Copyright Issues
For quoting NIV scripture, please read
this:
http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Version-NIV-Bible/
Quoting Bible
Verses
You can quote up to 500 verses from the NRSV, provided
you state that the version is copyright National Council of Churches.
You can quote up to 1000 verses of the Good News Bible, provided that you state that
the version is copyright, American Bible Society.
You can quote up to 250 verses of the New Living Translation, provided that you state
that the version is copyright, Tyndale House.
The KJV is copyright free.
Using Other People's Lesson Materials in Your
Own
You can quote a MINOR portion of a published or non-published
work, but still need to cite it's author and origin. AND provided that you offer some substantial revisions,
commentary, or additional material that make your lesson more of your own. The substantial use of copyrighted
material without the author's permission is illegal. Authors should know, however, that copyright laws do not
protect unique ideas, only unique DESCRIPTIONS of those ideas. Unique "names" or "titles" of programs or ideas
might be trademarked, however. Check the published materials for "TM" notices.
For more detailed information about copyright lawas and Christian education, read the
article at this website:
Copyright Article
Link
Using Videos
Inspite of misleading information to the contrary, Federal Copyright law PROTECTS the
use of copyrighted VIDEOTAPES in "face to face teaching situations." This right to use copyrighted videotapes in
teaching situations includes rented videotapes. Public "performance" for entertainment value is NOT permitted,
however, without the copyright holder's permission or a license.
The
following is anexcerpt from http://www.rotation.org/copyright.htm
Four test words are often used to
define or determine what is "fair use." They are Intent, Amount, Harm, and Uniqueness.
The following FOUR TESTS will help you determine in each
situation you encounter whether or not copyright infringement is possible:.
The intent, amount, harm and uniqueness
tests:
- Intent: If your intent is to save money by not buying
more of the author's work, and you are going to make regular use of
that work, then you are likely violating the copyright when you make copies of or quote a substantial
amount of the author's work. Video works are a bit different here. If your intent in loaning the
material to be viewed is to make it more widely available, and you don't have a license to do so (as
do many resource centers and libraries) then what you're really doing is becoming a distributor and
not paying the author. That's wrong.
- Amount: How much can be quoted or used before it becomes copyright
infringement? The word "substantial" is open to interpretation. A good rule
of thumb is this: you can quote or copy (with proper
attribution) for non-commercial educational purposes up to 25% of an author's printed work without
infringing the copyright. Above that you should contact the author for guidance and/or permission. If
you are regularly excerpting the author's work, or doing so in a serial fashion (one section at a
time over a period of time), then you are probably violating the Amount rule. Videotape is a bit
different. Read on...
- Harm: Are you cutting in on the owner's/author's
livelihood? In general, if by distributing a minor portion of the author's
material you are actually promoting the
purchase of the resource now or in the future, then you
can't be infringing on the copyright. This is not, however, a license to include major portions of an
author's work. Major and minor are relative terms. If your distribution of the author's materials
-major or modest- affects the author's bottom line, then you are causing harm. At that point you
should cut down the material you are quoting and point people to where they can get the author's
work. If loaning or distributing a video or other material puts you in competition with the author's
distribution means, such as Blockbuster, then you are infringing on their livelihood --which is HARM.
The only exception to this is where there is NO harm or the material is being used strictly for
educational purposes. Yes, it's 'harm' if you even cheat an author out of even one blockbuster rental
by loaning the Ten Commandments to your church families through your library. Check the licensing
restriction that came with the video.
- Uniqueness: Two works may be about the same subject and not
infringe on each other's copyrights so long as the second work contains
substantially unique material different than the original and does not quote the original beyond
"substantial" test.
It is OK to use the basic idea of a published lesson to create your
own. "Create" means not merely a change in the vocabulary, word
count, or word order of their description. It means you have
added a substantial amount of your own
material and made it uniquely your own. It is common courtesy
to state the origin of an idea.
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