Table of Contents
Overview
One of the greatest barriers to technological innovation with the Bible has always been the complexity inherent in IP licensing. This is the core problem API.Bible solves, although naturally some great questions still exist. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions we receive about licensing and Bible access.
Commercial and Non-Commercial Use
Some licenses are only available non-commercially. Additionally, all licenses require a monthly cost when used commercially, to support the ongoing translation work involved in creating these Bibles. For these reasons, accurately determining your product's commercial status is very important. Here is a quick guide you can follow to do so:
Commercial Use
Projects that generate revenue or support a revenue model are considered commercial. Examples include:
- Bible apps with ads and/or in-app purchases
- Subscription services that includes Scripture
- A publishing company integrating Scripture into books.
- Fundraising purposes (excluding non-intrusive tithe/donation links)
Non-Commercial Use
Projects that do not and will not generate revenue are considered non-commercial. Examples include:
- A personal study app with no ads
- A free church website
- An academic research project.
To see the commercial and non-commercial agreement included in the Terms of Service you sign during account creation, visit the Terms of Service page here.
Available Bibles
API.Bible offers access to both open-access and copyright-protected Bibles. Open Access Bibles, available on all plans, include public domain versions and those licensed under Creative Commons. Up to 3 popular copyrighted Bibles can be used in a Starter plan, as detailed in our terms and conditions, and there is no limit with a paid plan. Some Bibles, however, require a Unique License agreement with the IP holder.
To see all Bibles offered by API.Bible, visit our Bibles list here.
Fair Use Management System (FUMS)
Note: if you only use API.Bible for your mobile app (ie an app you download from the Apple App Store of Google Play Store and has no user-accessible web functionality) you can skip this section.
FUMS is our Fair Use Management System that we require all API developers to use in web apps. It allows us to profile usage of the various versions, books, chapters, and verses that are requested from the API so that we can communicate thoroughly with copyright holders and publishers.
See the Fair Use Guide for implementation details.
What we collect:
- FUMS Token: This represents your request when you make a call for Scripture. It comes back in the response and allows us to connect your FUMS report to a specific API request.
- Device ID: This randomly generated ID is an anonymous representation of one specific device and is used for the lifetime of that device. This allows us to track usage at the device level. We handle this for you via the Javascript tracker.
- Session ID This is a randomly generated id that is regenerated at the start of every session. It allows us to do analytics on how people engage with the scriptures in a given sitting. We also handle this for you via the Javascript tracker.
- User ID (Optional): If your application has logged in users, we ask that you provide the ID for the currently active user. This ID should never contain any PII. Our Javascript tracker automatically obfuscates any value you give us by using the sha256 cryptographic hashing function. We use this to profile scripture engagement at the user level.