Q&A: Ownership of a Creation
Ownership of a Creation
Question
In the past I saw that the Rabbi wrote that a person is considered the owner of an abstract creation, such as a song and the like. At the time I asked that apparently it is explained in the Talmud in Beitzah that a person does not have ownership over a flame, as it says there that the laws of consecrated property do not apply to it, and likewise someone forbidden to derive benefit is permitted to benefit from a flame. Simply understood, this is because there is no ownership over something that has no tangible substance. I do not remember what the Rabbi answered about this issue. Maybe something along the lines of “his fire is משום his arrows,” but I do not understand the matter. Thank you in advance.
Answer
It is a simple rule that there is no ownership over something that has no tangible substance. You do not need the Talmud in Beitzah for that. See my article on copyright.
The article on deception and intellectual property.