[Avodah] Copyright redux

[Jacob Farkas]

A & C Walters wrote:
> Being that I am in EY, and most things are in the USA, is a person 
> meshubed to another country's laws? First of all, many poyskim hold that 
> there is no Dina deMalchusa in EY. But let's say I'm in England, and 
> something is ossur al pi chok of the USA, why am I, as an Englishman 
> living in England mushubed to the laws of the USA, for example?
>  > >
>  > > I don't think that Zuto Shel Yam trumps Dina deMalkhusa though, which
>  > > clearly takes issue with filesharing.
>  > >
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Copyrights are recognized Internationally, and its laws are fairly
similar in the US as in other countries. Whether Dina DeMalkhusa applies
in EY is outside of the scope of my argument, but is an interesting
topic on its own.

I do find it difficult to apply laws of Hasagos Gevul or other classic 
Halakhic copyright models to digital information, and feel that any 
Halakhic objection should be tied to Dina DeMalkhusa, staying within the 
parameters of current copyright laws. There is no practical Nafqa Minah 
whether file sharing is miTa'am Geneivah or for any other reason in the 
US, as Dina DeMalkhusa is binding.

--Jacob Farkas