The questioner says: "Islamic books that are printed often state 'all rights reserved' upon publication. Despite this, they are photocopied and uploaded to the internet. Is it permissible to acquire such photocopied books? Can this be of benefit? And will the person be rewarded if they seek some knowledge from these copies? Sometimes I own the printed books, but I cannot carry them when traveling. In such cases, is it permissible to acquire the photocopied version?"
Shaykh ‘Arafāt ibn Ḥasan:
In these later times, this has become a norm. When a person writes a book, invents something unique to them, or even in business, a certain name or title is referred to as a trademark, it becomes specific to a certain individual. It is not permissible for a Muslim to infringe on these private matters and rights, especially when the rights holder has documented this matter, proving that they were the first to write it, author it or invent it, or that the name is specifically associated with them as a trademark. In such cases, it is, in reality, impermissible to infringe upon their rights, to take something and attribute it to yourself, or to take something and sell it. As for the matter of books, as mentioned in the question, a person may find a copy of a book on the internet in PDF format. If the purpose is to take a copy for personal use, to benefit from it, and to read it, then there is no harm in that. Because the one who published the book, just as he wants people to benefit from this idea or from this book, also wants to profit from it. However, you did not engage in trade with it nor took the copy to sell it or attribute it to yourself. Rather, it is a single personal copy that you benefit from, and you benefit from their writing or invention. You may even attribute the work to him by saying, 'So-and-so said in their book.' In this case, there is no harm, In-shā-Allāh. This is neither forbidden nor something that is prohibited.
Translation: Yasin ibn Jamal