In a fight over who could publish the teachings and commentary of a revered Jewish spiritual leader, a federal judge has thrown out most of the copyright infringement case.

Eastern District Judge Frederic Block delved into issues of authorship and originality to conclude that, apart from factual questions surrounding one work, Vaad L'Hafotzas Sichos could not stop the defendants from publishing any of the other collected talks of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson.

Block said it was clear that the plaintiff entity, a group created for the distribution of Schneerson's talks, and those under its purview “made an invaluable contribution to the publication” of the collected talks.