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Copyright Law, 5768-2007

חוק זכות יוצרים, תשס"ח-2007

Published: 2007-11-25Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2026-08-02 · Last amended 2026-07-28✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-29
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More

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Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.

The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.

This translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For use in legal proceedings, request a certified Expert Legal Opinion.

Chapter V: Ownership of Copyright

First Owner of Copyright§

33.

Subject to the provisions of this Chapter –

(1)the author of a work is the first owner of the copyright in the work;
(2)the producer of a sound recording is the first owner of the copyright in the sound recording.

Work Created by an Employee§

34.

An employer is the first owner of the copyright in a work created by his employee for the purpose of and in the course of his employment, unless otherwise agreed.

Commissioned Work§

35.
(a)In a work created pursuant to a commission, the first owner of the copyright therein, in whole or in part, is the author, unless otherwise agreed between the commissioner and the author, expressly or by implication.
(b)In a work that is a portrait or photograph of a family event or other private event, created pursuant to a commission, the first owner of the copyright therein is the commissioner, unless otherwise agreed.

State Ownership of a Work§

36.

The State is the first owner of the copyright in a work created or commissioned by it or by a State employee by reason of and in the course of his employment, unless otherwise agreed; for this purpose, "State employee" – including a soldier, a police officer, and any office holder or person holding a position pursuant to an enactment in an institution of the State.

Transfer of Copyright and Grant of Licence§

37.
(a)Copyright may be transferred by contract or by operation of law, and the owner of the right may grant in respect thereof an exclusive licence or a non-exclusive licence.
(b)The transfer of copyright or the grant of a licence, as referred to in subsection (a), may be in respect of the copyright, in whole or in part, and may be limited to a particular place, a particular period or the performance of a particular act in the work.
(c)A contract for the transfer of copyright or for the grant of an exclusive licence in respect thereof requires a written document.
(d)In this section, "exclusive licence" – a licence that grants its holder an exclusive right to perform an act from among the acts listed in section 11, as specified therein, and that restricts the copyright owner from performing or authorising another to perform such an act.

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Chapter VI: Duration of Copyright

Duration of Copyright§

38.

Copyright in a work shall subsist for the lifetime of the author and for seventy years after the author's death, subject to the provisions of this Chapter.

Duration of Copyright in a Work of Joint Authorship§

39.

Copyright in a work of joint authorship shall subsist for the lifetime of the last surviving author among the joint authors of the work, and for seventy years after that author's death.

Duration of Copyright in an Anonymous Work§

40.

Where the name of a person does not appear on a work as its author and the author is not known to the public, or where a pseudonym of a person whose identity is not known to the public appears on the work, copyright in the work shall subsist for a period of seventy years from the date on which it was first published; where the work was not published within seventy years from the date of its creation, copyright in it shall subsist for a period of seventy years from the date of its creation; however, if the author of the work discloses the author's identity to the public during the period of copyright as aforesaid, the provisions of sections 38 or 39, as the case may be, shall apply.

