Copyright
Q: What is the ruling regarding copyright, etc?
A: It appears in Al-Ashbaah wan Nazaair that the purchasing and selling of rights is not permissible. Just as it is unanimously not permissible to sell the rights of walaa (the right of the master receiving the inheritance of a slave after he is freed in the case where he does not have any relatives) and shuf’ah (the right of pre-emption), similarly it is not permissible to sell copyrights. Hazrat Moulana Rasheed Ahmad Gangohi (rahimahullah), Moulana Ashraf Ali Thaanwi (rahimahullah), Moulana Khaleel Ahmad Saharanpuri (rahimahullah) and Mufti Mahmood Hasan Gangohi (rahimahullah) are unanimous in respect to this mas’alah.
Furthermore, it is the law of Shari’ah that once a person has purchased an item, it is not permissible for the seller to restrict, regulate or control the use of the item in any way. The purchased item becomes the property of the purchaser and he may use it as he pleases. He may sell it, copy it or do whatever he wishes with it. To restrict control is not giving the purchaser total authority over the purchased commodity.
عن ابن عمر رضي الله عنهما قال نهى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم عن بيع الولاء وعن هبته (صحيح البخاري رقم 6756)
الحقوق المجردة لا يجوز الاعتياض عنها كحق الشفعة (الأشباه والنظائر 2/153)
وفي الأشباه لا يجوز الاعتياض عن الحقوق المجردة كحق الشفعة وعلى هذا لا يجوز الاعتياض عن الوظائف بالأوقاف وفيها في آخر بحث تعارض العرف مع اللغة المذهب عدم اعتبار العرف الخاص لكن أفتى كثير باعتباره وعليه فيفتى بجواز النزول عن الوظائف بمال (الدر المختار 4/518)
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