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Why is there copyright on the Bible? The most prominent reasons for copyright on any published work are firstly to protect the integrity of the text and, secondly, to protect the rights of the copyright holder. The Bible Society of South Africa is a non-profit organisation. Our mission is to make the Bible available in the languages of the South African people at an affordable price. A Braille Bible, for example, costs more than R3 000 to produce, but is made available to the blind at R46. This is much lower than the price of normal books of the same size. In order to allow the Bible Society to continue this service of translation, publication, and distribution of more than a million copies of Scripture every year, we rely on voluntary donations from individuals, churches, and businesses. Copyright on the Bible helps to protect the integrity of the text. In line with the South African copyright law:
Click here to download the complete copyright policy of the Bible Society of South Africa. (PDF) Which translations of the Bible are protected by the copyright of the Bible Society of South Africa? Afrikaans Die Bybel (Old Translation) 1933/53 Die Bybel (New Translation) 1983 Northern Sotho Bibele 1951 Bibele: Taba ye Botse 2000 Southern Ndebele ITastamende Elitjha namaRhalani akhethiweko 1986 (New Testament) Southern Sotho Bibele 1979 (Lesotho orthography) Bibele 1961 (Standard orthography) Bibele: Phetholelo e Ncha 1989 (Lesotho orthography) Bibele: Phetholelo e Ntjha 1989 (Standard orthography) Swati LiBhayibheli 1996 Tsonga Bibele 1929 Bibele: Mahungu Lamanene 1989 Tswana Beibele 1970 Baebele e e Boitshepo 1992 Venda Bivhili 1980 Bivhili Khethwa: Mafhungo Madifha 1998 Xhosa Izhibhalo Ezingcwele 1975 IBhayibhile 1996 Zulu IBhayibheli Elingcwele 1959 Ithestamente eliSha namaHubo 1986 (New Testament and Psalms) Who holds the copyright for the English translations of the Bible? Contact the following organisations to apply for English copyright: CEV (Contemporary English Version) Copyright © 1991, 1992, 1995 by American Bible Society American Bible Society 1865 Broadway New York, NY 10023 USA Thomas Durakis e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it www.americanbible.org ESV (English Standard Version) Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles Good News Publishers 1300 Crescent Street, Wheaton, IL 60187 USA This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it KJV (King James Version) also AV (Authorised Version) No copyright (Public Domain) NIV (New International Version) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. International Bible Society (South Africa) Please visit www.ibs.org NKJV (New King James) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Thomas Nelson Publishers Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions 501 Nelson Place, Nashville, Tennessee 37214-1000 USA TEV (Today’s English Version) also GNT (Good News Translation) Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society American Bible Society 1865 Broadway New York, NY 10023 USA Thomas Durakis e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it www.americanbible.org What are the costs involved in copyright? The cost of copyright are determined for each individual publication. The cost is decided on the grounds of the number of scriptural passages that are quoted, as well as the percentage of the product that consists of scriptural quotes. The copyright fees are based, thereafter, on the selling price of the specific publication. Click here to download the application form. (PDF) Under what circumstances is it not necessary to apply for copyright? The Bible Society of South Africa gladly offers permission to authors and publishers to quote up to five hundred (500) verses from the Bible in any format (written, visual, electronic, or audio). The quoted verses may not, however, exceed fifty percent (50%) of a complete book of the Bible, or more than twenty-five percent (25%) of the total text in which they are quoted, otherwise permission must be secured in advance. Copyright must still, however, be acknowledged: © Quotations from the Bible in (language) (date) — with permission from the Bible Society of South Africa. Congregational use of Bible quotations has to do with the normal use of the Bible. Copyright makes provision for the reasonable use of quotations, and it is in no way the aim of the Bible Society to restrict the normal use of the Bible. As soon as Bible quotations are used in a publication which leads to the commercial gain of the publisher, written permission must be obtained from the Bible Society, and the necessary copyright acknowledgement granted. |
