Acceptable Use Policy

Information about Us

This Acceptable Use Policy is published by SIL Global (“SIL“; 7500 W Camp Wisdom Rd, Dallas, TX 75236, USA) and the United Bible Societies Association (“UBSA“; Stonehill Green, Westlea, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN5 7PJ, UK), the joint owners of Paratext.

References to “we,” “us,” and “our” mean SIL and UBSA.

References to “you” and “your” mean the individual reading this Policy and using Paratext. Where this Policy imposes an obligation on an Organization, it says “your Organization” or “the Organization.”

1. What this Policy is

This Acceptable Use Policy (the “Policy”) sets out the standards of conduct expected of all users of Paratext. Breach of this Policy will be a breach of the Paratext Terms of Service and may result in suspension or revocation of your license to use Paratext. It applies to Organization Users, Organization Administrators, and Independent Translators.

This Policy also binds Organizations: an Organization is responsible for ensuring that its registered users and administrators comply with this Policy, and a breach by users of the Organization may result in action at the Organization level as well as the individual level, in accordance with Section 15 of the Terms of Service.

Defined terms have the meanings given to them in Section 2 of the Paratext Terms of Service.

2. Ethical Use

We expect all Paratext users to observe copyright law, trademark law, patent law, and practice basic ethical principles.

We reserve the right to suspend or revoke access to Paratext, and to remove or restrict access to content hosted on our services, under the following circumstances (and otherwise in accordance with the Terms of Service):

• Infringement of copyright, trademark or patent infringement, plagiarism, or failure to honor licensing agreements relating to resources or content accessed through Paratext;
• Socially irresponsible behavior, including using Paratext to publish or distribute material that is obscene, defamatory, or that incites violence or hatred. This is a standard of conduct we require of users; it is not a determination of what is lawful. We solely decide whether conduct breaches this Policy and may act under the Terms of Service or Privacy Policy and whether or not the conduct is unlawful in any particular jurisdiction.
• Public conduct in connection with your use of Paratext that is intended to, or that we reasonably consider likely to, bring Paratext, SIL, or UBSA into serious disrepute. This does not restrict good-faith criticism of Paratext, its software, or its policies.
• Failure to Use in accordance with the intended purposes of The Terms of Service.

3. Prohibited Conduct

In addition to the ethical principles above, you agree not to:

• Use Paratext for any purpose that is fraudulent or that is unlawful under the Governing law applicable to Paratext and its activities;
• Infringe the copyright, trademark, or other intellectual property rights of any party, or misrepresent others’ work as your own;
• Use Paratext for any purpose outside the scope of the license granted in Section 3 of the Terms of Service, or for any commercial purpose, unless we have authorized it in writing;
• Use Paratext to bully, threaten, harass, or intimidate another person;
• Knowingly transmit data through Paratext that contains any form of virus or other malware or any other code designed to adversely affect computer hardware, software, or data of any kind;
• Knowingly transmit unauthorized or unsolicited marketing or similar material (commonly referred to as “spam”) through Paratext; or
• Use Paratext for the purpose of reengineering or decanting the source code in a way that violates the intellectual property rights of Paratext or its owners, or for the purpose of developing a “Plugin” as defined in the Terms of Service, that does not serve the express purposes of Paratext outlined in the Terms of Service.

We may investigate potential violations of this Policy and take action under Section 15 of the Terms of Service, including suspension or revocation of access, in respect of any user or Organization found in violation.

4. Governing Law

This Policy forms part of the Paratext Terms of Service and is governed by the same law and subject to the same jurisdiction as those Terms (see Terms of Service, Section 19).

5. Updates and Contact

We may update this Policy from time to time. The current version is at paratext.org/acceptable-use.

For material changes we notify registered users by email at least 30 days before the changes take effect. Your continued use of Paratext after the effective date of any change constitutes acceptance; if you do not agree, you must stop using Paratext.

Questions: admin@paratext.org.

This Acceptable Use Policy was last updated on 14th August, 2026.