BaylyBlog: Out of our minds, too...

What you think you know about the copyright of old books that have been digitized, but don't...

(Tim) Here's a post that should be read by everyone who cares about getting old books written by fathers in the faith the broadest possible distribution around the world. To summarize: Christian corporations that claim copyright for old books in the public domain that they have digitized, formatted, and distributed electronically are making false claims. And if they threaten legal action against fellow believers who reproduce those digital copies, their threats have no legal merit; but more, their threats are contrary to Scripture:

Actually, then, it is already a defeat for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? (1 Corinthians 6:7)

Yes, it's a long read (and don't miss the comments), but it's quite interesting to find out what copyright law really says about works in the public domain.

This is a crucial matter. The church around the world would be well-served by the free electronic distribution of works in the public domain that really are vastly superior in scholarship and doctrine than most of the stuff being churned out today by evangelical corporations owned by, for instance, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (Zondervan).

"Not I," said the pig...

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD: Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left, says the LORD. And some of your own sons, who are born to you, shall be taken away; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?” (2 Kings 20:16-19)

(Tim) Recently, our eldest son, Joseph, and his excellent wife, Heidi, were rejected by an adoption agency when the home office came across an obscure sentence in the report of the home study social worker indicating Joseph and Heidi believe in corporal punishment...

Copyrights and Christian Bible Software

I just purchased a beautifully cared-for set of James Bannerman's The Church of Christ via Alibris. I had to check to make certain it wasn't a later printing than the used bookseller listed (1974, Banner of Truth). I've bought new books from Banner of Truth's warehouse that didn't look as good.

It's a shame that this two-volume set is no longer in print. The last printing I'm aware of was Banner of Truth's 1974 edition. Of course, photocopies of various editions have been sold over the internet--I bought one several years ago--but actual volumes of this classic remain frustratingly elusive.

Which brings me to my primary thought.... Why has no one scanned and OCR'ed this work? For that matter, why has no one scanned and OCR'ed countless other worthy classics? CCEL (Christian Classics Ethereal Library) has done a good job of scanning and serving an eclectic mix of titles, but no Bannerman--and no plans to scan him (or many other worthy titles) appear on their "Wanted List."

I'm afraid part of the reason many Christian works in the public domain haven't been scanned and made publicly available is the balkanization of the Christian Bible software market and the greed of Christian software publishers.

When Adobe came out with Acrobat they chose to distribute the Acrobat reader freely and to charge for PDF-creation software. Not long after that, they went further and opened the PDF format to the public, allowing other software companies to publish and sell PDF-creation software. As a result there now exists a healthy market in PDF creation software and a world of publications in the PDF format.

And by opening its standards and allowing others into the market, Adobe profited greatly. Its PDF creation software remains the standard for PDF production and Adobe continues to expand Acrobat's capabilities: from forms to pre-press production, Acrobat reigns.

Contrast this with Logos Bible Software's work in the Christian market. Logos not only charges for the software necessary to read books published in its format, it also charges for titles. You must buy a collection of electronic titles from Logos when you purchase their software; depending upon the price you pay you receive either a modest collection of Bibles and various other works, or a larger number of scholarly and devotional works.

While it is possible to purchase software to convert an electronic book into a Logos-compatible file, the software costs $100 and explicitly requires that any converted books not be transferred to other Logos software owners. For $240, a program that permits you to convert an electronic book into Logos format and give the converted file to fellow Logos owners is also available. But the license explicitly forbids sale of the converted work and cripples some of its features.

In essence, Logos wants the entire pie. It wants to sell the reader. It wants to sell the converter. It wants to sell the books. And, as you might expect of a Christian software company, many public domain works are sold as copyrighted material. Matthew Henry is sold as copyrighted and costs $34.95 from Logos. Jamieson, Fausett, Brown costs $79.95. The irony is, print versions of many of the works available through Logos can be purchased more cheaply than Logos electronic editions.

I could say more about the kludginess of Logos software. It takes forever to load--even on a blazing computer. Searching requires a graduate degree in Boolean terminology. Original language tools still bamboozle me after nine years of owning the program. And there is still no way to insert Bible verses from Logos into a manuscript you're working on without firing up the entire program.

