חדש באתר: NotebookLM עם כל תכני הרב מיכאל אברהם. דומה למיכי בוט.

Copyright

שו"ת › Copyright
0 תן קול הסר קול
שאל לפני 10 שנים

I wanted to ask the rabbi a few questions regarding copyright. I am aware of the article that the rabbi wrote in Tecumin 25. I admit: I did not study it in depth, I only skimmed it. If the answers to my questions are there, I would be happy to know. From what I did notice, the prohibition is not because of a "Dina demalchuta" but because of a law of "Thou shalt not steal." At the end of the day, my motive for maintaining copyright is primarily moral and not halakhic, and yet I have a few specific questions. I would be happy to receive a halakhic opinion on the one hand and a moral opinion on the other.

Many years ago I heard that there is a permission to download one song from a CD. To this day I have not understood the origin of this permission. Is there a halachic answer to this?

If I saw a movie in the cinema, do I have permission to download it?

Today, there is an option on the Internet to buy individual songs or movies. If there is a particular song that I want to buy but it does not exist, is there really a "one song from a disc" option? And what if I want a movie that is not there? How deep do I need to search the Internet to find what I want?

And what about downloading old songs, whose original copyright holders have passed away? Or are they very, very hard to find in stores or online?

I hope the questions are clear, thanks in advance!

לגלות עוד מהאתר הרב מיכאל אברהם

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

השאר תגובה

0 Answers
0 תן קול הסר קול
מיכי צוות ענה לפני 10 שנים
My article dealt mainly with the origin of the right to intellectual property and less with its halachic boundaries. It seems to me that the Dina Demalkuta operates in this field in the opposite way to what everyone thinks. Everyone thinks it is the source of intellectual property, but as you wrote correctly, I think there is a source in the Torah. The Dina Demalkuta is a source for permitting the forbidden, since the monarchy has the right to permit in the laws of wealth (to give up wealth). Therefore, in practice, what determines this matter is the law, not the halacha. All explanations of a single poem, etc., are the opinions of one person or another that have no actual halakhic source. Some are better explanations and some are less so. The question is what the law states, and that is better to ask a lawyer rather than a rabbi. I don't think there is a permit to download a movie you saw in the theater, because with a subscription service you don't pay to see it. Unless the law allows it (for non-commercial use it may be allowed, at least a one-time viewing if not an actual download). Some allow it if you don't buy it anyway. But then you have to be careful not to show it to people who will buy it (who haven't seen it), and that's something that's hard to stand by and remember over time. When it is no longer possible to buy it or see it in a movie theater, then perhaps there is permission to download it. Again, if the law prohibits it, then it may be prohibited by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The same goes for a song, if it can't be obtained for money, I think there's a reason to allow it to be downloaded. I don't know how to determine how much to search for. Until you're convinced that it doesn't exist. Beyond that, there is also a permit for a sea otter or a road that is occupied by many. Things that are in practice no man's land, meaning that the whole world downloads them freely and no one buys them, maybe there is a permit to download them. An unenforceable law is not a law, and common sense also says that there is no point in being strict here. —————————————————————————————— Asks: How do you examine something that is actually a nobody? —————————————————————————————— Rabbi: I don't know enough about this media. In principle, you should check online and if you don't see rights there or someone selling it, or if you see that everyone is downloading it for free and there's no problem, then I think it's fine.

לגלות עוד מהאתר הרב מיכאל אברהם

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

השאר תגובה

© Copyright 2026,כל הזכויות שמורות  | 
Back to top button