Hanafī Approaches to Copyright

Abstract

Academic articles on Islamic law and intellectual property often mention that the Hanafī legal tradition is the only school that does not protect intellectual property. By examining Hanafī legal manuals and fatwās by contemporary Hanafī jurists, I argue that variant interpretations of Hanafī doctrine can result in a finding of compatibility or incompatibility between Hanafī law and copyright. Interpretations that recognize copyright protect Hanafīs from tension between state laws on intellectual property and religious practice. Whereas some Hanafī jurists hold that Hanafī law is fully compatible with copyright, others place restrictions on copyright or reject copyright entirely. Hanafī legal manuals grant some protection to intangible notions such as honour, confidentiality and sanctity. One interpretation of property rules accommodates intellectual property rights. The principles of public interest (huqūq Allāh) and private rights (huqūq al-,ibād) may provide jurists who accept intellectual property with a means to better theorize aspects of copyright.