Islam Question and Answer - Ruling on buying study notes for which the owner has not given permission for them to be copied and sold

Wed 12/7/1434 - 22/5/2013

» After becoming Muslim, should she ask those who were her friends in the past to remove pictures of her that they have on Facebook?.

» Announcing wedding invitations in the mosque.

» Does carrying a child on whom there is some najaasah (impurity) render the prayer and wudoo’ invalid?.

» If someone loses his wudoo’ whilst praying and goes and does wudoo’, can he resume his prayer from where he left off or should he start all over again?.

» Is there a specific age at which animals may be slaughtered?.

» He does not have any children and he wants to give his wealth to his wife and his brother’s daughter and donate the rest to charity.

» The wisdom behind the Prophet’s marrying more than four wives.

» Is it permissible to buy the house that was bequeathed to some of the heirs and not others without their consent?.

» Wife's Prayers When Visiting Husband Living in Another State.

» Imam and congregation offering du‘aa’ together following Jumu‘ah prayer.

163183

Principles of Fiqh » Jurisprudence and Islamic Rulings » Transactions » Business and Financial Transactions » Copyrights

Ruling on buying study notes for which the owner has not given permission for them to be copied and sold

ar - en - ru - fr

Share |

My relative is asking me this question and is waiting for a response.
She has tests and she was making copies of notes belonging to another girl who had notes on a subject that my relative does not have.
When she asked her permission to copy the notes she had, the other girl apologised and said that the notes did not belong to her. When the girl left, my relative was surprised when the library worker gave her papers that were copies of the other girl’s notes. My relative took them and paid for them, but she does not want to start revising from them until she finds out the ruling. Please note that the notes are in her house right now, and I believe that they are the only source she has for revising this subject and she does not know the girl who owns the original notes.

Praise be to Allaah.

What the library worker did of copying the notes without the owner’s permission is a transgression and wrongdoing. It is not permissible for one who knows the situation to copy or buy these notes; if he does so, then he is a partner in the transgression and sin. Intellectual property rights -- such as written works and inventions -- are protected and belong to the authors; it is not permissible to transgress against them. For more information, please see the answer to question no. 129191

Based on that, your relative does not have the right to make use of these notes; rather she should return them to the library and get her money back. And she should advise the library worker and point out her mistake to her.

If she needs notes on this subject, she should look for them among her friends or in other libraries.

And Allah knows best.

Islam Q&A