Duration of Copyright in a Sound Recording§

41.
(a)Copyright in a sound recording shall subsist for a period of seventy years from the date of its creation, and if it was published within two years of the date of its creation – for a period of seventy years from the date of such publication, all subject to the provisions of subsections (b) to (g).
(b)Where the producer of the sound recording, or a person acting on the producer's behalf, has not issued a sufficient quantity of copies of the sound recording to the public, or has not made it available to the public, the copyright in the sound recording shall expire at the end of fifty years from the date of the creation of the sound recording, and in respect of a sound recording published within two years of the date of its creation – at the end of fifty years from the date of such publication (in this section – the first protection period).
(c)Where the producer of the sound recording, or a person acting on the producer's behalf, has not, from the end of the first protection period until the end of the period referred to in subsection (a) (in this section – the additional protection period), issued, within the course of a year, a sufficient quantity of copies of the sound recording to the public, or has not made it available to the public, the copyright in the sound recording shall expire at the end of that year.
(d)In respect of a sound recording in which the ownership of the performers' rights under section 2(2) of the Performers' and Broadcasters' Rights Law, 5744-1984 (hereinafter – the Performers' and Broadcasters' Rights Law), embodied therein, in whole or in part, has been transferred to the producer of the sound recording, whether directly by the performer or through a third party, the following provisions shall apply:
(1)Where the right of the producer of the sound recording has expired as provided in subsections (b) or (c), and the right in the performance in which the ownership of the performers' rights under section 2(2) of the Performers' and Broadcasters' Rights Law has been transferred to the producer of the sound recording has not yet expired, the performer of the performance may, personally or through a person acting on the performer's behalf, notwithstanding such transfer, do each of the following, all without payment of consideration to the producer of the sound recording:
(a)to reproduce that performance as referred to in section 2(2) of the Performers' and Broadcasters' Rights Law;
(b)to do with copies as referred to in sub-paragraph (a) –
(1)any of the acts listed in section 2(4) of the Performers' and Broadcasters' Rights Law;
(2)any use permitted under any law;
(2)Nothing in this subsection shall derogate from the copyright and performers' rights of any other party under any law.
(e)Where ownership of performers' rights under the Performers' and Broadcasters' Rights Law, in whole or in part, has been transferred to the producer of the sound recording in consideration of a one-time payment, whether directly by the performer or through a third party, the performer whose right has been transferred shall be entitled to an additional reasonable payment from the producer of the sound recording in respect of the use of the performers' rights during the additional protection period.
(f)Any agreement, stipulation or condition in relation to rights under the Performers' and Broadcasters' Rights Law, between a performer or a third party and a producer, or a waiver by a performer of such rights, shall also apply during the additional protection period, unless otherwise agreed between the parties, provided that they do not derogate from the provisions of subsections (d) and (e).
(g)In this section –

"sufficient quantity" – a quantity sufficient to reasonably satisfy the public demand for copies of a sound recording;

"performer" and "performance" – as defined in the Performers' and Broadcasters' Rights Law.

Duration of Copyright in a Typeface§

41a.

Copyright in a typeface shall subsist for a period of seventy years from the date of publication of the typeface.

Duration of Copyright in a Work of the State§

42.

Copyright in a work in which the State is the first owner of copyright under the provisions of Chapter V shall subsist for a period of fifty years from the date of its creation.

Expiry of the Period of Copyright§

43.

The period of copyright in a work shall end on 31 December of the year in the course of which the right is due to expire under the provisions of this Chapter.

Duration of Copyright in the Country of Origin§

44.
(a)The period of copyright in a work as specified below shall not be longer than the period of copyright prescribed for that work under the law applicable in its country of origin:
(1)a work first published simultaneously in Israel and in other countries, as referred to in section 2, in which copyright subsists solely because the condition referred to in section 8(a)(1) is satisfied;
(2)a work in which copyright subsists by virtue of an Order under section 9, unless otherwise prescribed in such Order.
(b)In this section –

"country of origin", of a work –

(1)in a work first published in a single member State – that member State;
(2)in a work first published simultaneously in several member States having different periods of copyright – the State in which the period of copyright is the shortest;
(3)in a work first published simultaneously in a member State and in a non-member State – the member State;
(4)in a work that has not been published, or that was first published in a non-member State without having been published simultaneously in a member State – the member State of which the author is a national or in which the author's habitual residence is situated; however –
(a)in a work as aforesaid that is a cinematographic work, the country of origin shall be the member State in which the principal place of business or habitual residence of its producer is situated;
(b)in a work as aforesaid that is an architectural work situated in a member State, or that is another artistic work incorporated in a building or other structure situated in a member State, the country of origin shall be the State in which the architectural work, building or structure, as the case may be, is situated;

"work" – a work as referred to in section 4(a)(1);

"member State" – a State that is a party to a convention in respect of which an Order has been made under the provisions of section 9.

