Copy Permission Policy

Why Copyright?


Why don’t Bible Study producing ministries give away all their materials for free?

There are several reasons:

They have to cover the material and labour costs to produce their products and services for the same reason a church has to pay for its own materials, building, utilities, pastoral and administrative staff. To not cover expenses is to go out of business, meaning to go out of ministry.

They have to safeguard author originality based on “honour to whom honour is due” (Romans 13:7) and more importantly biblical accuracy and integrity. Precept’s inductive studies are the product of a unique inductive study method and a long iterative development cycle that includes a dynamic piloting process with extensive leader and student feedback (peer review) prior to production. Courses are integrated to learn “the whole counsel of God.” Copyrights secure product integrity against (hopefully unintentional) misuse: fragmenting, misquoting and (worst case) tampering: deleting, adding to, and changing content.

All Ministries give away some of their materials and services and Precept is no exception. Precept charges for products and services but also raises donations not just to cover production costs but also to subsidize training and materials and their distribution to people in nearly 150 countries, most who can afford no more than bare living essentials. This is our ministry to Jesus’ most needy brethren and in fact your ministry if you’re associated with us.

 

 

    Permissions

     

    Books:

    Precept Ministries does not allow the reproduction or transmission of any of its copyrighted products in whole or in part in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

    This includes NASB Scripture references the Lockman Foundation has copyrighted but given us permission to quote in our materials.

    Exceptions:

        1. The first lessons of Precept Upon Precept (PUP) studies (free downloads from our web site)
          Note: leaders are authorized to copy the first one or two lessons when complete workbooks have been purchased but are scheduled to arrive late (after the first class)
        2. Free Study Guides for Precepts For Life programs (also downloadable)

    Media:

    Precept does not allow any reproduction or transmission of CDs, DVDs, MP3s, or MP4s.

    Exceptions:

        1. A one-time conversion from audio or visual tapes to CD or DVD.
        2. Downloaded files should be limited to one device for listening or viewing.
        3. Church (only) one-time duplication to produce a vaulted master in case of product deterioration. The original and copy (master) may not be installed or used concurrently on two CPUs.

     

     

    To obtain permission to copy Precept materials

    Please send the information requested below to:

    Email:  [email protected]

    Fax:  519-751-7666

    Mail: Precept Ministries Canada, 61 Sherwood Drive, Brantford ON, N3T 1N3

    Or complete the online contact form: Click here.

    Please note:  we do not take requests by phone.

     

    For each Title include:

      • Title and Author(s)
      • ISBN#
      • Copyright date
      • Specific Quotes or Visuals (maps, charts, etc.)
      • Pages
      • Paragraphs
      • Line Numbers
      • Class: Size, Location, and Date(s)
      • Number of Copies

     

    Fair Use:

    http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

    The U.S. Copyright Office’s concept of Fair Use is primarily intended to disseminate college research for educational (that is, non-profit) purposes. Accordingly, no limits are put on students for incorporating a published author’s verbatim (word-for-word) statements in his/her own work. The assumption is that the student’s critique (in a PowerPoint presentation or a Master’s Thesis as two examples) will be freely available to other college researchers, that is, neither sold nor published.

    Fair Use also extends to published for-resale materials, but the government does not mandate percentage limits of verbatim quotes from a published author. While the Copyright Office allows some non-specified minimal verbatim quoting, it’s assumed that prospective authors will request formal permission to extract and incorporate any sizable word-for-word volumes from established authors. This is to protect authors’ original verbal content and style. There are no limits on concepts (ideas).

     

     

     

    Copyright Law:

    http://www.copyright.gov

    Fair Use does not protect against Copyright Law infringements. Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act
    gives the owner of the copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:

     

      • Reproduce the work in copies or media;
      • Prepare derivative works based on originals;
      • Distribute copies or media of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by
        rental, lease, or lending;
      • Perform the work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, panto-
        mimes, motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
      • Display the copyrighted work publicly, in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic
        works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a
        motion picture or other audiovisual work; and in the case of sound recordings, to perform the work
        publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.