Halacha and Copyright

I am a teacher and have created some curriculum resources that I would like to sell. In order to encourage schools to buy my resources, I would like to give the principle a free sample to look at and discuss with her teachers. However, I do not want them to copy and distribute it. Is it a halachic violation to steal / reproduce/ share, intellectual property and creativity? What is the halachic violation ? What is the best way to word this on my product/resource?

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

It is certainly against halacha to steal, reproduce, or share somebody else’s intellectual property and creativity.

There is a dispute among the authorities as to exactly which halachic principle is being violated when doing such things. It is either a violation of Dina D’malchuta, which is a halachic ban on violating the laws of one country (and the laws of every country forbid all such activities), a violation of “minhag,” meaning a violation of common practices in an industry (and whether it is written or not, it is unbecoming to plagiarize and steal other people’s ideas), and “hasagat gevul” which in encroaching on someone else’s turf, essentially a form of stealing. Indeed, one is likely violating all three prohibitions, if not more, when reproducing and sharing intellectual property without permission.

On the packaging or cover of your materials you should write something like “It is forbidden to reproduce or distribute this material without explicit permission from the creator. Any violation of such is a violation of both halacha and secular law.”

Good luck!

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