Being Muslim: Islamic Intellectual Property (Prof. Tabrez Ebrahim)
Channel: Muslim Space
Date: 2023-04-08

Being Muslim: Islamic Intellectual Property
Coffee. Public libraries. Surgical tools. Algebra. Optics. Islamic history is replete with pioneering innovations, many of which are ingrained in modern society. As former U.S. President Obama has famously put into the context of importance to modern society, “As a student of history, I also know civilization’s debt to Islam. It was Islam…that carried the light of learning through so many centuries, paving the way for Europe’s Renaissance and Enlightenment. It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order algebra, our magnetic compass and tools of navigation; our mastery of pens and printing; our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed.”

Professor Tabrez Ebrahim will explore the novel territory of the intersection of Islamic law and Intellectual Property (IP) law in three parts.

Part I outlines the new theory of Islamic IP and then investigates the particular implication of this new theory of IP as a middle ground for the polar extreme views of IP among western scholars. 

Part II analyzes the normative implications of this new theory of IP in both Islamic legal systems and non-Islamic legal systems, showing how it both clarifies the Islamic religious foundations in Muslim-majority countries and providing a new and potentially superior alternative for how to think about IP in western societies. 

Part III identifies insights for Islamic legal systems, including a path towards religiously sound IP in Muslim-majority countries and a framework for Shariah compliant IP use and portfolios.