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Intellectual & Digital Property: Difference between revisions
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* Similarly, Rabbi Hershel Schachter in a [http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/788264/Rabbi_Hershel_Schachter/Copyright_Law shiur on yutorah.org, titled Copyright Law] explained that since intellectual property isn't tangible there's the inventor or author doesn't own it Biblically. However, there is a rabbinic ownership on it since he did create it similar to someone who plants an ownerless tree is considered an owner rabbinically. If the owner is selling the product then the rabbinic ownership of the intellectual property allows the author the rights to his product and taking them without paying is stealing. However, if the rabbinic ownership doesn't give him exclusive rights to the intellectual property. That is, if he has no intention to sell them then there is no right just to hold onto them. Therefore, if a person is a potential buyer it is forbidden to violate a copyright. However, if the author doesn't have any copies to sell or the person isn't a potential customer the author has no right to restrict him copying the intellectual property for personal use.</ref> | * Similarly, Rabbi Hershel Schachter in a [http://www.yutorah.org/lectures/lecture.cfm/788264/Rabbi_Hershel_Schachter/Copyright_Law shiur on yutorah.org, titled Copyright Law] explained that since intellectual property isn't tangible there's the inventor or author doesn't own it Biblically. However, there is a rabbinic ownership on it since he did create it similar to someone who plants an ownerless tree is considered an owner rabbinically. If the owner is selling the product then the rabbinic ownership of the intellectual property allows the author the rights to his product and taking them without paying is stealing. However, if the rabbinic ownership doesn't give him exclusive rights to the intellectual property. That is, if he has no intention to sell them then there is no right just to hold onto them. Therefore, if a person is a potential buyer it is forbidden to violate a copyright. However, if the author doesn't have any copies to sell or the person isn't a potential customer the author has no right to restrict him copying the intellectual property for personal use.</ref> | ||
# Some poskim write that a person may not violate a copyright because of [[chilul Hashem]], desecration of God's name.<ref> Shoel Umeishiv 1:44 writes that it is obvious that one may not violate a copyright. Heaven forbid, our Torah shouldn’t be seen as inferior to another field of knowledge. Mishnat Yehoshua p. 129 suggests that the Shoel Umeishiv forbids violating a copyright because doing so would be a chilul Hashem. If non-Jews agree that is wrong to steal intellectual property, how could the Torah, a book of divine morals, permit it?! See Hitorerut Teshuva 232 for similar approach.</ref> Otherwise disagree.<ref>Mishna Yehoshua p. 130 isn’t ready to accept the argument of the Shoel Umeishiv since it has no source. Bet Yitzchak 2:75 disagrees with the Shoel Umeishiv.</ref> | # Some poskim write that a person may not violate a copyright because of [[chilul Hashem]], desecration of God's name.<ref> Shoel Umeishiv 1:44 writes that it is obvious that one may not violate a copyright. Heaven forbid, our Torah shouldn’t be seen as inferior to another field of knowledge. Mishnat Yehoshua p. 129 suggests that the Shoel Umeishiv forbids violating a copyright because doing so would be a chilul Hashem. If non-Jews agree that is wrong to steal intellectual property, how could the Torah, a book of divine morals, permit it?! See Hitorerut Teshuva 232 for similar approach.</ref> Otherwise disagree.<ref>Mishna Yehoshua p. 130 isn’t ready to accept the argument of the Shoel Umeishiv since it has no source. Bet Yitzchak 2:75 disagrees with the Shoel Umeishiv.</ref> | ||
# Some poskim write that a person must pay for the right to copy copyrighted material otherwise it is considered benefiting from someone else’s property.<Ref>Mishnat Yehoshua p. 145 cites Rav Zalman Nechemya Goldberg as holding that one is obligated to pay for the right to copy a book otherwise it is considered benefiting from someone else’s property for which one would have to pay for (Bava Kama 20b). Divrei Malkiel 3:157 and Amudei Esh 12 agree that benefiting from intellectual property of someone else is benefiting from their property. </ref> But others disagree since once one bought the book it is completely his.<ref>Mishnat Yehoshua p. 149 argues that you only pay for benefiting from someone else's property if it is still theirs but once one buys it there's no issue of benefiting from it. Even though the Nodeh Beyehuda CM 24 implies that there's an obligation to pay for | # Some poskim write that a person must pay for the right to copy copyrighted material otherwise it is considered benefiting from someone else’s property.<Ref>Mishnat Yehoshua p. 145 cites Rav Zalman Nechemya Goldberg as holding that one is obligated to pay for the right to copy a book otherwise it is considered benefiting from someone else’s property for which one would have to pay for (Bava Kama 20b). Divrei Malkiel 3:157 and Amudei Esh 12 agree that benefiting from intellectual property of someone else is benefiting from their property. </ref> But others disagree since once one bought the book it is completely his.<ref>Mishnat Yehoshua p. 149 argues that you only pay for benefiting from someone else's property if it is still theirs but once one buys it there's no issue of benefiting from it. Even though the Nodeh Beyehuda CM 24 implies that there's an obligation to pay for benefiting from a layout of someone else even though the actual material belongs to him that is only because the layout is still his friends and therefore the whole thing is still connected to being someone else's property. However, in our case one already bought the item completely. Also some disagree with the Nodeh Beyehuda including Yehoshua Malko CM 22.</ref> | ||
==Solutions to Solidify a Halachic Copyright== | ==Solutions to Solidify a Halachic Copyright== | ||
