Owners and managers of halls used for religious ceremonies in Israel have refused to pay copyright royalties since “…there is no halachic ruling requiring them to pay to play music at events such as weddings, bar mitzvahs and bris milahs.” (Vos iz Neias)
Two of Israel’s prominent rabbis (HaRav Yosef Sholom Eliyashiv and HaRav Ovadiya Yosef) have ruled that wedding hall owners in that country’s religious communities must pay copyright royalties as required by law.
“Since the hall owner receives a license to open the facility he is obligated to adhere to all legal requirements,” said HaRav Eliyashiv, “and if the law requires [paying royalties], he has to meet that obligation. If not his license is not a license.”
Advertisement:HaRav Yosef responded to the question from a different angle. “Dina d’malchuta dina,” he explained. “Since the law in the State of Israel requires everybody to pay, those who fail to pay transgress the prohibition of gezel. This obligation applies even more to hall owners who keep Torah and mitzvahs, to ensure they do not cause chilul Hashem.”