Protection of Intellectual Property (1998)

We acknowledge respect for ownership of property with the eighth of the Aseret HaDibrot (Ten Commandments): “You shall not steal.” The Talmud Tractate Baba Metziah expands the protection of ownership even to items that we may find. We must enlarge our understanding of property to include the intangible as well as the tangible. In recognition of copyright law, patents, licensing agreements and trademarks, collectively known as intellectual property, we must raise our sensitivity as consumers; so that, in examining items for sale in the marketplace, we must question their authenticity and legitimacy.

Therefore Women’s League for Conservative Judaism urges its members to be alert to counterfeiting and to refrain from purchasing pirated and illegally copied items. Further, members are called upon to attribute authorship, when known, to items published or forwarded on the Internet, in addition to items published in other sources.

Women’s League supports the efforts of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) of the United Nations to enforce compliance with international protections of intellectual property.