Supreme Court, Civil Appeal 5977/07, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem vs. Schocken Publishing House(2011)

The decision in Hebrew University v. Schocken is considered the leading authority on Contributory Liability in the context of copyright law. In this case, the Supreme Court introduced Contributory Liability doctrine into copyright law. This case involved copying of textbooks. The Israeli Labour Party subsidized a student club called “Teh Ofek” (Horizon Cell) at the Mt. Scopus Campus of Hebrew University. As an incentive to get students involved, they provided cheap versions of a course textbook entitled “Traditional Japan,” the publisher sued the student club, the Labour Party and the University. The Supreme Court has recognized that in certain specific circumstances courts can use the doctrine of Contributory Liability from Tort law to assess whether the action of an intermediary is infringement of copyright. The Court stated that Contributory Liability will be recognized only when three conditions have been met: (i) there was actual direct infringement; (ii) the contributor had actual knowledge of the direct infringement; and (iii) there was substantial, significant and actual contribution by contributor to the infringement.