Copying tapes and CDs with the aim of distributing them
Question

                We copy religious tapes and give them away for free or sell them very cheaply in order to distribute them more widely, but the tapes are protected by copyright, and our aim is to spread knowledge and da’wah.

 Similarly with CDs, it may be difficult and expensive to get hold of original copies. And the purpose of what we do is to spread knowledge.
Praise be to Allah.
      Copyright or the rights of authors, inventors and 
      producers, and other financial and moral rights, belong to the owners of 
      these works and it is not permissible to transgress against them or 
      undermine them without the permission of their owners. That includes 
      tapes, CDs and books. 

    Reference may be made concerning that to what was written by 
    Shaykh Bakr ibn ‘Abd-Allaah Abu Zayd (may Allaah preserve him) about 
    copyright in his book Fiqh al-Nawaazil, 2/101-187. 

    The Standing Committee was asked: Is it permissible for me to 
    record (a copy of) a tape and sell it without asking permission from its 
    author, or from the publisher if the author is no longer alive? Is it 
    permissible to make many copies of a book and sell them? Is it permissible 
    to make a copy of a book and not sell it, rather keep it for myself, if it 
    is marked copyright; do I have to ask for permission or not? 

    They replied: There is nothing wrong with making copies of 
    useful tapes and selling them, or making copies of books and selling them, 
    because that is helping to spread knowledge, unless their authors have 
    stated that this is not allowed, in which case their permission must be 
    sought. 

    End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 13/187 

    The Committee was also asked: I work in the field of 
    computers, and since I started working I have been making copies of programs 
    to work with them. I have been doing that without purchasing an original 
    copy of these programs, knowing that these programs carry warnings against 
    making copies and their copyright is protected, like the phrase “all rights 
    reserved” which appears on some books. The author of the program may be a 
    Muslim or a kaafir. My question is: is it permissible to make copies in this 
    manner or not? 

    They replied: It is not permissible to make copies of 
    programs whose authors have forbidden the making of copies without their 
    permission, because the Prophet  (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon 
    him) said: “The Muslims are bound by their conditions.” And he  (peace 
    and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever reaches a persmittible 
    thing first has more right to it.” It does not matter whether the author of 
    the program is a Muslim or a kaafir who is not in a state of war with Islam, 
    because the rights of a kaafir who is not in a state of war with Islam are 
    to be respected like the rights of a Muslim. 

    End quote from Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah, 13/188. 

    There is also a statement from the Islamic Fiqh Council 
    concerning intellectual property rights in which it says: 

    Firstly:

    Trade names, trademarks, copyright and patents are all rights 
    which belong exclusively to their owners. In modern times they have come to 
    have a considerable financial value. These rights are recognized according 
    to sharee’ah, and they should not be violated. 

    … 

    Thirdly:

    Copyright and patents are protected by sharee’ah. Their 
    owners have the right to buy or sell them and nobody has the right to 
    violate these rights.  

    Undoubtedly the authors of these tapes and CDs have expended 
    time, effort and money to produce them, and there is nothing in sharee’ah to 
    indicate that they should not take the profits that result from this work. 
    The one who transgresses against their rights is wronging them and consuming 
    their wealth unlawfully. 

    If it is permissible to transgress against these rights, then 
    these companies would stop producing these things, because it beings no 
    returns. Their employees would have no motive to work, and undoubtedly 
    stopping this work would result in a great deal of good being withheld from 
    people. So it is appropriate that the scholars have stated that it is haraam 
    to transgress against these rights. 

    This is the basic ruling, but in some cases it may be 
    permissible to make copies without the author’s permission. That applies in 
    two cases: 

    1 – If something is not available in the marketplace, if 
    there is a need for it and it is charitable distribution, not for sale or 
    for making a profit. 

    2 – If there is a great need for it and its authors are 
    asking for more than its price, and they have already made enough money to 
    cover the cost of producing this program with a reasonable profit – which is 
    to be decided by people of experience. In that case, if it serves the 
    interests of the Muslims, it is permissible to copy it, so as to ward off 
    harm. But that is subject to the condition that it not be sold for personal 
    gain. 

    And Allaah is the Source of strength. 

    You can contact the companies which produced the material and 
    tell them of the charitable purpose behind it and ask them for permission to 
    make copies, or give them an appropriate price. 

    And Allaah knows best.