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Friday, March 24, 2006

Intellectual Property Rights in the Torah

According to Halacha there is no such thing as Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). There is one Halacha that is commonly quoted by Jewish music production companies in an erroneous attempt at backing up their claim that copying or downloading music is usser. This Halacha is 'Issur hasogas g'vul'. However, there is only one problem with that. The issur of 'Hasogas g'vul' pertains only to a person who is making money off of someone else's product by selling it to his potential customers. Therefore, someone that is merely copying, or even distributing to others, at no cost is actually not being oiver any issur at all. I have yet to find out in which Torah Mordechai Ben David and his ilk, or better yet, the Rabbonim in that blurry illegible p'sak din that was posted, have found that copying music is usser. The Jewish music industry has to understand that they are losing money, not because of downloading or coyping, but rather because they have not produced anything of quality for years.

Comments:
Mr. Chaptzem, You have crossed the red line! I come to your site to visit and see all kinds of interesting things. It's usually a breath of fresh air just to get away from my busy and sometimes stressfull life. Your postings usually don't offend me and when they do they are usually minor and don't really bother me. However, by bashing our Rabbonim and making nothing of them, you cross all red lines. The Rabbonim who hold that the "Issur Hasogas G'vul" applies to copying music CD's even when they are not for profiting purposes are the ehrliche ones among us. Whether or not you disagree with them is your problem you haave to deal with. I implore you to delete this posting, an act that will show your respect for ehrliche Rabbonim even though you disagree with them.

 

Chaptzem who r u to know better then the rabbis. Stop blasting lipa, MBD, whos next. Just keep me happy and keep posting about unger and his goons, Shkoyach.

 

This just in. The gedolim cards series 2 has come out. They show a picture of Reb md and beneath it says Reb Mordechai Dovid Unger. Turn a few pages and a picture of The REBBE REB BENTZION SHLITA is shown. Under it it says BOBOVER REBBE. Hey 45th street look at the bright side at least they remebered to put reb md in this time!

 

R' Chaptem,
Please do not take this personally, but you are incorrect on your assumption that it is permissable to duplicate CDs to distribute merely because you are not selling them.
First of all, the international copyright that applies to
music states:
"WHAT IS COPYRIGHT?
...To distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;"
( found here:http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html).
The laws of Dina D'malchusa Dina should therefor apply to this rule, especially since it is for the general good of the country, and not some tyrannical rule.
Secondly, Rav Moshe Feinstien in Teshuva clearly rules against duplicating tapes because of maasig g'vul (perhaps also because of ani hamihapech...); that you are denying potential sales to the rightful company (which worked on the music) by duplicating it- even if you distribute it for free.
This teshuva is halacha l'maaseh according to many poskim including Rav Yisroel Belsky who is a talmid of R' Moshe and rules like this all the time.

 

see:
http://www.daat.ac.il/daat/english/halacha/schneider_1.htm

for a comprehensive article about copying in halacha . Please do not pasken when you have no clue what you are talking about.

 

I think you are 101% right. Jewish music today has gotten below the 49th shar of tumah. Why hve we steeped so low in the music industry when learning torah is at its peak.

 

I have heard a shiur by a serious Talmid Chochom in which he made crystal clear that (his shita) theare is NO hasogos gvul by intellectual property including sforim, shiurim, CDs,etc.

As far as dina d'malchusa, he noted a shita that it only applies to karka (real estate)

 

quote:
"I have heard a shiur by a serious Talmid Chochom in which he made crystal clear that (his shita) theare is NO hasogos gvul by intellectual property including sforim, shiurim, CDs,etc."

untill it's his own sefer someone wants to copy

 

quote:
"I have heard a shiur by a serious Talmid Chochom in which he made crystal clear that (his shita) theare is NO hasogos gvul by intellectual property including sforim, shiurim, CDs,etc."

"I heard from a serious Talmid Chochom..." is usually an euphism for "my boich decided..."! Who's your "serious Talmid Chochom"? Did they forget to name him at his bris, or did he annnounce at the end his shiur that repeating it in his name would be Lashon Hora?

 

With Adar almost over here is something to make u laugh.
Q:Why did Megillah laining take so long this year in BOBOV?
A:They had to clap by both haman and mordechai this year.

 

The bottom line is Thousands of Dollars are spent on producing music albums Whether you like the music or NOT it should not be copied. It's only common sence.

 

You find the proof for it, because it's common sense and pashut the right way to look at it - and there are a zillion examples of intellectual rights - and other rights, protected by the Torah (what would happen to the imitator who called his company Malbim's Knishes?)

Anyway, the Jewish music company just may be losing money with their policies - but that's their decision to make.

On the other hand, common sense works both ways. If I have a legit copy of an album or song, I don't see what's wrong with 'lending it to a friend for a few days or a week, and locking it away until the time that I've asked him to destroy the lent copy. Similarly, I can install most software today on two computers (idea being desktop and laptop but the companies don't make that 'diuk'). I'm just not supposed to use both at the same time. I can live with that.

Get with the times. Torah should support sensible laws and guidelines, not seek to undo them. Besides, doesn't 'dina d'malchusa' count either?

 

Before CDs and MP3s were created , the radio and cassettes were the only forms of listening to music. It's legal for someone to record a song on the radio on his/her tape recorder as the music is playing on the radio for FREE. Therefore, it should follow that one should be allowed to download a song (even a Jewish song because JM in the AM probably played it once.) Whether one is recording a song or downloading it there should be no difference since he is simply getting himself a copy a song that he could have legally gotten for free. As for the issue of Halachically stealing, it's not stealing if you're allowed to record off the radio, and instead of recording off the radio you're just downloading it or copying a CD.

 

Dina D'malchusa Dina doesn't apply if the majority of the dina itself does not follow the rule. And you think most people buy their music? yeah right!

Just because someone has the rabbi title doesn't make them the right hand of god almighty. First lets not forget that there are no REAL rabbeim today without our courts. And secondly don't forget how many rabbeim are abusing the very same people that follow them. The scams, the lies with kashrus and even molesting.

At this time I hear out what the rabbiem tell me, if it makes SENSE I follow. I don't tell myself that well I don't like what he said and hence I won't follow it. if it makes sense I do it.

There is no halacha for IP. Those 'rabbiem' in the music industry who came up with issur hasogas gvul were paid to say it.

As for actually downloading/copying music it may not be halachically wrong but I personally feel its morally wrong. I work in the software industry and I know what its like to have your stuff copied, "stolen" and such. And I don't agree with it, but its not halachically wrong.

 

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