Protection of Intellectual Property Under Islamic Law: Relevance to Nigerian Creative Industries

Contemporary Islamic jurisprudence has increasingly engaged with the question of intellectual property protection, debating whether creative works, inventions, and trade marks qualify as legally protectable assets under Islamic law given the absence of explicit textual provisions on intellectual property in classical Fiqh. In Nigeria, where a growing creative industry operates alongside Islamic legal institutions in northern states, the question of how Islamic law addresses the economic rights of creative producers has practical significance. This study examines contemporary Islamic jurisprudential positions on intellectual property and their relevance to Nigerian creative industries. A doctrinal comparative methodology is adopted, reviewing classical Islamic property law doctrines, contemporary fatawa from major Islamic law bodies (including the OIC Fiqh Academy resolutions on intellectual property), and the Nigerian Copyright Act 2022 provisions. The study evaluates the Maqasid-based arguments for intellectual property recognition in Islamic law, the doctrine of Haq al-Ibtikar (right of innovation), and their application to Nigerian music, literature, and software industries. Existing scholarship from Nigerian Islamic law identifies a consensus toward intellectual property recognition under the Maslaha (public interest) doctrine while maintaining concerns about certain monopolistic aspects. Findings are expected to outline an Islamic framework compatible with Nigerian copyright law. Recommendations address integration of Islamic intellectual property doctrine into northern Nigerian commercial legal education and Sharia court practice. Keywords: intellectual property, Islamic law, copyright, Nigerian creative industries, Haq al-Ibtikar.