Biblical Copyright

Copyright Acknowledgements for Scripture Quotations on Custom Printing and Imprinting

Most modern translations of the Bible are still under copyright. Copyright protects the integrity of the texts and in some cases provides income for the copyright holder. It is against the law to reproduce them without permission. Fortunately, for most of the purposes related to personalizing our products, the major copyright holders have granted free permission as described below.

Roman Catholic Liturgical Texts: ICEL

The International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) is the copyright holder for most liturgical texts. No royalty is charged for reprinting ICEL translations in a publication for use at a specific Mass or celebration of an individual congregation or institution, for example: convention program booklets, jubilee Masses, ordinations, baptisms, first communions, confirmations, funerals, weddings, etc., provided that the following conditions are met:

  1. the publication is not produced by a publishing firm;
  2. the publication is not sold;
  3. the appropriate copyright notice appears on the cover, inside cover, or title page;
  4. the official editions of the texts are followed exactly.

Under the above policy, The Printery House may qualify as a "publishing firm." Requests to reproduce ICEL-copyrighted material will be subject to review and approval.

Scripture Texts

Jerusalem Bible

Darton Longman and Todd Ltd
1 Spencer Court,
140–2 Wandsworth High Street,
London SW18 4JJ
tel. 020 8875 0155
fax 020 8875 0133
sales@darton-longman-todd.co.uk
Darton Longman and Todd allow up to 500 words without application with the following acknowledgement:

  • From The Jerusalem Bible © 1966 by Darton Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday and Company Ltd.

Grail Psalter (Liturgy of the Hours)

In the UK:
HarperCollins Publishers
77-85 Fulham Palace Road,
Hammersmith,
London W6 8JB
fax. 020 8307 4753
permissions@harpercollins.co.uk
Grail Psalms are part of the Calamus license scheme. For other enquiries contact HarperCollins. The acknowledgement required is:

  • From The Psalms: A New Translation © 1963 The Grail (England) published by HarperCollins.

 

Agent in the US:
GIA Publications, Inc.
7404 South Mason Avenue
Chicago, IL 60638
(800) GIA-1358 (442-1358)
(708) 496-3800
Fax: (708) 496-3828
The Grail Psalms are licensed under OneLicense.net.

The Revised Grail Psalms

Copyright © 2010 Conception Abbey/The Grail, administered by GIA Publications, Inc. See information under Grail Psalter above.

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The copyright holders allow up to 500 verses to be printed without application, provided they do not amount to more than 50% of the printed booklet. The acknowledgement required is:

  • The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyrighted 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. All rights reserved.
  • National Council of the Churches of Christ website - permissions

 

New American Bible, Revised Edition

The Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) owns the copyright on the New American Bible, revised edition translation. The copyright allows the owner to protect the integrity of the text so that individuals may not introduce changes without permission. Royalty fees earned by licensing the text to companies who publish and sell Bibles help to provide funds for Scripture scholarship and other educational needs.

For one-time print use (such as in a worship program for a special liturgy):

  • No written permission is required for one-time use.
  • The official liturgical text must be followed. All excerpts must be verbatim from the text, including capitalization and punctuation. The poetic structure of those readings written in verse (for example, Psalms, Wisdom, Isaiah, etc.) must be preserved in verse as printed.
  • The appropriate acknowledgment must be printed either beneath the reading(s) or with the other acknowledgments:
Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

For quotations directly out of the New American Bible of less than 5,000 words, the following notice is sufficient:

NABRE © 2010. CCD. All rights reserved.

The exact wording, punctuation, capitalization, and poetic format must be retained, though, as is usual, initial capitalization and ending punctuation may be changed.

Other Translations

If you are quoting another translation of the Bible in your personalization, please indicate the name of the Bible or the translation in your special instructions. We will need to verify that we can legally reproduce your requested text.