Confraternity Copyright?

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TheOneTrueFred

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Hi all, never posted here before but from the looks of the threads I’ve read it seems that this is the best pool of informed Catholics online, so best to ask these questions here.

Anyway, I’ve spent most of today scouring over this website and this one trying to find the copyright renewal for the 1941 Confraternity NT… and found nothing. The closest thing seems to be something called “The New Testament for adult study clubs and for classes of high school students,” (copyright 1938) as well as the 1948 translation of Genesis. Now, this should mean (by my general understanding) that the text has lapsed into the public domain by neglect. However, I’m not 100% sure that simply not finding it in these files is enough to make that assumption. Some websites on copyright suggest that the best way to find out definitively is to contact a law firm in DC that will do the search at the copyright office for you.

Now, before I throw down my $90 to do this search, I want to make sure I have all the facts and am not just letting my eyes pass over it in the files linked. Am I correct that the text is…
  1. Copyright 1941
  2. Copyright Confraternity of Christian Doctrine
  3. Originated in the US
Any help would be appreciated. If it did fall into the public domain I’ll have to track down a copy of the first edition to transcribe onto the web 😃
 
TheOneTrueFred said:
Hi all, never posted here before but from the looks of the threads I’ve read it seems that this is the best pool of informed Catholics online, so best to ask these questions here.

Anyway, I’ve spent most of today scouring over this website and this one trying to find the copyright renewal for the 1941 Confraternity NT… and found nothing. The closest thing seems to be something called “The New Testament for adult study clubs and for classes of high school students,” (copyright 1938) as well as the 1948 translation of Genesis. Now, this should mean (by my general understanding) that the text has lapsed into the public domain by neglect. However, I’m not 100% sure that simply not finding it in these files is enough to make that assumption. Some websites on copyright suggest that the best way to find out definitively is to contact a law firm in DC that will do the search at the copyright office for you.

Now, before I throw down my $90 to do this search, I want to make sure I have all the facts and am not just letting my eyes pass over it in the files linked. Am I correct that the text is…
  1. Copyright 1941
  2. Copyright Confraternity of Christian Doctrine
  3. Originated in the US
Any help would be appreciated. If it did fall into the public domain I’ll have to track down a copy of the first edition to transcribe onto the web 😃
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Here is information regarding the duration of copyrights in the USA.
copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html#hlc

If I interpret it correctly, it look like the copyright will expire in 2036.
 
Well, from what I can tell the extensions that apply to pre-1978 works seem to only cover works that still had their copyright intact (which the Confraternity NT might not, if it wasn’t renewed).

If you go a bit further up in the page to the “Publication” section, it indicates (emphasis mine):
Before 1978, federal copyright was generally secured by the act of publication with notice of copyright, assuming compliance with all other relevant statutory conditions. U. S. works in the public domain on January 1, 1978, (for example, works published without satisfying all conditions for securing federal copyright under the Copyright Act of 1909) remain in the public domain under the 1976 Copyright Act.
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I’m the kind of guy that wants everything in the public domain to go up online, so I might be pressing this issue a bit.🤷
 
Have you tried getting permission from the copyright owner to publish the text of the Confraternity Bible online? I think the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is the copyright owner.

The folks at USCCB Publishing should be able to help. Contact info for their Permissions Department can be found at the above link.

Permission shouldn’t be too hard too get. After all, they themselves have placed the copyrighted New American Bible online.
 
The USCCB would kill themselves before they would allow the Confraternity Text online.

The Confraternity New Testament is close to the Vulgate and makes the NAB New Testament look like junk.

The USCCB also wouldn’t like the Confraternity original version of Gnesis online either–they’d rather have people read the NAB butchered version of Genesis.

By the way, does anyone know when the new translation of the NAB Old testament will be completed?

Maybe they’re trying to improve the Old Tstament of the NAB.
 
I think I will contact the USCCB and find out what they have to say on the matter, though I’m a bit pessimistic since they have a blanket refusal in place for older editions of the NAB. If they specifically told me not to do it I’d have to submit out of obedience, but if they don’t hold a copyright to it anymore then they might decide they’re fighting inevitability. I guess I have to decide which route to investigate first :o
 
Call Singtala–they publish the Confraternity bible today–ask them who has the copyright to it–they should know since they are printing it!
 