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Chapter VII: Moral Right

Moral Right – Personal Right§

45.
(a)The author of an artistic work, dramatic work, musical work or literary work, excluding a computer program, in which copyright subsists, shall have a moral right in relation to that work, for the duration of the copyright in that work; however, in relation to a work that is a typeface, the right referred to in section 46(1) shall not apply.
(b)The moral right is personal and is not transferable, and it shall vest in the author even if the author has no copyright in the work or if the author has transferred the copyright in the work, in whole or in part, to another.

What Constitutes a Moral Right§

46.

A moral right in relation to a work is the right of the author –

(1)that the author's name be associated with the work to the extent and in the manner appropriate in the circumstances;
(2)that no distortion, mutilation or other modification be made to the author's work, and that no derogatory act be done in relation to that work, all if any of these is likely to prejudice the honour or reputation of the author.

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Chapter VIII: Infringement and Remedies

Infringement of Copyright§

47.
(a)A person who does in relation to a work any of the acts listed in section 11, or who authorises another to do such an act, without the authorisation of the copyright owner, infringes the copyright, unless the doing of the act is permitted under the provisions of Chapter IV.
(b)In examining a claim of infringement as referred to in subsection (a) in respect of a work that is a typeface, account shall be taken, inter alia, of the range of possibilities existing for the design of letters, numerals and other language symbols.

Indirect Infringement of the Copyright in Reproduction§

48.
(a)A person who does any of the following acts in relation to an infringing copy of a work infringes the copyright, if at the time of doing the act the person knew or ought to have known that the copy is an infringing copy:
(1)sale or rental, including offering or making available for sale or rental;
(2)possession for a commercial purpose;
(3)distribution on a commercial scale;
(4)public display by way of trade;
(5)importation into Israel other than for personal use as defined in section 129 of the Customs Ordinance.
(b)The provisions of subsection (a) shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to a copy of a work, even if it was made in accordance with the provisions of section 28b, provided that it was made without the authorisation of the copyright owner in the typeface.

Indirect Infringement of the Copyright in Making Available to the Public§

48a.

Where a work in which copyright subsists has been made available to the public, as referred to in section 15, without the authorisation of the copyright owner, including after it was first so made available, in a manner that constitutes an infringement of the copyright in making available to the public as referred to in section 11(5) (in this section – making available in infringement), and a person has done, in the course of business, an act that is capable of facilitating public access to the work made available in infringement or of expanding such public access thereto, with the purpose of deriving profit from doing such act and from the existence of access to the work made available in infringement, that person thereby infringes the copyright, if at the time of doing the act the person knew or ought to have known that the work had been made available in infringement; for this purpose, a person who operates technological measures to prevent access to a work made available in infringement shall not, by reason of that alone, be regarded as a person who ought to have known that the work had been made available in infringement.

Public Performance at a Place of Public Entertainment§

49.

A person who, for the purpose of profit, permits another to use a place of public entertainment for the purpose of a public performance of a work, without the authorisation of the copyright owner, infringes the copyright, unless the person did not know and ought not to have known that the performance constitutes an infringement as aforesaid; for this purpose, "place of public entertainment" – a place used for entertainment and cultural performances, including a banquet hall, event garden, restaurant, café or club.

Infringement of Moral Right§

50.
(a)A person who does in relation to a work an act that prejudices the moral right of the author infringes that right.
(a1)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), and without derogating from the provisions of section 46(1), the doing of an act in relation to a work that prejudices the moral right referred to in section 46(1) does not constitute an infringement of that right, if the following conditions are satisfied:
(1)the user took reasonable steps to discover the author's identity prior to use;
(2)the user clearly indicated, in the same manner in which the user makes use of the work, that the use is made pursuant to this section and the contact details prescribed under section 27a(d) for the purpose of notifying the user of the author's identity;
(3)where the use of the work was commercial, the user published a notice on the Internet or in a daily newspaper a reasonable time before the use.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the doing of an act in relation to a work that prejudices the moral right referred to in section 46(2) does not constitute an infringement of that right, if the act was reasonable in the circumstances, and in relation to a typeface – also if the act was done in accordance with the provisions of section 28b.
(c)For the purposes of subsection (b), the court may take into account, inter alia, the following:
(1)the nature of the work in relation to which the act was done;
(2)the nature and purpose of the act;
(3)the creation of the work by an employee in the course of employment or pursuant to a commission;
(4)what is customary in the field;
(5)the need for doing the act as against the prejudice caused to the author as a result thereof.

