Fatwa #1725228 October 2008South Africa
Copyright with regard to books which are used as studying material,can such be copied without and gains/profit being made from it?
Question
Copyright with regard to books which are used as studying material,can such be copied without and gains/profit being made from it?
Answer
In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Assalaamu `alaykum waRahmatullahi Wabarakatoh
Copyright is an intellectual property. This means that if someone wrote a book, they become the exclusive owner of the right to publish it, and nobody has the right to publish, copy, or reproduce their book without their consent.
Therefore, if the book in question has copyright laws attached, regardless of whether it is used as studying material or not, it will not be permissible to make a copy of it. This is also regardless of whether or not any profit is made from it.
(Fiqhi Maqalaat by Mufti Taqi Usmani: vol.1 pg. 224 - Meman Islamic Publishers)
And Allah Ta'ala Knows Best
Wassalam
Mufti Ebrahim Desai (M2)
Darul Iftaa