Copyright Crash Course

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately reading up on copyright issues. I intend to publish 19th century texts which were previously published in British magazines, and I intend to publish the first book in late 2026.

The Victorians were considerably more religious than the Brits of today. Many articles published in magazines at that time were – in one way or another – what I would term “religious.” Quotes from the Bible, or articles about passages from the Bible or Scripture are scattered throughout many texts which I find interesting, and would like to include in one of my books.

I was stunned when I learned that the Crown has a royal prerogative in regard to the King James Bible, which is a de facto perpetual copyright. If I want to publish a quote from the King James Bible and sell my book in the United Kingdom, I need to apply (and pay) for licencing rights.

I can freely publish quotes from the King James Bible in many other countries, including the US, but not in the UK.

So I need to make a decision right now in which countries I intend to sell any books that contain quotes from the King James Bible; I could edit the texts somewhat, and quote another Bible edition, e.g., the American Standard Version (ASV), which was published in 1901, is an adaption of a previous version, which itself was adapted from a King James Bible edition; apparently the ASV edition of the Bible is copyright free in all countries, including the United Kingdom. You’ll find a good article about the ASV on Wikipedia.

There are digital ASV editions of the Bible available on various Internet websites. I’ve been trying to buy an old edition from antiquarian bookstores; unexpectedly, old ASV Bibles appear to be rare. They are quite expensive. If I quote from an online edition, that would raise all kinds of other copyright issues.

Many sites make content available to read for free, but only for private use; which is why I’ve gone on a bit of a buying spree lately. I do intend to quote content published in other books in my own books, but only content for which the copyright has long expired, and only if I own a physical copy of any other book I use as a resource.

I was also quite surprised to learn that not all materials published by governments of various countries are copyright-free. I’d foolishly assumed they would be, as they’re basically paid for with taxpayer money. It would appear that in the United States, all materials published by the government can indeed be quoted freely; no copyright issues there. In Canada, the Head of State is the King of England, currently King Charles II; and once again, the Crown has a royal prerogative in regard to all materials published by the Canadian government.

I do want to sell my books in the UK and in Canada, so that’s why I’m researching copyright issues in those countries. International copyright – interesting stuff, for sure.

(Disclaimer: Please know that I am not a lawyer. I am not giving legal advice. I am sharing my own publishing journey. Consult a lawyer, if you have questions in regard to copyright.)