Restrictions on using purchased software programs

7-9-2013 | IslamWeb

Question:

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmathullahi wa barakathahu Some software companies would not allow customers to resell it. example if i bought one software ,i have a right to use it or give somebody else. But the software company resist this and not allowing to give my own software to anybody. please give me a fatwa... assalamu alaikum

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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 ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His Slave and Messenger.

Whoever buys a copy of a software program has the right to do whatever he wants regarding the copy he bought through benefiting from it, gifting it to others or selling it. The company has no right to prevent him from that and if it stipulated that, then it is an invalid condition that one should not adhere to.

However, he has no right to copy it and sell the copy and that is what we have previously explained in Fataawa 87644 and 85102.

Allaah Knows best.