Middle Eastern Religious Perspectives on Software Piracy :: Computers

Middle Eastern Religious Perspectives on Software PiracyIntroduction Illegal software (pirated, illegally copied, etc) in the Middle East is a rampant problem. It is estimated that 74% of software in Lebanon is illegal, while 37% of software in Israel is illegal1. The lack of intellectual property laws has been sited for the problem even with these laws being introduced it faculty not resolve the issue. Though joining the World Trade Organization (as many Middle Eastern countries have recently done) forces the countries to officially recognize procure law will this affect the citizens view of copyright? Religion is a fundamental part of the Middle East with some countries laws derived from religious text. I believe by analysis of religious texts and law I can hope to gain perspective into the views on software piracy. I will concenter on Jewish law and Islamic Fatwas. Once the religious perspective on copyright is derived I will analysis if the religious perspective holds up to general ethical analysis. My goal is not to judge (e.g. say copying of software is wrong therefore those who copy software are bad), but sooner gain insight into the religious perspectives towards software piracy.Jewish Law (Torah)Torah has the following meanings2 1. A scroll made from kosher animal parchment, with the entire text of the tailfin Books of Moses written in it by a sofer ritual scribe. This is the most limited definition.2. More often, this term means the text of the Five Books of Moses, written in any format, whether Torah scroll, typography back book, CD-ROM, sky-writing or any other media. Any printed version of the Torah (with or without commentary) can be called a Chumash or Pentateuch. However, one never refers to a Torah whorl as a Chumash3. The term Torah can mean the entire corpus of Jewish law This includes the Written and the Oral Law, which includes the Mishna, the Midr ash, the Talmud,