NET discovery

[NorrinRadd]

Quite by accident, I discovered that the words in the NET apparently link to original-language lexicons, depending on how one's system is set up. This is very cool! I did not know that was available for any Bible modules other than KJV and NASB.

I've checked a bunch of my other Bibles, and not yet found any (except for those just mentioned) that have that feature. Are there any?

[JG]

ABPen is another English one with Strong's numbers.

[RevSteve]

It's interesting to me that the NET Bible has Strongs coded to it but the copyright notice is a head scratcher for me.

It reads "All Rights Reserved" yet they seem to allow people to use it for non-profit?

For instance, for quoting the NET bible online somewhere or suppose a Pastor wanted to use it in a church bulletin, would that person need to petition for permission?

I have to admit that most of the electronic bibles I use are public domain or free to use without prior permissions because of the copyright laws that I have a hard time understanding.

Most of the time when I see "All Rights Reserved", I generally am not interested in keeping in my electronic library.

[NorrinRadd]

It's interesting to me that the NET Bible has Strongs coded to it but the copyright notice is a head scratcher for me.

It reads "All Rights Reserved" yet they seem to allow people to use it for non-profit?

For instance, for quoting the NET bible online somewhere or suppose a Pastor wanted to use it in a church bulletin, would that person need to petition for permission?

I have to admit that most of the electronic bibles I use are public domain or free to use without prior permissions because of the copyright laws that I have a hard time understanding.

Most of the time when I see "All Rights Reserved", I generally am not interested in keeping in my electronic library.

The lengthy "Copyright..." section of the NET Bible module's Information page is interesting and informative. Unfortunately, it does not support "copy-and-paste," so I can't easily reproduce it here.

I will dare to say, "No, you almost certainly do not need to ask permission."

[Jeff]

The lengthy "Copyright..." section of the NET Bible module's Information page is interesting and informative. Unfortunately, it does not support "copy-and-paste," so I can't easily reproduce it here.

If you're talking about copying the info from theWord info page; you can use CTRL+A to select all (or click and drag to select specific sections), then copy with CTRL+C, and then paste as you normally would (or use CTRL+V).

[NorrinRadd]

The lengthy "Copyright..." section of the NET Bible module's Information page is interesting and informative. Unfortunately, it does not support "copy-and-paste," so I can't easily reproduce it here.

If you're talking about copying the info from theWord info page; you can use CTRL+A to select all (or click and drag to select specific sections), then copy with CTRL+C, and then paste as you normally would (or use CTRL+V).

Ok, let's give that a try...

Copyright Innovations—Toward a New Model

We don’t like the copyright notice on the second page of the NET Bible, but we don’t yet know the best way to fix it. The reason for this dilemma is that we stand at the beginning of a new era made possible by the Internet. New approaches to ministry, publishing, distribution, and collaboration are made possible by the Internet. When the first Bibles and books began to be printed rather than copied by hand, new issues emerged (plagiarism, author’s rights, freedom of the press versus censorship, copyright laws, etc.). It is now time to recognize that the copyright and permissions conventions carried over from printed books must now be upgraded for the Internet age. The innovations will create new opportunities for ministry while also providing new opportunities for authors to support themselves. We believe that 1 Tim 5:17-18 (the author has the right to be paid) and Lev 23:22 (allow the poor and foreigner free access) can be simultaneously satisfied far better with a new Internet model.

The Problem: It’s difficult to quote a modern Bible translation legally

Bible.org’s ministry objective is to be used by God to mature Christians worldwide. To accomplish this we needed to quote a modern Bible translation in the production of thousands of trustworthy Bible Study resources that could be offered on the Internet for free. We predicted in 1995 that the number of Bible verses quoted in these studies would soon surpass available legal permission limits. We tried for a year, but could not obtain the necessary permissions. Lack of a legal ability to quote the Bible online makes online Bible studies impossible and threatened bible.org’s “Ministry First” model. Quite simply the only way we could secure permission to quote a modern Bible was to sponsor a new translation—the NET Bible. We now want to ensure that other ministries and authors don’t experience the same roadblocks. The NET Bible is not just for bible.org, but for everyone.

You may ask (as we have): “Why not just make the NET Bible public domain? Wouldn’t that solve the problem?” It does solve the permission problem but stifles ministry another way. When a publisher prints a public domain KJV they pay no royalties to anyone, but they still make millions of dollars in revenue—and don’t have to spend any of that money on ministry or charity. We didn’t create the NET Bible to save royalties for such publishers. We think a better approach is to leverage copyright laws to ensure that anyone selling NET Bibles must support ministry.

How we intend to solve the problem

The first major step was taken 10 years ago when we posted the NET Bible on the Internet when no other major modern English Bible translations had done so. The other major Bible translations partially followed suit—all of them are now viewable on the Internet—but after 10 years, the NET Bible is still the only major modern translation that can be downloaded for free in its entirety and used seamlessly in presentations and documents.

