing for infringement, you can loose all rights of ownership if it goes to court.

 

We are talking about the Word of God not a fast food chain. Big difference. </font>[/QUOTE]I think you are smart enough to know that he was just using a modern day example for wee brains like ours to grasp facts of copyrighting. They're called illustrations . Doesn't your Pastor do that? </font>[/QUOTE]Thanks Orvie, I didn't see your post until I had responded. You understood clearly what I was saying, but, YOU don't have a wee brain and neither does Koala, he just needs to push his into gear.

 

For your first statement, I think I covered that very well, read the earlier posts.

I have NO DOUBT that God can protect and preserve His Word in any way he wants to. Reality strikes when people have to pay back the money involved in obtaining the copyright. Let me ask you a question. Since you are a Christian, do you trust everybody and leave the doors of your church unlocked if nobody is around? If you say you lock them, don't you think God can protect His property without man's intervention?

As a Christian, do you lock your car? Why?

The same reason copyright owners obtain and protect copyrights. This is the real world where people will steal your works. Believe me, if you do not protect it, it will be stolen. If you don't believe me, check out how many "Christian" songs are being stolen every single day on Kazaa.