DEUT948 Another principle related to theft is hasagat g'vul, or "moving boundaries." Hasagat g'vul provides an excellent illustration of how a concept has evolved over time: from a simple rule in the Torah not to steal land by moving a boundary marker, the tradition has evolved into a prohibition against unfair competition, and then this is further extended to protect intellectual property. Hasagat g'vul literally means "moving a boundary," and the concept is rooted in a prohibition found in the Torah. "You shall not remove your neighbor's landmark." [This verse] In other words, do not steal his land by moving the landmarks used to delineate the boundaries of his field. The Talmud extends this concept to tradespeople in competition. In the Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 21b, we find the following teaching: "If a resident of a cul-de-sac set up a mill to grind grain for others, and then a fellow resident of the cul-de-sac comes and sets up a mill in the same street, the law is that the first one can stop the second one, for he can say to him, 'You are cutting off my livelihood!'" The same discussion in the Talmud brings another example--namely, that fisherman have to respect each other's fishing areas, even though the fish themselves are ownerless: "Fishing nets must be kept away from [the hiding place of] a fish [that has been spotted by another fisherman] the full length of the fish's swim." The Rabbis did, however, recognize that competition can be a good thing, bringing lower prices, and that other people--competitors--are entitled to make a living as well. The Talmud provides several examples of limits to the ability to argue "you are interfering with my livelihood." This is one of them: Certain basket-sellers brought baskets to Babylon [to sell]. The townspeople came and stopped them [because they did not want the competition], so they [the basket sellers] appeal to Ravina. He said, "They have come from outside [the town], and they may sell to the people from outside [the town]. This restriction, however, applies only to the market day, but not to other days; and even on the market day only for selling in the market, but not for going around the houses." B. Bava Batra 22a. We can see in this example that the Rabbis were concerned about balancing the livelihood of the local basket-sellers against the desire of the townspeople for competition and the ability of the itinerant basket-sellers also to make a living. In the last few hundred years, the principle of hasagat g'vul, not to move boundaries, has even been extended as a rationale for the protection of intellectual property. The Rabbis see it as a natural extension: since the Talmud, for example, expressed a concern about protecting the livelihood of a fisherman who had invested effort in a particular fish run, it follows that we should also protect the livelihood of someone who has invested effort in creating something new, such as a book, a song, or an invention. Respecting boundaries is a fundamental principle that applies to many of our business relationships. Some of the ways this principle finds expression and contemporary business situations are these: One must honor confidentiality agreements between an employer and employee, or between companies. One must have respect for the intellectual property rights of others. Anti-competitive behavior--for example, using predatory pricing to drive competitors out of the market so you can raise your prices afterward--is prohibited. The balance the Rabbis tried to strike and extending the concept of hasagat g'vul to unfair competition is exactly what anti-trust laws try to accomplish--to permit competition but to put limits on competition to avoid situations that are patently unfair. (By Barry J. Leff, "Jewish Business Ethics")
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