Skip to content
۞
ISC213 · Lecture 3
Incorporeal Rights: Copyright, Patent & Trade Name
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Incorporeal Rights: Copyright, Patent, and Trade Name

Lecture 2 ended with "Incorporeal rights" as one of the three financial rights. This lecture opens that box: what counts as property in fiqh even without a physical body, and the three concrete types — copyright, patent, trade name — with the Shariah reasoning behind each.

15study blocks
3types of incorporeal rights
15quiz questions
Notes first — from the instructor
“Girls I uploaded the slides but don’t depend on them
The questions will be worded just like the notes not the slides”
Boxes marked From the slides add detail from the instructor's slides. Where the slides and the notes differ, answer with the notes.
SLIDE BLOCK 1

01 Incorporeal rights & the fiqh idea of "māl"

Incorporeal right: the authority of a person over something incorporeal (non-physical).

In fiqh, ownership is not restricted to a tangible, corporeal object in the physical world. Property (māl) is defined as anything that possesses recognized value among people and may be lawfully utilized. That's the operative standard jurists use — value + permissible utility = property, full stop, regardless of whether you can touch it.

Because incorporeal rights fit that standard, they count as māl in fiqh — their owners may sell, buy, or lease them, and they are financial rights safeguarded by Shariah.

Mnemonic
"Value + permitted use = property." Nowhere in that formula does it say "must be physical" — that's the whole reason intangible things like copyright can be owned property in fiqh.
From the slides
The slides also call incorporeal rights intellectual rights: the authority of a person over something incorporeal.
SLIDE BLOCK 2

02 The 3 types, at a glance

Copyright (1886)
Protects a creative work — gives the author the right to use it and stop others using it without consent.
Patent / invention certificate (1791)
Protects an invention — excludes others from making, using, or selling it for a limited time, in exchange for publishing how it works.
Trade name (1909)
Protects a business identity — the name, mark, and reputation a business trades under.
Mnemonic — "C.P.T."
Copyright protects a creation. Patent protects an invention. Trade name protects an identity.
Common mistake
The years (1886, 1791, 1909) are NOT in chronological order as listed in the lecture — Patent (1791) is actually the oldest, then Copyright (1886), then Trade name (1909). A quiz might test whether you memorized the list order or the actual timeline — know both.
SLIDE BLOCK 3

03 Copyright — definition & scope

Copyright falls under intellectual property. It gives the author/creator the right to use their work and to prevent others from using or benefiting from it without consent. The author's literary and material (financial) rights are fully reserved for the creator.

Common mistake
Not everything written down qualifies. If the work is only abstracting or collecting existing information with no creative contribution, it is not considered innovation/creation — and therefore isn't protected the same way. Interpreting, adding details, correcting mistakes, or summarizing for students does count as creating something.
From the slides
The copyright date comes from the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (1886). The slides say copyright lets the author use and exploit the work.
SLIDE BLOCK 4

04 Copyright — who counts as "the author"?

Mnemonic
"Name on it → presumed author. No name → publisher stands in." One default rule, one fallback rule.
From the slides
"Author" also covers the writers of texts, scenarios, and dialogue in visual and audio works. The slides name one condition for protection: the work must be creative to any extent — composing something new, or interpreting, adding detail to, correcting, or summarising an existing work.
SLIDE BLOCK 5

05 Copyright — the two rights

Literary right
The effort/authorship itself may not be permanently assigned to another person.
Financial right
The book can be published after the author's death by his inheritors, for financial benefit, for a limited period — this one is temporary.
🧠 Mnemonic — "L stays, F pays (for a while)"
Literary = permanent, non-transferable — the creative identity always stays with the author. Financial = temporary, inheritable — the money right can pass to heirs, but only for a limited period.
SLIDE BLOCK 6

06 Copyright — why it's legally recognized

  1. Benefits are compensable in Islam: benefits may lawfully be compensated with money, and intellectual property benefits society — so it's entitled to financial compensation like any other benefit.
  2. General custom ('urf): common tradition already admits the author's right in their composition/creation, and that it can be compensated.
  3. Plagiarism is prohibited: misattributing statements to others is strictly forbidden — anchored in the hadith "Whoever lies upon me deliberately, let him take his seat in the Fire." Accurate attribution lets an author take credit for good, or bear responsibility for harm.
  4. Rights correspond to responsibilities ("the benefit runs with the burden"): since the author is accountable for what they produce, they also have the exclusive right to its rewards.
"A man utters a word pleasing to Allah without considering it of any significance, for which Allah exalts his ranks in Jannah; another speaks a word displeasing to Allah without considering it important, and for this he sinks into Hell." — Abu Hurairah (RA), reporting the Prophet ﷺ
Mnemonic — "B.C.P.R."
Benefit is compensable → Custom admits the right → Plagiarism is banned → Responsibility earns reward. Remember this 4-part reasoning — you'll see it again (mostly) for Patent and Trade name.
SLIDE BLOCK 7

07 Patent — definition

A patent is intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period — in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention.

In most countries patent rights fall under private law: the patent holder can sue an infringer to enforce their rights. In many industries, patents are an essential form of competitive advantage.

