The Melting Pot of Copyright Law: Urheberrecht in Jerusalem

Expanding Intellectual Property: Copyrights and Patents in Twentieth-Century Europe and Beyond 107-126 (Hannes Siegrist & Augusta Dimou, eds., CEU Press: Budapest/NY, 2017)

20 Pages Posted: 2 Jun 2017 Last revised: 31 Jul 2017

See all articles by Michael Birnhack

Michael Birnhack

Tel Aviv University - Buchmann Faculty of Law

Date Written: May 30, 2017

Abstract

This article tells the story of the first copyright case litigated in Israel, in 1950-54. At stake were the writings of no less than Theodor Herzl (1860-1904), commonly referred to as the Visionary of the Jewish State. The dispute, which thus far has not been discussed in the literature, was about ownership: who controlled the writings of the Zionist leader, fifty years after his death? The case forced the court to investigate publishing contracts that were made under German law and fit them into the local (Israeli-British) law. The commercial dispute between two publishers encapsulated and reflected multiple tensions, between an individual whose life work was at stake and a powerful institution; between private ownership of writings of substantial importance and public ownership; between the image of the European Jew and the new, Hebrew Jewish person; between German and Hebrew. All tensions were transformed into a legal discourse, where a foreign law found its way into a local legal framework. The case was dramatic, but ended up in an anti-climax. This unusual litigation provides us with a window to trace the meeting of two different legal cultures, at a highly sensitive time.

Keywords: copyright, Israel, legal history, Herzl

Suggested Citation

Birnhack, Michael D., The Melting Pot of Copyright Law: Urheberrecht in Jerusalem (May 30, 2017). Expanding Intellectual Property: Copyrights and Patents in Twentieth-Century Europe and Beyond 107-126 (Hannes Siegrist & Augusta Dimou, eds., CEU Press: Budapest/NY, 2017), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2977218 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2977218

Michael D. Birnhack (Contact Author)

Tel Aviv University - Buchmann Faculty of Law ( email )

Ramat Aviv
Tel Aviv, 69978
Israel
+972-3-640-6623 (Phone)

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