Q&A: Is it permitted to quote a paragraph from your book?
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Is it permitted to quote a paragraph from your book?
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Is it permitted from time to time to quote a paragraph from your book and publish it on the internet (for example, within a full comment)?
And from other people’s books—is that permitted because of copyright?
Answer
That’s a question for a lawyer, not for me. As far as I’m concerned, it’s permitted.
As far as I know, when it’s used for study, research, or criticism, it is permitted (provided that one preserves the moral copyright, meaning that one states who the author is and where it was taken from). For other purposes, there are also economic copyright rights, and you need permission from the rights holder.