Copyright is reserved, and taking money for authorship and verification
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
And if Bashir, what is the ruling on what is printed on some books, such as their saying, "Copyright is reserved"? And what is the ruling on those who say, "We allow you to print it on the condition that we have a share of the profit"?
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The questioner:
Sahih Muslim 379 Sunan an-Nasa'i 631Sahih (Darussalam)
The Shaykh:
There is no god but Allah. Yes, let us repeat the question.
The questioner:
And the Shaykh said: What is the ruling on what is written on some books, such as their saying, "Copyright is reserved"? And what is the ruling on the reader who allows us the printing regarding the condition that we have a share of the profit?
The Shaykh:
Yes, this is a recognized system. If one authors a book, if one authors a book, and says, "Copyright is reserved," meaning it is not permissible to print it except with his permission, this is correct. This is his right, because it is his book and his authorship. So it is not permissible for anyone to print it except with his permission, lest there be tampering, alteration, or substitution in it. So it is necessary that the author have supervision over it and permission for its printing. Likewise, if one verifies a book, a book of another, but he undertook its verification, tracing its hadiths, and correcting its texts, and says, "Copyright is reserved," there is no harm. Because this is his effort, this is his effort and his work. So it is not permissible for anyone to print it except with his permission and supervision. And if he takes money for it, there is no harm. If he takes money for his authorship or for his verification, there is no harm in that. It is permissible, because it is from his effort. And if he leaves it for the sake of Allah and wants the reward and recompense, that is better. If he permits its printing without taking anything, that is better. And if he takes something, that is permissible, because it is from his rights. This system of publications is a recognized and well-known system among people, and there is no harm in it. Were it not for this system, there would be tampering with books, there would be alteration of books. It is necessary to regulate them, and it is necessary to return to their owners and seek their permission to print them and their supervision over them, lest they be altered. This regulates the authorships. Yes.
And if Bashir, what is the ruling on what is printed on some books, such as their saying, "Copyright is reserved"? And what is the ruling on those who say, "We allow you to print it on the condition that we have a share of the profit"?
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The questioner:
I testify that there is no god but Allah, I testify that there is no god but Allah; I testify that Muhammad Is the Messenger of Allah, I testify that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah
أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله، أشهد أن لا إله إلا الله، أشهد أن محمدا رسول الله، أشهد أن محمدا رسول اللهHayya 'alas-salah, Hayya 'ala-salah; Hayya 'alal-falah Hayya 'alal-falah; Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar; La ilaha ill-
حَىَّ عَلَى الصَّلاَةِ حَىَّ عَلَى الصَّلاَةِ حَىَّ عَلَى الْفَلاَحِ حَىَّ عَلَى الْفَلاَحِ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ لاَ إِلَهَ إِلاَّThe Shaykh:
There is no god but Allah. Yes, let us repeat the question.
The questioner:
And the Shaykh said: What is the ruling on what is written on some books, such as their saying, "Copyright is reserved"? And what is the ruling on the reader who allows us the printing regarding the condition that we have a share of the profit?
The Shaykh:
Yes, this is a recognized system. If one authors a book, if one authors a book, and says, "Copyright is reserved," meaning it is not permissible to print it except with his permission, this is correct. This is his right, because it is his book and his authorship. So it is not permissible for anyone to print it except with his permission, lest there be tampering, alteration, or substitution in it. So it is necessary that the author have supervision over it and permission for its printing. Likewise, if one verifies a book, a book of another, but he undertook its verification, tracing its hadiths, and correcting its texts, and says, "Copyright is reserved," there is no harm. Because this is his effort, this is his effort and his work. So it is not permissible for anyone to print it except with his permission and supervision. And if he takes money for it, there is no harm. If he takes money for his authorship or for his verification, there is no harm in that. It is permissible, because it is from his effort. And if he leaves it for the sake of Allah and wants the reward and recompense, that is better. If he permits its printing without taking anything, that is better. And if he takes something, that is permissible, because it is from his rights. This system of publications is a recognized and well-known system among people, and there is no harm in it. Were it not for this system, there would be tampering with books, there would be alteration of books. It is necessary to regulate them, and it is necessary to return to their owners and seek their permission to print them and their supervision over them, lest they be altered. This regulates the authorships. Yes.
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، 12 من 89|شرح العدة في شرح العمدة|البيوع|باب بيع الأصول والثمار|صالح الفوزان|الفقه|كبار العلماء — youtube.com (1:00:11)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.