Indirect Infringement of Moral Right§

51.

A person who does any of the following acts in relation to a copy of a work that constitutes an infringement of the moral right referred to in section 46(2), other than in a building or other structure, infringes the moral right, if at the time of doing the act the person knew or ought to have known that the copy constitutes an infringement as aforesaid:

(1)sale or rental, including offering or making available for sale or rental;
(2)possession for a commercial purpose;
(3)distribution on a commercial scale;
(4)public display by way of trade.

Infringement of Copyright or Moral Right – Civil Wrong§

52.

An infringement of copyright or moral right is a civil wrong, and the provisions of the Civil Wrongs Ordinance [New Version] shall apply thereto, with the necessary modifications and subject to the provisions of this Law.

Injunction for Infringement of Copyright§

53.

In an action for infringement of copyright, the plaintiff is entitled to relief by way of an injunction, unless the court finds that there are reasons justifying a decision not to so order.

Order Restricting Access to a Content Source§

53a.
(a)In this section –

"content source" – a computer-software-based means operating on an electronic communications network, including a website, whether the server on which the content or the content source is stored is located in Israel or outside Israel;

"court" – a District Court;

"access provider" – a person who provides a service the essence of which is the granting of access to a person to an electronic communications network, including an Internet access provider as defined in section 4i(a) of the Communications Law (Telecommunications and Broadcasts), 5742-1982;

"storage service provider" – a person who provides storage services for content delivered to that person for the purpose of uploading it to an electronic communications network;

"exclusive licence" – as defined in section 37(d).

