Happy students for sure, but this decision by the Delhi High Court will legalise book piracy in India and wipe out the publishing industry

The Delhi High Court has dismissed a plea by a group of international publishers seeking to put a ban on photocopying textbooks by the shops and kiosks around Delhi University. While the verdict comes as a shocker for Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and Taylor & Francis, the students’ community at the university are quite elated. One of the students, Business Insider spoke with, Megha Jain of the department of Physics said, “It’s a great relief for us. Most of the books are priced above Rs 2000 and it’s simply not possible to buy all books. Even if the libraries have them it’s not possible to carry them home and study. Photocopy shops were often scared to get books copied out of fear. Now we can study better.”

“The plea is dismissed,” said Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw. The 94-page verdict infers that photocopying and making course packs for educational use by students are not in violation of intellectual property rights and the Copyright Act of 1957.

It all started some four years backs when the publishers formed a group and brought a case of copyright infringement against one Rameshwari Photocopy Service, a licensed vendor in Delhi University’s North Campus. Earlier in October of 2012, a lower court had passed an interim stay order that banned photocopies of text books to be sold. Many photocopy services stopped copying such books for the fear of legal action.

The verdict states that the advancement of technology has made photocopying an economic way to deal with high priced books. The court feels, the students can obtain course materials at a much lower price.

While it’s a joy for students community in India, which run on budgeted money most of the time, the publishers feel this would impact the academia in India. A reputed publisher on condition of anonymity said that if this is the way, there is in no way publishers invest money in reprinting and bringing international books to India. It also says that the very purpose of publishing is defeated and publishers might choose to stick to online-only format where often the materials are available only through subscriptions.

Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press and Taylor& Francis in a joint statement have said, “We brought this case to protect authors, publishers and students from the potential effects on the Indian academic and educational book market caused by the widespread creation and distribution of unlicensed course packs by a copy shop operating from within the premises of the university, where a legitimate and affordable licensing scheme is already in place. It is unfortunate that the court’s decision could undermine the availability of original content for the benefit of students and teachers.”

(Image: India Times)