Buying counterfeit brand goods

A question about buying counterfeit brand goods, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that goods bearing a stolen trademark may not be dealt in; goods bearing a look-alike mark may be bought for personal use if the seller does not lie or deceive, but not for resale; and copying a design alone is governed by intellectual-property law. ¹

The questioner asked about buying goods from companies that imitate international companies and steal their trademarks. ¹

The Department answered that Islam commands honesty in dealings and forbids cheating and forgery, citing a hadith narrated by Ibn Majah and al-Tirmidhi whose meaning is that the honest, truthful merchant will be with the martyrs on the Day of Resurrection; in principle everyone should have his own innovation in his field and avoid imitation as far as possible. ¹ It distinguished between kinds of imitation. Goods bearing a stolen trademark are forbidden, since they involve lying and misrepresenting reality and infringe trademark rights, which are valued financial rights that must be protected. ¹ Goods bearing a mark that resembles the original and may deceive people are judged by the purpose of purchase: buying them for personal use is permitted provided the seller does not lie or deceive to promote them, but buying them to trade and sell to consumers is not permitted, because many people are taken in and believe them to be genuine. ¹ Imitating only the design, without any trademark, is governed by the laws on intellectual-property rights. It quoted Islamic Fiqh Academy resolution 43 (5/5) that trade names, trademarks, authorship and invention are private rights of their owners with recognised financial value that may not be infringed, advised the public to tell genuine from counterfeit goods, and reminded traders to fear God in their dealings. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 3676, dated 20 January 2022. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.