Ignatius Bible

[Bible_Reader]

The copyright WAS granted - not to the Boston Globe - but to an individual almost 140 years ago.

In the United States, copyright is not “granted” – it is “registered”. There is no system analogous to patent examiners who decide whether to grant copyright or not. If a copyright registrant alleges infringement, then he must prepared to defend the validity of the copyright (that is, that the registered work was entitled to copyright protection in the first place).

Derivative works (such as translations) are clearly entitled to copyright protection under section 103 of Title 17. I have yet to hear of anyone who has successfully challenged a copyright of a Bible translation in court – are you aware of any.

 

[Salvatore123]

Bible Reader,

I asked for “peace”, but you won’t budge . . . so this is my last post on this topic, regardless of how you respond:

1. Copyright is granted automatically, but you must register the copyright with the Library of Congress to be able to sue if someone infringes your copyright.
2. At the Berne Convention of 1978, it was decided that copyright protection would accrue automatically when a work was created and notices are no longer mandatory. Some states in the US have additional laws regarding copyright/trademark protection.
3. I am not aware of anyone who has VIOLATED a copyright of a bible translation so that he or she was then sued by the “owner/registrar” of the copyright. Then again, I had no idea I would be “challenged” on my legal acumen regarding copyright laws in America, and thus did not research the issue.

I was trying to make a RELIGIOUS point . . . I don’t know why you cannot let it go at that

 

[ProVobis]

Of course it would. Have you read Title 17? Read the definition of “derivative work” in section 101 and then read section 103. Couldn’t be clearer.

So my understanding is that if you were to write a translation into Spanish, my Spanish translation of the US Constitution would have to be substantially different from yours. At least different enough so to satisfy the copyright judge. But then judgement could come against one of us, or both, for fraudulent translation in some other court, I would think.

 

[Bible_Reader]

I am not aware of anyone who has VIOLATED a copyright of a bible translation so that he or she was then sued by the “owner/registrar” of the copyright.

I don’t know what it means to “violate” a copyright, but a simple LEXIS search reveals any number of cases of complaints of infringement of Bible translation copyrights.

And a Google search will reveal numerous cases where the German Bible Society forced web site owners or publishers to withdraw Greek New Testaments. Perhaps the most famous case is the long lamented Zhubert web site.