Fatwa #4413512 February 2020Pakistan
Will making a copy of the textbook I own violate copyrights?
Question
Assalaam o Alaikum I have purchased school text books for my daughter. Usually the textbooks are handed over to the teachers on the first day of academic year and books are kept in the classroom for studying and students dont usually bring them home. I want to know if i can scan or photocopy the books that I have already purchased before handing them over to her teacher so I can teach my daughter better at home. Can I do so or will it be the violation of copyright?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
A copyright is a collection of rights that automatically vest to someone who creates an original work of authorship. These rights include the right to reproduce the work, to prepare derivative works, to distribute copies, and to perform and display the work publicly. Any other person is not to allowed to violate these rights according to Shariah.[i][ii]
Copyrighted material can be quoted from depending on the law of the country in which you reside. Termed as “fair use doctrine” in some countries, it allows limited non-commercial usage of a copyrighted work without having to obtain permission from the author of that work.[iii]
Therefore, it would be permissible for you to copy or scan the book for your personal usage.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Ikraam Elias Gangat
Student Darul Iftaa
Zambia
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.
[i] https://copyrightalliance.org/ca_faq_post/what-is-copyright/
[ii][ii] Contemporary Fataawa, Justice Mufti Muhammad Taqi Usmani, pg. 188-192, Publisher: Idara-e-Islamiyat