Is buying a book on which "Copyright Reserved" is written, then printing copies of it and offering them to colleagues for a fee, permissible or forbidden? And if it is forbidden, what is the way out?
Source: FtawySummary from Ftawy's records · added here Sep 2, 2026
Copyrights, inventions, and innovations are protected by Islamic law, and it is forbidden to infringe upon them. Reprinting and republishing a book without the permission of the rights holders (the author or publisher) is forbidden. The perpetrator must repent and compensate for the damage and lost profits incurred by the rights holders. The compensation is to be assessed by experts. If it is possible to return the right to its owner, then that is good; otherwise, it should be given as charity. If the owner is later found, they should be given the choice between affirming the charity or taking their right.
Summary from Ftawy's records · added here
Reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
Read the full answer on Ftawyhttps://ftawy.com/en/questions/158313
Where this answer came from
- Source platform
- Ftawy
- Original fatwa ID
- 158313
- Added here
- . This is when the answer was added to El Fatwa, not the fatwa's date.
- Text
- Summary from Ftawy's records, reviewed by El Fatwa's sharia committee.
- Read the full ruling
- Read the full answer on Ftawy