(b)The court may, upon application by a copyright owner or a holder of an exclusive licence (in this section – the applicant), make an order directed at an access provider instructing it to restrict access to a content source, in whole or in part (in this section – access restriction order), if the court is satisfied that, with respect to the majority of the content in that content source, one of the following is present:
(1)its broadcast or making available to the public, as referred to in section 11(2), (4) or (5), by means of the content source, constitutes an infringement of copyright under section 47;
(2)an act done therein constitutes an infringement of copyright under sections 48 or 48a.
(c)In an access restriction order, the court shall instruct the access provider to take reasonable measures to restrict access to the content source, in whole or in part, all on such terms and to such extent as does not exceed what is required, as the court shall direct, in order to prevent, as far as possible in the circumstances, the harm to the copyright owner or to the holder of the exclusive licence; such an order shall include, inter alia, all of the following:
(1)the particulars of the content source to which access is to be restricted;
(2)provisions regarding the scope of the restriction of access to the content source;
(3)the period during which access to the content source is to be restricted.
(d)In making an access restriction order, including in determining its terms, the court shall consider, inter alia, all of the following, even if no objection to the application has been filed:
(1)the effect on the public resulting from the restriction of access pursuant to the order or from the court's decision not to make an order;
(2)the gravity of the alleged infringement;
(3)the necessity of the order for the prevention, as far as possible, of an infringement of copyright;
(4)the effectiveness of other remedies available to the copyright owner or the holder of the exclusive licence, including approaching the infringer or the respondent, if the respondent's identity is known or if the respondent can be located with reasonable diligence;
(5)the extent of the expected harm to access to other content sources;
(6)the extent of the expected harm to the privacy of Internet users.
(e)No access restriction order shall be made if the method of its implementation constitutes wiretapping under the Wiretapping Law, 5739-1979.
(f)
(1)The applicant shall join to the proceedings of the application for an access restriction order (in this section – application for an order), as a respondent, the owner of the content source, the operator of the content source or of part thereof, and any person who in the applicant's view is the infringer, if not one of them; however, the court may exempt the applicant from joining any of them if the court is satisfied that such person could not have been located with reasonable diligence;
(2)if the server on which the content source is stored is located in Israel or is under the control of a person located in Israel or under the control of a corporation registered in Israel – the storage service provider shall also be joined to the proceedings of the application for an order;
(3)any person may apply to the court to join as a party to the proceedings of the application for an order.
(g)Where an application for an order has been filed, the access provider shall display a notice to that effect, which shall be displayed prominently on its website; the notice shall include the particulars of the application proceedings, including the proceedings number, the names of the parties and the court hearing the application; the notice shall state that restriction of access was applied for on the ground of infringement of copyright and that any person may apply to the court to join as a party to the proceedings.
(h)Where the court finds that grounds exist for making an access restriction order in respect of a content source or part thereof, and the server on which the content or the content source is stored is located in Israel or is under the control of a person located in Israel or under the control of a corporation registered in Israel, the court shall not make an access restriction order and shall order that the content or the content source, as the case may be, be removed from the server on such terms as it shall prescribe, unless the court finds that removal of the content or the content source from the server is not feasible in the circumstances or that there are other special reasons for refraining from such removal.
(i)Where an access restriction order has been made, including a temporary access restriction order –
(1)the access provider shall display a notice that access to the content source has been restricted, and such notice shall be displayed to every person who attempts to access it, unless this is not possible for technical reasons, and the access provider may do so by way of a referral to its website as referred to in subsection (g); a notice under this subsection shall include the particulars of the application for the order proceedings and shall state that any person may apply to the court for the cancellation of the order or for modification of its terms, and may include any other detail that the court has prescribed and in the wording that the court has prescribed;
(2)any person may apply to the court for the cancellation of the order or for modification of its terms, and the court may cancel or modify the order in accordance with the application, or on such other terms as it shall direct; however, a person who was a party to the application for the order proceedings may apply for the cancellation of the order or for modification of its terms only on the basis of new facts that have come to light or circumstances that have changed after the order was made; the provisions of subsections (b) to (f) shall apply to a decision of the court under this paragraph.
(j)Nothing in the provisions of this section shall derogate from the power of the court to grant to a copyright owner or to a holder of an exclusive licence any other relief to which such owner or holder is entitled from the respondents referred to in subsection (f)(1), under any law, by reason of the infringement of the right aforesaid.

Action for Infringement of Copyright§

54.
(a)An action for infringement of copyright may be brought by the copyright owner, and where an exclusive licence as defined in section 37(d) has been granted in respect of the copyright – also by the holder of the licence.
(b)A plaintiff bringing an action as referred to in subsection (a) shall join as a party every person entitled to bring an action under the provisions of that subsection; however, the court may, upon the application of the plaintiff, exempt from joining such a party.

Action for Infringement of Moral Right§

55.

An action for infringement of a moral right may be brought by the author, and if the infringement was committed after the author's death – by the author's family members; for this purpose, "family member" means a spouse, descendant, parent or sibling.

Damages without Proof of Loss§

56.
(a)Where a copyright or a moral right has been infringed, the court may, on the application of the plaintiff, award the plaintiff, in respect of each infringement, damages without proof of loss in an amount not exceeding NIS 100,000.
(b)In determining damages under the provisions of subsection (a), the court may take into account, inter alia, the following considerations:
(1)the scope of the infringement;
(2)the duration of time during which the infringement was committed;
(3)the severity of the infringement;
(4)the actual harm caused to the plaintiff, as estimated by the court;
(5)the profit accrued to the defendant by reason of the infringement, as estimated by the court;
(6)the characteristics of the defendant's activity;
(7)the nature of the relationship between the defendant and the plaintiff;
(8)the good faith of the defendant.
(c)For the purposes of this Section, infringements committed in a single course of acts shall be regarded as a single infringement.
(d)The Minister may, by Order, vary the amount fixed in subsection (a).

