: Re: Audio version of copyrighted written material I want to do a free daily podcast of the Bible. Would I need permission of the copyright holder of the translation I am reading or would this

@Bryan361

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There are several issues here.

Issue 1: Making a recording of any copyrighted written work is subject to the same restrictions as making your own printed copy. If you were to buy a novel that is still protected by copyright and make an audio book of it without permission from the copyright owner and sell copies of this recording, they could sue you for copyright violation and easily win.

Issue 2: In general, copyright is good for the life of the author plus 70 years. So the copyright on the original Greek text of the New Testament ran out about 1900 years ago. The copyright on Genesis ran out something like 3300 years ago.

Issue 3: Translations have their own copyright, separate and distinct from the original work. So, for example, the New International Version was published in 1978. I presume (without checking, I don't think the detail is important here) that it's considered a "work for hire" and so had a 95 year copyright, so that won't run out until circa 2073.

Issue 4: You can quote short excerpts from a copyrighted work without permission. This is called "fair use". Exactly how much you can quote is decided on a case by case basis considering a variety of factors.

Issue 5: Many Bible translations try to simplify number 4 for you by giving explicit permission to copy specified amounts of the text. For example I think the Hohlman says you can copy up to 250 verses as long as you don't copy an entire book. (Some of the short books, like some of the shorter epistles, are less than 250 verses.)

So your choices are:

Record the original Greek and Hebrew. I'm guessing that's not practical for you.
Use a translation whose copyright has expired, like King James. (I've read that the UK has given the King James a perpetual copyright, and I see that statement repeated in one of the comments on another answer. But in the US, the copyright on King James ran out before there was a US.)
Don't record the entire Bible. Just record snippets. I don't know what you're trying to accomplish so this may or may not be practical.
Get permission from the copyright owners. They might ask for money, especially if you intend to sell your recordings. Or they might say no. But you can ask.

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