But in the end, the thing that offends me is the greed of a company refusing to permit users of its software to convert and sell their own personal works--but then turning around and selling public domain texts themselves. Almost the whole CCEL could be converted for use in Logos if Logos would only put the needs of its customers ahead of its desire to profit from every text read on its software. But that wouldn't make Logos money so it's unlikely ever to happen.

For an alternative vision of how Bible software should work to the glory of God, check out the SWORD Project. This open source Bible software is available at no cost--with many public domain books available free as well.

I notice on the SWORD Project's front page news that a German publisher has made its commentary series availabale in the SWORD format. The commentary comes locked, but can be unlocked for a reasonable fee. SWORD makes no money from the sale of the commentary.

I wish SWORD the very best. Now let's get Bannerman's Church of Christ up on the web--along with a great many other deserving works in the public domain. If enough public domain works can be put up in the SWORD format, more and more publishers will put out electronic versions or copyright material for SWORD rather than Logos. And that will benefit us all.

Poythress and Frame on copyright...

Last night one reader of the correspondence with EPP reminded me of the interest Vern Poythress and John Frame have in copyright issues and I responded that I'd found their articles on the subject very helpful months back when I began this dialog with EPP. For those wanting to delve more deeply into this subject, here are three pieces that open up these issues with biblical wisdom.

"Copyrights and Copying: Why the Law Should Be Changed" by Vern Poythress.

"Digital Ethics and File Formats" by Vern Poythress.

"The Other Shoe: or, Copyright and the Reasonable Use of Technology" by John Frame.

Christian businesses make copyright claims without legal merit...

Readers may think this is too boring to read, but if you have any interest in the matter of copyright, particularly as it pertains to works in the public domain, this letter is essential reading. (Yes, I know that's self-serving but I do want you to read this so we can get the message out.)

Some weeks ago, I sent this letter off to the good folks of the Encyclopedia Puritannica Project. I had written them earlier to protest the threat they displayed prominently on their legal page to sue anyone who shared the Puritan works in the public domain they had digitized--changed from paper to digital copies. Specifically, this claim from their legal page is without legal basis:

The republication of EPP digital texts for commercial or non-commercial purposes is not allowed without permission. These texts are copyrighted and the EPP reserves the right to employ stealthy, text-tracing in order to detect and legally prosecute the theft of its work.

In my letter to EPP, I pointed out that their work digitizing the Puritans did not authorize them to make a profit off works that were in the public domain, and therefore owned by no one.

They responded defending their actions by saying they'd spent a lot of money on digitizing the Puritan works, and that the copyright they claimed was ironclad based upon that money and the work it represented changing mediums from analog (paper) to digital (electronic).

With much help from several attorney-friends as well as another attorney who specializes in intellectual property law, I wrote the following letter.

There are plate tectonic implications for Christian companies who have built their business model on threatening to take to court anyone who reproduces their work in cases where the heart of their work is a public domain work that was written centuries ago. Threats of legal action and the underlying claims of copyright are not sustained by the law.

Unless Christian businesses making money off selling digitized copies of works in the public domain can demonstrate they have added significant original or creative content--not hyperlinks, standardization of Scripture references, formatting, or indexing, for instance--their claim of copyright is baseless, legally. Further, threatening that they will take users to court if they share the public domain text with others is contrary to the explicit command of Scripture--that we are not to go to court against one another.

For too long, Christians have been nave concerning these claims and have allowed themselves to be intimidated by the threat of legal action. Who wants another Christian accusing one of being a thief?

But works of dead fathers in the faith are in the public domain and no matter how much money and time Christian businessmen have spent scanning, OCRing, and proofing those texts as they take them from analog to digital media, the courts are clear that they may not copyright that work.

Christians, Copyrights and "Piracy"

Imagine David requiring licensing fees for every use of each of his psalms. Imagine Jeremiah refusing other prophets the right to repeat his words. Imagine Paul taking Timothy before the Ephesian elders for choosing to "follow the pattern of sound words you have heard from me" in his preaching ministry. Imagine Bach's descendants maintaining control over and receiving royalties from his compositions a century after his death. Imagine Spurgeon refusing others the right to preach his sermons (for more on this, see below). Imagine Handel copyrighting the Messiah's libretto.

Which is the greater travesty: Christians downloading copyright music or Christian musicians and composers claiming inspiration from God to the glory of God, then slapping big, fat dollar signs before their offerings?