Limitations on Application in respect of Damages without Proof of Loss§

56a.
(a)The provisions of section 56 shall not apply to a person who made an artistic work available to the public on the Internet where that work had previously been made available to the public, or who authorised another person to make such a work available to the public, provided that all of the following conditions are met:
(1)the infringer ceased the infringement within a reasonable time after receiving notice from the right holder or a person on the right holder's behalf regarding the infringement;
(2)the work was not copied from a catalogue whose purpose is the sale of works included therein or the grant of a licence for the use of works included therein, which was made available to the public on the Internet;
(3)one of the following applies:
(a)the infringement of the right as aforesaid was not for a commercial purpose;
(b)the infringer is an association (amuta) as defined in the Associations Law, 5740-1980, a non-profit institution as defined in the Value Added Tax Law, 5736-1975, a public benefit company as defined in the Companies Law, 5759-1999, a trust as defined in the Trust Law, 5739-1979, or an Ottoman association as defined in the Ottoman Law on Associations, provided that their turnover does not exceed NIS 1,200,000; for this purpose, "turnover" means the total receipts from all sources and of all types received in the last preceding year, and in the case of a trust – the total annual expenditure from all sources or of all types expended in the last preceding year.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the provisions of that subsection shall not apply to a State institution, a local authority, a government company or a government subsidiary company as defined in the Government Companies Law, 5735-1975, a corporation established by law, or to bodies listed in paragraph (3)(b) of subsection (a) whose turnover exceeds the amount referred to in that subsection.
(c)The provisions of section 56 shall not apply to the following, provided that the use is made in the framework of their regular activity, for the purpose of fulfilling their objects and not for a commercial purpose:
(1)educational institutions of a type prescribed by the Minister under section 29;
(2)libraries, archives and other bodies of a type prescribed by the Minister under section 30(a) or (c);
(3)museums of a type prescribed by the Minister;
(4)additional bodies such as those listed in paragraphs (1) to (3) as prescribed by the Minister with the approval of the Economics Committee of the Knesset.

Account§

57.

In an action for infringement of a copyright or a moral right, the court may order the defendant to render an account to the plaintiff of the particulars of the infringement; the Minister may prescribe a procedure for rendering an account under this Section.

Innocent Infringer§

58.

Where a copyright or a moral right has been infringed, but the infringer did not know and had no reason to know, at the time of the infringement, that copyright subsisted in the work, the infringer shall not be liable to pay damages by reason of the infringement.

Infringement of Copyright or Moral Right in a Building or Other Structure§

59.

Where construction of a building or other structure has commenced, which constitutes, or which when completed will constitute, an infringement of a copyright or a moral right, the plaintiff shall not be entitled on that account to an injunction restraining the construction or to a demolition order.

Treatment of Infringing Copies§

60.
(a)At the conclusion of proceedings in an action for infringement of copyright, the court may, having considered inter alia the severity of the infringement and the interest of another person concerned who is not a party to the action, order –
(1)that an act be performed in respect of infringing copies for the purpose of preventing harm to the copyright owner, including the transfer of ownership of those copies to the plaintiff if the plaintiff so requests, or their destruction; however, where the court orders a transfer of ownership as aforesaid, it may, if it finds that the plaintiff is likely to make use of the infringing copies, require the plaintiff to pay such amount as it shall determine;
(2)that an act be performed in respect of assets whose principal and primary use was the production of the infringing copies, for the purpose of preventing the continuation of the infringement of the copyright before the court or any other infringement of copyright.
(b)A party who applies to the court for an order as referred to in subsection (a) shall notify the Israel Police thereof in the manner prescribed by the Minister, and the court shall not hear the application without having given the Israel Police an opportunity to present its arguments.
(c)The provisions of subsection (a) shall also apply in respect of an infringing copy in the possession of a person who did not personally infringe the copyright, subject in all respects to the provisions of section 34 of the Sale Law, 5728-1968; however, if the provisions of that section apply to such person, that person shall not use the infringing copy for the purpose of trading in it.

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