The challenges and perspectives of the complicate relationship between Shari’a and intellectual property rights

In the era of the technological revolution, copyright protection is extremely complex in Islamic countries due to the leverage of Shari`ah. Therefore, the religious ascendancy of Shari`ah may lead to a weaker protection of copyrighted contents, related to a different perception of property; in fact, from the Islamic point of view, all properties belong to Allah (s.w.t.). Concerns about IP protection stem from the fact that Muslims are not persuaded that Shari`ah prohibits IP violations, nor expressly recognises a need for the protection of creative works. This research proposal will seek to outline the perspectives of compatibility between Shari`ah and the global harmonisation of IPRs through the TRIPS Agreement, focusing on Saudi Arabia’s stance. Finally, this paper will give clear advice with the aim of reducing piracy rate in Islamic countries, examining the possibility of a virtuous influence between Muslim and European strategy to strengthen the protection of IPRs.