We think it is time to take a few more steps. NET Bible study software will now be offered free to allow those who can’t afford Bible study tools to search the Bible electronically. We also will remove an important barrier for teachers, pastors, authors, and students of the Bible who plan to write and distribute their studies. Bible copyright policies typically require special permission before Internet posting, writing commentaries, allowing mission organizations to translate works into other languages, or when quotations exceed some verse limit. The result is that an author is forced to delay writing until permission is granted, use an old public domain text, or proceed illegally in order to serve missions. Other authors have found that a valuable work is simply not publishable because they lack permission for the Bible translation quoted in it. We want all authors to know that the NET Bible is a safe choice. We intend to make quoting the NET Bible easy for both commercial publications and ministry by making the vast majority of requests covered by an automatic “yes.” This new copyright permission policy, when implemented, will result in many more works being created for charitable use and Internet distribution. A second major historical reason used to justify prior written approval of papers, books, and commentaries quoting Bibles is to ensure that nothing embarrassing is written using a copyrighted Bible. We’d rather risk embarrassment than hamper thousands of worthwhile projects. We’ll let the Internet community label the rare bad works and bad authors. We’d rather remove barriers so that the other 99.9% of Christian authors can be more productive. We solicit your ideas for an optimal solution for Bible quotations in the Internet age.

Characteristics of a good solution

*By making permissions easier, it becomes far easier to post, share, and publish works which quote the Bible.

*It should be easy to say “yes” to all requests to quote and use the NET Bible (both charitable and commercial use).

*The “yes” should be automatic for the vast majority of requests, so our organization gets out of the way of ministries, teachers, pastors, and authors. We don’t want them to delay before authoring, sharing, and implementing the Great Commission of Matt 28:19—and we don’t want their works which quote the Bible to be held hostage based on copyright permissions.

*Incentives should be offered to authors who are willing to share their works for free, (even when they also sell books and software versions of the same title for income) while authors who only offer their works for sale should pay customary royalties. This encourages greater participation in the “ministry first” model.

It is time for ministry to be more free—and for a Bible which puts ministry first. The best way to encourage ministry is to give people the tools they need and remove barriers which encumber their work. Let us know how we can better serve your needs.

For the latest on “Ministry First” copyright innovations,
visit http://www.bible.org/ministryfirst


Well shazzam! How about that! Thanks. Just need to do a few manual tweaks to the formatting.

[RevSteve]

Yes, exactly, I read all that but it still appears that a request for permission needs to be sent to them?

I fully understand about the need for request for commercial venture, that they reserve their rights...which I don't have any problem with but I still am a bit fuzzy on the use of their bible text for free use.

The problem with request is that one might have to request each and every situation he would want to use it.

I also understand that their Translation notes with our software, one needs to pay-I have no problem with that.

I am not trying to be difficult, only to decipher what it means and the reason for my question is I figure you and/or others here can give a simplified answer.

Even the mainstream translations allow quoting a certain % then blah, blah, blah...

[NorrinRadd]

Yes, exactly, I read all that but it still appears that a request for permission needs to be sent to them?

I fully understand about the need for request for commercial venture, that they reserve their rights...which I don't have any problem with but I still am a bit fuzzy on the use of their bible text for free use.

The problem with request is that one might have to request each and every situation he would want to use it.

I also understand that their Translation notes with our software, one needs to pay-I have no problem with that.

I am not trying to be difficult, only to decipher what it means and the reason for my question is I figure you and/or others here can give a simplified answer.

Even the mainstream translations allow quoting a certain % then blah, blah, blah...

Ok, I see your point.

This seems to be the most current Copyright and distribution info. I'm not sure that it's any more clear.

[RevSteve]

If I understand the information in your link correctly, the text cannot be quoted on websites.

Also it appears that for limited printed paper uses such as church bulletins, bible study handouts and Sunday School groups, as long as the acknowledgement "NET Bible®" is used, it appears that is allowed.(As pertaining to main bible text only.) (With the understanding that it is non-profit, no money is changing hands.)

Someone correct me if I am wrong, as I stated above, copyright guidelines are not always easy to understand.

From that link the following:

"Quoting the NET BIBLE Text- You may quote the NET BIBLE® verse text in:
1. Non Commercial Publication- The NET BIBLE® verses (without the NET Bible notes) may be quoted in any form (written, visual, electronic, projection or audio without written permission.This permission is contingent upon an appropriate copyright acknowledgment. An appropriate copyright acknowledgment is shown in item 2a. below (for audio podcasts, streaming, etc include the acknowledgment as an audio insert and send us an email with links to your readings granting us permission to use your recording on our sites ) "

And skipping down to (2a.):

"2a. Scripture and/or notes quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2018 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved."