• EN (English)
Fatwa ID: 87624
Title: Using images from websites without obtaining permission
Category: Financial Transactions
Scholar: Dr. Hatem al-Haj
Date: 10/21/2012

Question

As-salam alaikum, 


Is it halal to get pictures from this website and use it in our software product: http://wallpaperstock.net/privacypolicy.php? 

and more important here is their copyright: http://wallpaperstock.net/contact.html 


Our software product will consume pictures from this website and send it to various users. We will be making money from selling our software to various users. Given the license and copyright stated on the website, we simply would like to know if we can Islamically use these pictures in our software or NOT. As-salam alaikum.


Answer

In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Grantor of Mercy

All praise belongs to Allah and may prayers and peace be upon His final messenger, Muhammad,

You will likely find the answer to your question in the decisions and recommendations of AMJA’s Sixth Annual Convention – Canada (2009):

“Fifthly: The ruling on duplicating what is classified as copyrighted like software, books, and the likes:

It was aforementioned that ownership and creativity rights are protected and that it’s forbidden to violate them. Therefore, whatever the laws that protect these ownership and creativity rights allowed of its duplication, then this is allowed, otherwise no.

Making a copy for sheer personal use in the case of inability to acquire the original copy does not contain sin. This is because his inability to acquire an original copy, along with his serious need for it, is considered a general need that takes the status of an urgency.”

Allah knows best. 

Full text of the Declaration here:  https://www.amjaonline.org/declaration-articles/decisions-and-recommendations-of-amjas-sixth-annual-convention-canada/