Licensing

Note: Please don't let the complex wording below frighten you too much. It's mostly there to keep publishers honest. If all you want to do is use the materials in your local church, this license gives you permission to do that.

Negotiability

The terms of this license are negotiable. If you would like to negotiate different terms or obtain special permissions, contact the authors.

Purpose

These materials were created for our own use, within our own local church. We have chosen to make them available here, under the terms presented below, with the hope that they may prove useful to someone else. Nonetheless, the materials are provided as they were created, in a form suitable for our own use. Only you may determine whether they are also suitable for your use. If you have questions about the terms of this license, please contact the authors or copyright holders in order to clarify what you may do with these materials.

Authorship

Except as noted, the materials on each page (i.e., each HTML file) were created by the persons or organizations listed in the copyright notice near the bottom of that page. All rights under copyright law are retained exclusively by the creators of the content, except inasmuch as this license, if accepted, grants rights to persons who accept this license. Nothing requires anyone to accept this license; however, nothing else grants you the right to use, modify, or distribute these materials, unless you obtain special permission from the authors or copyright holders.

Granting of Permissions

Upon receipt of these materials by you, the recipient (hereinafter, the licensee), a non-exclusive license is hereby granted by the copyright holders to the licensee which, if accepted by the licensee, permits the licensee to perform (only) the specific actions listed in this license, provided that the conditions listed together with each action are observed by the licensee. If at any time the licensee is dissatisfied with the materials or with the terms or conditions of this license, the sole remedy available to the licensee shall be to discontinue any and all use and distribution of the materials so licensed.

Coverage

This license only covers materials that are received by the licensee together with this license. Some materials may be received under this license that are, alternatively, also available under different terms from another source. (For example, some images may be included here which are also in the public domain and available from the Open Clip Art Library or a similar source.) Since the authors or copyright holders of the work retain exclusive rights to the work, it is the exclusive prerogative of the authors or copyright holders to distribute the materials to which they hold copyright in any manner that they choose under any terms that they choose, and their choosing to distribute the materials under the terms detailed here does not preclude that they might also, separately, distribute them in another fashion under different terms, if they choose to do so. This license therefore does not cover materials obtained from another source. This license only covers materials received together from the same source with this license. Materials obtained elsewhere are covered by the respective terms under which they are received.

Some of the materials may contain scripture quotations taken from the New International Version translation of the Bible. (This is noted, where applicable, in the copyright footer at the bottom.) These usages of the NIV text are believed by the authors to be acceptable under Zondervan's usage policy, but the New International Version remains covered by the International Bible Society's copyright and Zondervan's usage policy, not by the copyright on these materials, nor by this license. For permission to use the NIV text, please consult Zondervan.

Definitions

For the purpose of this license, a local church shall be defined as a group of persons who profess to believe, in all seriousness, that Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh, and gather together on a regular basis, at least once per week, together in one location, for the purpose of worship.

For the purpose of this license, a fellowship of churches shall be defined as a group of local churches (as defined above) that communicate and cooperate with one another on a regular basis (at least once per year), share materials, hold a single statement of faith in common, and cooperate in some fashion to train pastors and teachers (whether by maintaining one or more seminaries or practoria or by some equivalent means).

Permission to Distribute

Permission is granted to the licensee to redistribute copies of the materials that have not been modified in terms of content (i.e., copies wherein the words themselves, and any images, have not been altered; the form or format MAY be altered by the licensee as necessary to accomodate the method of distribution, e.g., the content may be formatted for printing in book form for distribution rather than distributing the content electronically) provided this license and the copyright notices are neither removed nor altered. Copies distributed in this fashion (not modified in terms of content) may be distributed to anyone to whom the licensee wishes to distribute them, with the understanding that the copyright holders retain all rights exclusively, and that those who receive copies are only permitted to do the things permitted by this license.

Permission to Use

Permission is granted to the licensee to use and present these materials in the context of a single local church to which the licensee belongs and with which the licensee regularly meets (at least once per week). In the course of using the materials in the local church, the licensee may make modifications to the materials as necessary to accomodate the needs of the local church, and may distribute copies of the materials, with or without modification, to other persons in the local church. However, modified versions of the materials shall constitute derived works and must not be distributed outside the local church except as expressly permitted by this license or by special permission from the copyright holders.

Derived Work Permission for a Fellowship of Churches

Permission is granted to the licensee to create derived works based on the materials and to distribute the derived works to a single fellowship of churches to which the licensee belongs, provided that the following conditions are ALL met:

1. Prominent and clear notice must be given to all persons receiving the derived works, to the effect that what they are receiving are, in fact, derived works. A synopsis of the nature of the changes made must be included in this notice.
2. The copyright notices must be retained and must not be altered except by the addition of the names of any and all persons and organizations who contributed additional materials that are included in the derived works, or made changes to the materials that are reflected in the derived works.
3. The derived works MUST NOT be distributed outside the fellowship of churches to which the licensee who created the derived works belongs, unless special permission is granted by the copyright holders. (Changes MAY, if desired, be submitted to the original copyright holders for inclusion in the materials, provided that the person submitting the changes is the author of the changes and agrees to allow them to be distributed under the terms of this license; the copyright holders of the original materials reserve the right to approve or reject any such contributions; if they are approved, the name(s) of the contributor(s) who submitted them will be added to the copyright notice(s) of the relevant portions of the materials. Submitting changes for inclusion in the main distribution of materials is strictly optional and does not in any way alter the permissions granted by this license.)
4. The licensee MUST make a concerted effort to rigorously examine all modifications and additions made to the materials in the course of producing any derived works and to ensure that they are, as best as the licensee is able to determine, consistent with everything written in the Holy Bible. Derived works MUST NOT be distributed by a licensee who believes there may be inconsistencies between the derived works and teachings set forth in the Bible.
5. The licensee MUST make a concerted effort to rigorously examine all modifications and additions made to the materials in the course of producing any derived works to ensure that they, as best as the licensee is able to determine, do not mishandle any text from the Bible, either by drawing from the text a meaning that is inconsistent with the context of the text, or by reading information into the text that is not actually implied by the text itself, or in any other way. Derived works MUST NOT be distributed by a licensee who believes that the derived works are careless or irresponsible in their handling of the scripture.

Disclaimer of Warrantee

These materials are provided as is with absolutely no warrantee. Any and all warranties, express or implied, are expressly disclaimed. Warranties that are disclaimed include, but are not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Under no circumstances shall the holders of copyright or any other person or organization be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, special, consequential, or other damages (including, but not limited to, procurement of substitute materials, goods, or services; loss of use, data, profits, or other benefits; or business interruption) however said damages may be caused or on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort (including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use of these materials, even if advised of the possibility of such damage.