Copyright on Torah Books: Spreading Torah vs. Protecting the Author’s Rights

Shalom. Why do many Jewish religious books include a copyright notice that says, "No part of this book may be reproduced" and similar wording? From a Torah perspective, would it not be better to allow free copying in order to spread more Torah and bring more light into the world? How does halacha view copyright and restrictions on copying Torah books?

Thank you for your question.

The reason why one is able to copyright his sefer is based on the Gemara in Nedarim (37a), which says that even though one may not take money for the actual teaching of Torah, one may, however, take money for sechar batalah, meaning compensation for the time that he used to teach Torah, during which he could have earned money doing something else. That is the reason why he is able to be paid, and why we pay our Hebrew study teachers.

The same idea applies with regard to sefarim. It takes a lot of time and effort to publish a sefer, like writing, editing, and preparing it for print. Therefore, the author is eligible for sechar batalah, since during that time he could have been doing something else. Because of this, he has the right to copyright it so that it will bring him an income in return for the work and time that he invested in the sefer.

Wishing you well.

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