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Fatwa CenterPlagiarizers must compensate for damages
Question
Aslamu alikum, if a person plagiarized metirial to win something before he was practicing what should that person do?
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ʻalayhi wa sallam, is His salave and Messenger.
This act is no doubt impermissible and it involves a forbidden violation of rights. A resolution on moral rights, which the OIC's Fiqh Council made during its fifth conference held in Kuwait in 1405 AH reads,
“Firstly, brand names, company names, trademarks, writings and inventions are all the copyright of their owners or authors, which in modern practice have acquired monetary value. These rights are respected by the Shareeʻah and it is impermissible to violate any of them.”
For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 15801.
If one violates another's rights, it is incumbent on him to compensate the wronged person for the damages or loss of gains caused by the violation. The required compensation should be estimated by experts who possess related experience. If it is difficult to compensate the wronged person, the violating party should offer this money in charity to the poor and needy on behalf of the wronged person. As for the gains he acquired by fraud, he must return them to the entity that paid it so that they would decide what to do about it. If this is not possible, he may offer it in charity as well.
Allaah Knows best.
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