In a post a week ago, entitled “Christians and the Copyright Laws, Claude Mariottini,
a Professor at Northern Baptist Seminary in Illinois, discussed whether scripture provides the basis for a principled position on copyright, including this comment: “The tenth commandment is clear: ‘You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor’ (Exodus 20:17).’ A song written by a Christian musician is his property and under current laws it is protected under intellectual property rights. To take by stealth what belongs to another person is theft. Christians should respect the rights and property of another Christian.”
The Biblical text cites is merely paraphrased (and the numbering of the passage in Christian numbering is frequently given as 20:14, not 20:17). The original Hebrew is found in Sefer Shemot (“Book of Names”), Parsha Yitro (Yitro is Moses’ father-in-law, known to Christians as Jethro, and who in this section recommends that Moses appoint judges rather than wear himself by being the sole “decider”):
a Professor at Northern Baptist Seminary in Illinois, discussed whether scripture provides the basis for a principled position on copyright, including this comment: “The tenth commandment is clear: ‘You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor’ (Exodus 20:17).’ A song written by a Christian musician is his property and under current laws it is protected under intellectual property rights. To take by stealth what belongs to another person is theft. Christians should respect the rights and property of another Christian.”
The Biblical text cites is merely paraphrased (and the numbering of the passage in Christian numbering is frequently given as 20:14, not 20:17). The original Hebrew is found in Sefer Shemot (“Book of Names”), Parsha Yitro (Yitro is Moses’ father-in-law, known to Christians as Jethro, and who in this section recommends that Moses appoint judges rather than wear himself by being the sole “decider”):
לֹא תַחְמֹד, בֵּית רֵעֶךָ; {ס} לֹא-תַחְמֹד אֵשֶׁת רֵעֶךָ, וְעַבְדּוֹ וַאֲמָתוֹ וְשׁוֹרוֹ וַחֲמֹרוֹ, וְכֹל, אֲשֶׁר לְרֵעֶךָ
One translation of the original is: “Do not cover your neighbor’s house. Do not cover your neighbor’s wife, his slave, his maid, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.” Works of authorship aren’t in the list (or in the later, repetition of the commandments in Sefer Devarim (“Book of Words”) – Deuteronomy).
In Judaism, a different source is looked to adress copyright issues, hassagut gevul ("infringement of boundary"), a form of trespass originally, and found in Sefer Devarim, Parsha Shoftim (19:14), which admonishes: “Do not move back the boundary of your neighbor.” See generally, The Principles of Jewish Law 344–345 (Menachem Elon ed., 1975, Encyclopedia Judaica, Jerusalem) and earlier post here for a quote from Elon). Elon also refers to a later recognition “of a full legal right in respect of one's own spiritual creation.” Id. at 346. See also Adin Steinsaltz, The Essential Talmud 78–79 (1992) (discussing copyrights granted by various European communities in the mid-18th century for the printing of the Talmud and disputes that arose).
In Judaism, a different source is looked to adress copyright issues, hassagut gevul ("infringement of boundary"), a form of trespass originally, and found in Sefer Devarim, Parsha Shoftim (19:14), which admonishes: “Do not move back the boundary of your neighbor.” See generally, The Principles of Jewish Law 344–345 (Menachem Elon ed., 1975, Encyclopedia Judaica, Jerusalem) and earlier post here for a quote from Elon). Elon also refers to a later recognition “of a full legal right in respect of one's own spiritual creation.” Id. at 346. See also Adin Steinsaltz, The Essential Talmud 78–79 (1992) (discussing copyrights granted by various European communities in the mid-18th century for the printing of the Talmud and disputes that arose).
My former colleague at Cardozo, Rabbi David Bleich, has written that in the very early rabbinic literature, the issue discussed was attribution of authorship rather than proprietary rights in the words spoken (it was an oral tradition at the time). See David Bleich, 2 Contemporary Halakhic Problems 121-131 (1983). Thus, in the Mishnah Pirkei Avot (6:6), it is declared that one who repeats wisdom in the name of its expositor brings salvation to the world. The Tosefta (Baba Kamma 7:3), far from condemning use of other’s words without their permission as “theft” regards it as meritorious, so long as credit is given.
Those interested in how ancient Islam dealt with these issues should read Amir Khoury, "Anicent and Islamic Sources of Intellectual Prioperty Protection in the Middle East," 43 Idea 151(2003).
