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The plaintiff (=pl) put artistic work on a Wikimedia website. The foundation allows free access to the works on its site, even to be used in a commercial setting, with two major conditions: users must credit the artist; the user must display the license agreement code, so that the public knows that they too can use the work under the same conditions. The defendant (=def) regularly uses works from Wikimedia and usually credits the artist. He does not usually display the license code, which he did not feel was necessary. Pl caught def using a work of his without credit, complained, and received a few hundred shekels compensation. Recently he caught def doing so again, and is suing for 40,000 shekels as punitive payment.
Ruling: Def accepts the need to credit artists and explained how he failed to credit pl twice. He also started displaying the license code and pledged to be more careful in the future. Pl agrees that he did not incur losses by the infringement on his rights.
Halacha recognizes intellectual property rights, although there are different opinions as to the nature of the halachic basis. There is a difference, though, between safeguarding someone’s rights and penalizing a violator beyond damages. Beit din, since the time when authentic semicha ceased, is not authorized to rule on penalty payments, only on recovering losses, actualizing deserved profits, and the like. While the latter could justify beit din ruling payment of a few hundred shekels, it could not justify more than that.
The Knesset’s revised law on copyright infringement of 2007 enables courts to levy penalties up to 100,000 shekels even if no damage is proven from the infringement. We accept the government’s ability to legislate based on dina d’malchuta dina. This includes areas that regulate monetary issues between individual citizens (and not just between citizens and the state) when the law is within the spirit of the Torah (see K’tzot Hachoshen 259:3). There is no question that the Torah values giving credit to the originator of an idea and even equates not doing so with theft (see Midrash Tanchuma, Bamidbar 27). The Rama (CM 1:5) says that while beit din cannot enforce the Torah’s penalty payments, they may levy penalties made by contemporary rabbinical leadership. The S’ma says that this is within the power of the general leadership to make life livable for the community. The S’ma (2:2) says that it is justified to levy such payments either when an individual consistently violates a certain social norm or when society neglects a certain area of law or behavior, in which case an individual may be made to pay a penalty even if he is not known to be negligent in that area. Copyright law is certainly something that will not be kept carefully if there are no consequences.
The Knesset law gives logical guidelines to help determine the rate of penalty. Since pl did not lose from the infringement, def did not gain (since they only needed to credit and not pay), and because def took steps to prevent such violations in the future, beit din decided not to levy a large penalty. On the other hand, a token fine could encourage future violations and discourage people like pl from going to the significant trouble of protecting their rights in beit din, which is helpful for society as a whole. The balance struck was of a payment of 3,500 shekels.
P'ninat Mishpat (829)
Various Rabbis
193 - Rejection of a Late Request for Appeal
194 - Levying Fines for Infringement on Intellectual Rights
195 - Marriage Involving an Unfit Witness
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P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Did Any Furniture Go to the Buyer? – part II
based on ruling 84093 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Late and Flawed Apartment
based on ruling 82174 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
P'ninat Mishpat P'ninat Mishpat: Smoking Rights in a Rental? – part I
based on ruling 85076 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts
Rabbis in Midrash
Lessons
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Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 9 - "Seeing is Believing" (parag. 21-30)
These paragraphs elaborate on the theme that seeing and knowing is better than any attempt to prove logically, and begins explaining the difference between Israel and gentiles.
Ein Aya Various Universal Stages of the Geula Process
Rav Kook examines the various stages of redemption, explaining how (in addition to the obvious oft-mentioned stages of ingathering the exiles, reviving the Hebrew language, army, state etc.) the messianic dream of world prosperity, the State of Israel and world unity can and are realistically and logically gradually coming true.
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 8- "Answering Questions on the Kuzari's Proof from Mass Revelation
How do we know that the "claim" of mass revelation to 2,000,000 witnesses at Mt. Sinai is really true? This important class answers all of the questions skeptics ask about this claim of the Kuzari.
Ein Aya Armies Still Necessary for Balance & the War Against Wars
Rav Kook explains why the world was originally divided into the various seemingly contradicting ideologies and cultures, in order to develop each one respectively. Swords or armies symbolize how each respective ideology defends themselves, as well as deters their opposing ideologies and cultures. On the other hand, the messianic era will be one of peace, and Rav Kook explains the transition to that stage, which mankind is already undergoing.
The Land of Israel LGBT'S IN ISRAEL
The question was asked, how can one make Aliyah with the LGBT parades?
Kuzari -Rabbi Ari Shvat Kuzari class 7 - Five Accumulative Proofs of G-d
As a preparation for the Kuzari's classic proof of G-d from the mass-revelation at Sinai, we start here with 5 other directions to strengthen our belief which also contribute to what the Kuzari will present as well.
Ein Aya Muscle & Meaning: The Dual Nature of Gevurah (Physical Strength)
Is physical strength and fitness a necessity or an ideal? Although it if often totally overlooked among topics of Judaism, Rav Kook writes that it clearly is also a necessity to deter the many enemies of Israel, but even in Y'mot HaMashiach, in the Messianic era, to a certain extent, it's ideal continues even after our enemies will have been finished off.
