When many (most??) people think of “the Bible,” I bet they think of the King James version. Depending on how you look at it, it was written either between 3500 (or so) and 1900 (or so) years ago, or 400 years ago (when King James I of England ordered it put together). In any event, that’s a long, long time ago… long enough that it’s obvious that it’s in the public domain.
Ooops.
The Bible lives forever, even if the KJV is copyrighted
In honor of the KJV’s 400th anniversary, London’s newly reconstituted Globe Theater—Shakespeare’s old home stage—scheduled a series of actors to recite the entire King James Bible from the stage between Palm Sunday and Easter of 2011. But a few days before the presentation, the director received a bill for payment of a substantial royalty fee for the privilege of reading it publicly. The British Crown actually owns the copyright to the King James Bible, which has been renewed upon the accession of each succeeding monarch since King James himself. So the queen, through the auspices of Cambridge University Press, was sending him a bill, according to BBC Music Magazine.
Huh.
In other words, in a few years the Bible as it’s known to a whole lot of millions of people will belong to this feller:
The question is… how enforceable is this copyright? Apparently if you’re in Britain, they can come and get you for quoting the Bible. But I’d be interested to see what would happen if some American or – better – Chinese publisher put out their own copy of the KJV Bible without paying fees to the British crown.
Copyright is a wonderful and vital thing. But maintaining copyright for four hundred years seems massively inappropriate.
10 Responses to “Guess who owns the Bible”
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My understanding is that the contents of “The Bible” itself cannot be copyrighted, per se; but translations and paraphrases of translations can. There are public domain and open license translations.
The problem with the concept “contents of the Bible” is that it’s almost a matter of opinion. Is the true content the many translations? If so, which one? Or is it the original (!) Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic texts? Or are we really talking about the philosophy and the history as revealed in the various translations? This is the kind of thing that keeps academic theologians busy and guys like me greatly amused.
> The problem with the concept “contents of the Bible” is that it’s almost a matter of opinion.
Another thought occurs to me. It seems that if the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, then it cannot be copywritten by merely human authority. So by copywriting the Bible, the BritCrown would seem to be acknowledging that it’s just another human-authored book.
Or it could be that the British Crown is pointing out that it has as much authority as God. Henry VIII probably said that, in so many words.
The potential boggles the mind. Which version do the Gideons use? Why isn’t the Times billed for its odd quotes from the KJV? Will universities be billed for reading a passage during commencement exercises? Will Marvel Comics have to pay for having Henry Pym quote Isaiah in a 1964 “Tales to Astonish”?
I sent the article link to a friend who is an Anglican vicar.
The Crown Copyright on the KJV Bible extends only to the UK. It’s public domain everywhere else and is scheduled to move to public domain in the UK in 2039.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_James_Version#Copyright_status
> The Crown Copyright on the KJV Bible extends only to the UK.
Would seem to have been the perfect thing for some smartass Brits to say “screw you” over and published willy-nilly.
After all, it’s not like Jug-Ears is going to make a stink about it.
[…] screwy things that keeps changing and basically just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense (see HERE to read my yammerings about the British copyright on the King James version of the Bible). Until […]
And No one finds that a little strange that the British Crown controls the Copyrights to a book that was allegedly inspired by a MYSTERY God lol Wake from the MENTAL slavery and DENIAL PEOPLE!