COPYRIGHT STATUS
There is a great deal of confusion about the copyright status of A Course in Miracles due to the copyright litigation from 2004. In part this is due to the posting of fraudulent documents on the internet that supposedly show the final order of the court, but significantly exaggerate its scope and impact. The court’s final decision revoked only the 1975 copyright to the first edition of the Course and placed it in the public domain. The second edition (which added new material and the numbering of sections, paragraphs, and lines) and the combined third edition (which added the two supplements to the Course) remain under full copyright protection, as do the Preface and Clarification of Terms. All prior editions of the Course were unaffected by the court’s decision as well.
To further complicate matters, a subsequent ruling by the German high court of Frankfurt-am-Main in 2014 affirmed our Foundation’s rights to ALL editions of the Course including the Urtext and the 1972 Hugh Lynn Cayce draft (published as the Original ACIM). (Guardian article.)
The volume of Helen Schucman’s poetry titled The Gifts of God was published independent of the Course by this Foundation. It is copyrighted and may not be quoted or used in any way without permission.
The upshot of these decisions is as follows:
If you live in the United States, the first edition without line numbering is public domain and may be quoted and used freely. See “Permissions” (below) for our policy for quoting from or otherwise using the numbered second or third editions, the Preface, Clarification of Terms, Psychotherapy supplement, or Song of Prayer supplement.
If you live in the European Union, all editions of the Course and related materials are fully copyright protected and will require permission for quotations. See “Permissions” (below) for our policy.
If you live outside the U.S. or E.U., then there are no court rulings determining copyright status and it can reasonably be assumed that all rights to the Course remain with its original publisher, the Foundation for Inner Peace, and will require permission for quotations. See “Permissions” (below) for our policy.
PERMISSION TO QUOTE FROM A COURSE IN MIRACLES
PRINT or TEXT:
We hope to encourage as much discussion of the Course as possible among students. Therefore, we have implemented a very liberal permissions policy for quoting from the Course. This applies to all English editions and all of our translations except for the German. For German permissions, you will need to contact the publisher, Greuthof, directly at [email protected]
For quotations in any print or text work, including books, articles, study guides, magazines, blogs, websites, etc., you may freely use up to 1000 numbered lines from the Course without our written permission provided that:
- Course quotations do not constitute more than 25% of the work.
- You do not quote more than one entire chapter of the Text, more than ten consecutive Workbook lessons, more than three consecutive sections from the Manual for Teachers, or more than two sections from either of the Supplements (Psychotherapy and Song of Prayer).
- You reference all quotes using the annotated referencing system.
- You properly acknowledge the Foundation for Inner Peace as publisher and copyright holder by placing the following acknowledgment (below) on the copyright page of your book or prominently at the top or bottom of your quoted work for other print and textual materials, and on websites or other media.
For English editions:
“All quotes are from A Course in Miracles, copyright ©1992, 1999, 2007 by the Foundation for Inner Peace, 448 Ignacio Blvd., #306, Novato, CA 94949, www.acim.org and [email protected], used with permission.”
For Translations (e.g. Spanish):
“All quotes are from Un Curso De Milagros copyright ©1995, 2018 by the Foundation for Inner Peace, 448 Ignacio Blvd., #306, Novato, CA 94949, www.acim.org and [email protected], used with permission.”
If you are uncertain of the copyright year(s) for any translation, please contact us.
If you want to quote more than 1000 lines or if Course quotations make up more than 25% of your work, then you will need to obtain written permission from the Foundation. Please email us at [email protected] or contact us with your request, and be sure to include a detailed description of your work, which portions of the Course you would like to quote from in your work, and how it will be distributed.
Note that we will not approve and wherever possible will take action to prevent the online or print publication of the Course or any large portions of the Course that do not conform to these permissions guidelines. We believe that it is our responsibility, assigned to us by the Course’s Author through Helen Schucman, to publish and distribute the Course in keeping with His wishes throughout the world.
PRODUCTS, APPS AND AUDIO-VIDEO RECORDINGS USING COURSE QUOTATIONS:
All products, apps and/or audio-video recordings using the second or third English editions or any of the Foundation’s translations will require the written permission of the Foundation unless intended solely for private personal use. Depending on the project, we may ask you to enter into a contract with the Foundation. Please contact us with your request. Be sure to include a detailed description of your work or product, which portions of the Course you intend to use in your work, and how it will be distributed or sold.
Last updated on August 30, 2019.