Well after a long time without this version I finally picked up a copy at my church’s bookstore. The copyright is listed as 1941 to the Confraternity, no mention of a renewal. I’m a bit more confused now since it also says “International Copyright under International Copyright Union”, which as far as I know only ensures that each work is treated with the same respect by each foreign country as it would one of it’s domestic works (possibly related to being published by Sinag-tala). What effect that has on an American work under American law is way beyond my armchair law degree :confused:, so I guess I’ll just beg the CCD as nicely as possible.
 
TheOneTrueFred said:
I think I will contact the USCCB …If they specifically told me not to do it I’d have to submit out of obedience
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Just to clear up a misconception here, you have no duty of obedience to the USCCB. Your duty of obedience is to your own bishop. The USCCB is granted competence by Rome to interpret and legislate certain things as they apply to Catholics in the US. You are generally obliged to follow aspects of canon law and the GIRM as they’ve been interpreted by the USCCB and approved by Rome. But just as you have no duty to obey your Congressman or a judge outside of his courtroom, you likewise have no duty to obey some official of the USCCB who wants to restrict your web posting.

You have rights, and unless you are somehow violating canon or civil law, you are free to do as you please. You do have a duty of obedience to your bishop, however, so if he tells you not to post the Confraternity online (this seems unlikely), you must obey . However, he should have grounds for restricting you in this way, and you can appeal this restriction if you wish.
 
Hi, Fred!

I have a Confraternity Version Bible that has a 1963 copyright by the Catholic Book Publishing Co. It states near the copyright “The Confraternity texts included in this edition are reproduced by license of Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, DC, the owner of the copyright. Used with its permission. All rights reserved.”

Does this help?

Peace,
 
TheOneTrueFred said:
Hi all, never posted here before but from the looks of the threads I’ve read it seems that this is the best pool of informed Catholics online, so best to ask these questions here.

Anyway, I’ve spent most of today scouring over this website and this one trying to find the copyright renewal for the 1941 Confraternity NT… and found nothing. The closest thing seems to be something called “The New Testament for adult study clubs and for classes of high school students,” (copyright 1938) as well as the 1948 translation of Genesis. Now, this should mean (by my general understanding) that the text has lapsed into the public domain by neglect. However, I’m not 100% sure that simply not finding it in these files is enough to make that assumption. Some websites on copyright suggest that the best way to find out definitively is to contact a law firm in DC that will do the search at the copyright office for you.

Now, before I throw down my $90 to do this search, I want to make sure I have all the facts and am not just letting my eyes pass over it in the files linked. Am I correct that the text is…
  1. Copyright 1941
  2. Copyright Confraternity of Christian Doctrine
  3. Originated in the US
Any help would be appreciated. If it did fall into the public domain I’ll have to track down a copy of the first edition to transcribe onto the web 😃
Click to expand...
Can you tell us what web site this might go on. No one on the internet to the best of my knowlege has a confraternity version published???
 
Michael_G said:
Can you tell us what web site this might go on. No one on the internet to the best of my knowlege has a confraternity version published???
Click to expand...
None that’s up yet, I’ve been wanting to start a little catholic resource page that includes some stuff hard to find on the net otherwise - the original Rheims NT commentary, my updates of the original DR 3-4 Esdras & Manasses, the Torres-Amat bible, and this if i can pull it off. I’ll post up a link once I have something up.
 
Well, I’ve sent out a snail-mail request to the Permissions Department today, hopefully I’ll hear back soon.

FYI, I’ve set up the site that will eventually host it should I get a positive response at fchurch.googlepages.com.
 
TheOneTrueFred said:
Well, I’ve sent out a snail-mail request to the Permissions Department today, hopefully I’ll hear back soon.

FYI, I’ve set up the site that will eventually host it should I get a positive response at fchurch.googlepages.com.
Click to expand...
Good luck! Do you have a domain? (I have one I am not using that has a decent name. PM me if you are interested.)
 
😃 😃 😃 😃 😃

I received a reply from USCCB Publishing.

“To the best of my knowledge, that text is now in the public domain.”

The joy!👍

So the Confraternity NT is going online. If anyone with the **1941 **Confraternity NT wants to pitch in with transcribing, shoot me a PM.
 
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