Q&A: Downloading from the Internet
Originally published:
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Downloading from the Internet
Question
Hello Rabbi,
If there is a website that contains material with copyright issues, but also material that does not have such issues, is it permitted to pay the site so that I can download content from there that I want?
Does the leniency of Rabbi Dov Lior, may he live long, apply here?
Answer
I didn’t understand. If there is copyright and it is forbidden by law, then it is forbidden. No halakhic leniency from any rabbi can permit it. In monetary matters, the law is what determines things.
Presumably, the claim is that if the law is not enforced, then it is only “formal.”