By their derivative works you shall know them

The implications of the rise of the Internet are still being realized. One of the long-held assumptions that is rooted in the pre-Internet era of publishing is that "copyrights prevent bad things from happening." That is the essence of why copyrights exist in the first place – to prevent others from making money off content that someone else created.

But on the topic of discipleship tools (e.g. Bible translations, study resources, commentaries, Bible school curriculums, etc.), the idea that "copyrights prevent bad things from happpening" also tends to take on the idea of maintaining orthodoxy. Afterall, if no one can legally modify content that someone created, they cannot introduce errors into it.

The scary idea of freedom

So it is no surprise that relinquishing copyright restrictions in order to give anyone the freedom to legally use, translate, adapt, improve and redistribute discipleship tools inevitably results in this question:

"How do you keep cults or under-trained believers from introducing errors (whether intentionally or unintentionally) into the material?"

This is a valid question but one that raises two questions in response:

1. Do copyrights really prevent bad things from happening to discipleship tools? How can anyone be sure that their copyrighted material on their website has not already been downloaded, copied, corrupted and used in ways of which they do not approve, somewhere in the world? We assume that it is not happening, but there is no way to police the entire world for unauthorized use of copyrighted material, and even if there were, penalties tend to be civil (not criminal) in nature and difficult to enforce across international boundaries. So the idea that copyrights prevent bad things from happening is assumed, not proven.

   What is proven is that every day, all over the world, brothers and sisters in Christ are prevented by copyright law from translating, adapting, contextualizing and indigenizing discipleship tools for effective use in their own language and culture. (Note: we are making a distinction between "translation" and "adaptation/contextualization/indigenization". This is because a literal, word-for-word translation of discipleship content is of limited use in a culture for which it was not originally intended. What is being communicated needs to be "re-clothed" in the cultural distinctives of the target audience so that there can be accurate and effective communication of the intended message.)

2. What about when the original material is not copyrighted?. If copyrights prevent bad things from happening at the level of orthodoxy, what happens when a derivative work (e.g. a translation) is made of discipleship materials that are in the Public Domain, and so not under any copyright restrictions?

   A good example is a translation of the Bible made from original manuscripts that are not under copyright restrictions. If the translation is inaccurate or lacking in some way, no one bemoans the fact that the original material was not copyrighted so as to prevent such things from happening. Instead, we simply employ a "by their fruits you shall know them" approach and recommend or discourage use of the translation based on its inherent content and adherence to Truth.

The revolutionary idea of freedom

So we are already able to assess the quality of a derivative work based solely on its inherent quality.

What if this was the standard approach to discipleship tools?

What if the default approach was to give away discipleship tools not just free of charge but intentionally given with the legal freedom to translate, adapt, improve and redistribute the tools, letting the content of the derivative work stand or fall on its own merit?

"...we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ... What then is [our] reward? That... [we] may present the gospel free of charge." –1 Corinthians 9:12,18

All too often, copyright law is an obstacle to the gospel of Christ, especially among people groups who need discipleship tools the most. Removing this obstacle may prove to be challenging because:

• It requires being proactive. The nature of copyright law is such that doing nothing results in all rights being restricted. Thankfully, it is easy to relinquish selected rights by using such resources as the Creative Commons. (Note: we strongly suggest the use of the Attribution-Share Alike license for discipleship content. This is the license we are using for the Door43 project.)

• It requires trusting our brothers & sisters in Christ. As soon as we allow someone who speaks a language we do not know to translate and adapte resources into their language, we are in a position where we need to trust them. And this is a very good thing. Instead of requiring them to wait until we can do it for them, this is a golden opportunity to trust our brothers and sisters in Christ in matters of faith, and ultimately to trust God to work in and through them in the same way He does with us.
• It requires humility and relinquishing control. Letting others build on a foundation we have laid requires humility and a willingness to let others be in the driver's seat. Considering the example of Paul and the building of the congregations in the New Testament suggests that this is not only good but necessary for the growth of healthy, God-dependent churches.
• It requires true partnership. Giving the freedom for others to benefit without cost from our work is an expression of true partnership, if not love.

Scarcity vs. Abundance

The rise of the Internet and mobile phone technology continues to accelerate in some of the farthest reaches of the planet. The digital divide is being bridged at an unprecedented rate and this changes all the rules. It is now so cheap to create, publish and distribute discipleship content on-line that it costs virtually nothing to do so. (See this article for more on the "scarcity vs. abundance" mentalities.)

Rather than wind up on the wrong side of the Digital age (trying to prevent unauthorized use of discipleship content), there is an unprecedented opportunity to not only allow but encourage the free & legal use, translation, adaptation and distribution of discipleship content all over the world, in any language, nearly instantaneously. There are still real expenses involved and it calls for the development of new models for funding ministry without in any way discouraging the use and distribution of discipleship content.

Where to from here

Traditionally, copyright restrictions have been relied upon to prevent unauthorized and inaccurate derivative works of discipleship tools. However, this is not a proven means of preventing bad things from happening. Instead, it legally restricts brothers and sisters in Christ from building on a solid foundation.

We propose that instead of discouraging the creation of derivative works, we should do all we can to encourage their creation and provide training and technological frameworks to help the global church create contextualized discipleship tools of the highest quality for effective use in their own languages and cultures. This is our goal with the Door43 project.

Photo credit: Minette Layne