Best answer: Are all Bibles copyrighted?

The bible itself does not have a copyright. Anyone can publish or use content from the bible. What IS copyrighted is specific translations, commentary and appendices.

Which Bible versions are not copyrighted?



Copyrights belong to whichever publishing house published a particular version. The Bible in general is public domain but many translations are not. If you want to reprint Bibles youll need to find out what versions, like the KJV, are public domain and which arent so you dont get sued or do your own translation.

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New International Version
Revision 1984, 2011
Publisher Biblica (worldwide), Zondervan (US), Hodder & Stoughton (UK), others
Religious affiliation Evangelical

Do I need permission to quote the Bible?

The Bible you typically do not need permission to quote. … If you quote from the King James Version (KJV), you’re unlikely to encounter any problems, as the translation was completed in 1611. It is also the most well know version of the Bible in English.


The Bible is not copyrighted. Even if it had been, the copyright would have expired thousands of years ago. “In the beginning” is too short, and to common a phrase, for using it to infringe upon a copyright.

Who gets the profits from the Bible?

The Bible is public domain and, unless someone is pushing some fancy pants copyright translation or something, anybody can print and publish a copy of the Bible. Anyone can also, therefore, sell Bibles. The money thus earned goes to whoever printed, distributed and sold the specific copies in question.

Is King James Version public domain?

Today the unqualified title “King James Version” usually indicates this Oxford standard text.

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King James Version
show Genesis 1:1–3 show John 3:16

Can someone copyright the images of Santa Claus or Jesus Christ? Works without enough “originality” (creativity) to merit copyright protection such as titles, names, short phrases and slogans, familiar symbols or designs, font design, ingredients or contents, facts, blank forms, etc. cannot be copyrighted.

Can God be copyrighted?

The Supreme Court has ruled that names of gods or holy books cannot be trademarked to sell goods and services. … The answer to the question as to whether any person can claim the name of a holy or religious book as a trademark for goods or services marketed by him is clearly ‘no’,” said the bench.

Is the Bible intellectual property?

Since most of the world’s major religions have been practiced for over a thousand years, their original scriptures are in public domain. … For newer religions, scriptures are still copyrighted, and some religious organizations, such as the Church of Scientology, enforce these copyrights aggressively.

Why is the NIV Bible bad?


Is the NIV a Good Bible Translation?


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Does HarperCollins own NIV Bible?


Catholic Church