Intellectual Property Law in Halacha - Part 13

This is a long essay I wrote that might be of interest to you. It analyzes the place of Intellectual Property (and Copyright Law) in Halacha and ends with a discussion of relevant questions such as Downloading Music and Burning CDs. I will be posting it part by part. It's quite long but will be rewarding to those who follow it. This was Part 1. Now, this is part 2.

Conclusion

We have looked at many attempts to integrate the law of intellectual property within Talmudic Law. However, none of those approaches have protected all the rights protected by intellectual property law. Still, together, all those approaches can cover most of the rights protected by intellectual property law.

Some people will look at this fact and conclude that there is no true place for intellectual property in Talmudic Law. Others will look at this fact and argue that it shows that intellectual property is in fact in the spirit of Jewish Law.

Talmudic Law has never been a static set of rules but rather a dynamic legal system always changing and evolving. The study of intellectual property in Talmudic Law has given us an interesting look at the dynamic nature of this normative, religious, legal system.