Mnemonic
"Exclusivity in exchange for disclosure." You get the right to stop others using your invention — but only because you told the world how it works.
From the slides
A second definition: a patent is a document issued by an official office, working in the name of different countries, on request. It gives the owner the right to use the invention named in it and to benefit by selling or distributing it. The slides also set a class activity on the SAIP (Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property) website: what does intellectual property mean, what is a patent, and what are the conditions for obtaining one?
SLIDE BLOCK 8

08 Patent — the inventor's rights

  1. The inventor has the right to use their invention for a limited period of time.
  2. The invention should be registered under the inventor's name.
Mnemonic
Only two rights here — much shorter list than copyright's. "Use it (for a while), and it carries your name."
SLIDE BLOCK 9

09 Patent — 4 kinds of certificates

Full-Rights Certificate
Strict qualifying conditions, complete/comprehensive legal protection.
Limited Certificate
More lenient criteria, but restricted protection compared to Full-Rights.
Additive Certificate
Issued for improvements or modifications to an already-certified invention.
Importation Certificate
For introducing a foreign-developed invention for the first time — an exclusive commercial enterprise right, not protection for original inventorship.
Common mistake
Students assume all 4 certificate types protect the invention itself. The Importation Certificate is the odd one out: it doesn't protect an invention at all — it's treated as a special enterprise right for whoever first brings a foreign invention in.
Mnemonic — "F.L.A.I."
Full (strict, complete) → Limited (lenient, restricted) → Additive (improvement) → Importation (bringing it in — enterprise right, not invention protection).
SLIDE BLOCK 10

10 Patent — Shariah ruling

The right of an invention certificate is legally recognized in Shariah, for 3 reasons:

  1. Benefits are compensable in Islam — intellectual property benefits society and is entitled to financial compensation like any other benefit.
  2. Plagiarism/false attribution is forbidden — per the hadith "Whoever intentionally lies about me, let him take his seat in Hellfire." True attribution lets people receive credit or bear responsibility.
  3. Rights correspond to responsibilities — the inventor is accountable for their output, so they exclusively reap its rewards (and shoulder its liabilities).
⚠ Common mistake — the sharpest trap in this lecture
Patent's Shariah reasoning has only 3 reasons — it skips the "general custom ('urf) admits the right" reason that both Copyright and Trade name include. If a question lists 4 reasons for patent legitimacy and asks you to spot the wrong one, "custom/'urf" is the one that doesn't belong here.
From the slides — answer with the notes
The slides show four reasons for the patent right, including general custom ('urf) — the same four as copyright. The instructor said the questions follow the notes, so answer with three.
SLIDE BLOCK 11

11 Trade name — definition & components

A trade name is the official name under which an individual or company conducts business. A trademark gives companies legal protection for a particular brand, which may be associated with a trade name.

A trade name is made up of three parts:

1. The Trademark
Distinctiveness (tells your goods apart from competitors), Consumer Attraction (builds goodwill and loyalty), Market Surveillance (helps monitor competitors and catch imitation).
2. The Commercial/Shop sign
Designates the physical premises; gains reputational value over time. Usually incorporates the trader's civil name, legal title, or another distinctive designation.
3. Location
Related to the commercial store's place and position.
Mnemonic — "M.S.L." then "D.C.M."
Trade name = Mark, Sign, Location. And the Trademark's own 3 functions = Distinctiveness, Consumer attraction, Market surveillance.
From the slides
Names used on the slides: the three parts of a trade name are the slogan / trademark, the commercial address, and the location. The trademark functions appear as "functions of the trade name": attracting clients, differentiating the goods from similar goods, and restricting competition to protect the product.
Trademark definition: names, words, signatures, letters, symbols, numbers, titles, seals, designs, graphics, images, distinctive engravings, packaging, shapes, colours or colour combinations — any sign used to distinguish a business's goods or services.
Saudi law: Saudi Arabia adopted the unified GCC Trademark Law (effective September 2016) and is a member of the GCC Patent Law and GCC Customs Law, which align IP practice across Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and the UAE. Patents and trademarks are both granted on a first-to-file basis, so protect them before launching a product.
SLIDE BLOCK 12

12 Trade name — rights & Shariah ruling

Exclusive Right
Grants the owner exclusive use, distinguishing their business and preventing imitation.
Transferable Asset
Holds measurable financial value — the owner may sell, gift, or transfer it.

Its Shariah ruling: legally recognized, on condition it is not based on cheating or gharar (unknown/hidden results). The reasoning mirrors Copyright's — all 4 reasons apply: benefits are compensable, custom ('urf) admits the right, plagiarism is prohibited, and rights correspond to responsibilities.

Common mistake
Trade name is the only one of the three types with an explicit conditional caveat attached to its ruling — "if it is not based on cheating or gharar." Copyright and Patent don't carry that same stated condition in the text. Don't drop the caveat when answering a Trade-name ruling question.
SLIDE BLOCK 13

13 Comparison table

Feature Copyright Patent Trade name
Year mentioned 1886 1791 1909
Protects A creative work An invention A business identity
Owner's rights Literary (permanent) + Financial (temporary) Use it (limited time) + name on it Exclusive use + transferable asset
# of Shariah reasons 4 3 (no 'urf) 4 (+ "no cheating/gharar" condition)
Mnemonic
Only Patent drops to 3 reasons. Only Trade name adds a condition. Copyright is the "default" 4-reason case with no extra condition.
SLIDE BLOCK 14

14 Flashcard glossary

Click a card to flip it.

SLIDE BLOCK 15 · FINAL CHECK

15 Pop quiz

15 questions covering the whole lecture.