Permissions and Use
Last updated: 17-06-26 · Version 1.0
1. Preamble
PaliVerse is offered in the spirit of Dhamma Dāna — the freely given teaching. The platform and its content — the English translation of the Tipiṭaka, Aṭṭhakathā, and Ṭīkā, the master glossary, summaries, commentary linkings, AI-generated explanations, and audio — are made freely available for personal study and practice.
This document sets out what may be done with that content, what requires permission, and what is not permitted. It is issued by the Center for Study and Practice Theravada Buddhism Civic Non Profit Company, Athens, Greece, the operator of paliverse.org, and forms part of the site's Terms and Conditions.
2. Free personal access
Access to the canonical texts and core study tools of PaliVerse is and will remain free of charge. No payment is required to read the texts. Optional memberships and donations support the project but are never a condition of access to the core content of the Canon.
3. Copyright and open-source status
The Pāli source texts of the Canon are in the public domain. The translations published on PaliVerse, together with the glossary, summaries, commentary linkings, AI-generated explanations, audio output, structural data, and software, are protected works and remain the intellectual property of the Centre.
PaliVerse is not open source. Free access to read and study the content does not transfer any rights in it, and does not permit redistribution, modification, or reuse beyond the permissions granted in this document.
4. Permitted personal use
The following uses are permitted without any request:
- reading and studying the texts online;
- printing or saving reasonable extracts for personal study and practice;
- quoting short passages in personal correspondence, talks, or social media, with attribution to PaliVerse in the form set out in Section 7;
- using the search, navigation, and AI study tools as offered on the platform.
5. Academic and teaching use
PaliVerse welcomes the use of its translations in academic work, teaching, and scholarly publication. Such use requires:
- Prior written permission. Permission is normally granted free of charge for bona fide academic and teaching purposes.
- Attribution. Every use must cite PaliVerse as the source, in the citation format set out in Section 7 below.
Permission requests should be sent to the address given in Section 11.
6. Use by monastics and Dhamma teachers
Ordained Theravāda monastics and recognised Dhamma teachers are granted standing permission to use PaliVerse translations in oral teachings, Dhamma talks, and non-commercial printed handouts and booklets for their communities, on the single condition that PaliVerse is acknowledged as the source of the translation.
Reprinting of extended passages, or production of standalone publications drawing substantially on PaliVerse translations, still requires a written request under Section 5.
7. Citation format
The preferred citation form is:
PaliVerse. English translation of [Sutta or text name, e.g. Mahāsatipaṭṭhāna Sutta, DN 22]. Centre for the Study and Practice of Theravāda Buddhism, Athens. Available at: https://paliverse.org. Accessed [DD Month YYYY].
Where house style requires a different bibliographic format (Chicago, MLA, APA, etc.) the equivalent form should be used, retaining the elements: author = PaliVerse; publisher = Centre for the Study and Practice of Theravāda Buddhism, Athens; URL = paliverse.org; date of access.
8. Restricted uses
The permissions in Sections 4 to 6 do not extend to the uses set out below. These fall into two categories: uses that are strictly not permitted, and uses that are negotiable under a written agreement with PaliVerse.
8.1 Strictly not permitted
The following uses are not permitted under any circumstances. No request for these uses will be entertained:
- use by any third party of any PaliVerse content — including translations, glossary, summaries, commentary linkings, AI-generated explanations, audio output, and structural data — as training, fine-tuning, embedding, or retrieval-augmented-generation data for any artificial-intelligence or machine-learning system;
- automated scraping, crawling, or mass downloading of the platform, whether by software agents, AI agents, or any other automated means;
- use of the PaliVerse name, logo, or visual branding in any manner that suggests endorsement, affiliation, or co-authorship where none has been agreed in writing;
- for-profit commercial sale of PaliVerse content as the primary product, including paid books, paid digital editions, paid courses, and paid applications whose value rests substantially on PaliVerse translations or glossary.
In keeping with long-standing Theravāda practice, the Dhamma is not sold for profit. This principle is reflected in the prohibition above and is non-negotiable.
8.2 Negotiable under written agreement
The following uses are not covered by the standing permissions of this document, but may be agreed in writing with PaliVerse where the proposed use is consistent with the Dhamma Dāna spirit of the project:
- cost-recovery publication of PaliVerse translations in print or digital form — that is, publication at a price covering only production, distribution, and reasonable administrative costs, with no commercial profit margin;
- bulk redistribution of the corpus, glossary, translation memories, or XML resources to recognised Buddhist institutions, monasteries, universities, or research centres for non-commercial scholarly or Dhamma purposes;
- integration of PaliVerse content into third-party Dhamma platforms, study tools, or research applications operated on a non-commercial basis;
- translation of PaliVerse content into further languages by external teams under PaliVerse methodology.
Requests under Section 8.2 should follow the procedure in Section 11 and should clearly describe the intended use, the responsible institution, the basis on which any costs are recovered, and the safeguards proposed to ensure the content is not subsequently diverted to uses prohibited under Section 8.1.
9. Reservation against text and data mining
In addition to the prohibition in Section 8.1, and for the avoidance of doubt, PaliVerse expressly reserves all rights in respect of text and data mining, machine learning, and artificial-intelligence training in relation to all content on the platform. This reservation operates as an explicit opt-out for the purposes of any applicable copyright exception or general permission that might otherwise be inferred under Greek, European Union, or other applicable law.
This reservation extends to translations, glossary, summaries, commentary linkings, AI-generated explanations, audio output, structural data, and the platform's interface.
10. Disclaimer
The translations are works of scholarship offered in good faith, produced through direct Pāli-to-English translation with expert review and continuous quality assurance. They are provided without warranty of any kind. For matters of doctrine and practice, the Pāli texts remain authoritative.
11. Permissions contact
Requests for permission under Sections 5 and 8.2, and any questions about this document, should be sent to:
Center for Study and Practice Theravada Buddhism Civic Non Profit Company
5 Apostolou Pavlou St., Ag. Paraskevi, 153 42 Athens, Greece
[email protected]
Requests should describe the intended use, the extent of the material concerned, and the person or institution responsible.
12. Governing law
This document and any permission granted under it are governed by Greek law. Any dispute arising from it is subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of Athens, Greece.