JOIN USCopyright holders tell DU students not to copy
A group of Delhi University students protested on Sunday at the Delhi Book Fair demanding withdrawal of a case against a photocopy shopowner, who runs the facility on the premises of the Delhi School of Economics.
Publishing houses Cambridge, Oxford University Press and Taylor and Francis had slapped a case of copyright infringement against the shopowner.
At the book fair venue, the students gathered in front of the stalls of Oxford and Cambridge University Press.
They also distributed pamphlets, telling people that big publishing houses can stoop to such a level that they sued a small photocopy shop.
“They all think about their own business. What about students who cannot spend on buying a book for reading just one chapter?” said Sameer Chaturvedi, a former DSE student.
Students complained that several times while distributing pamphlets, police had tried to evict them from hall No. 11, which houses a stall of Cambridge University Press.
Protest at book fair
“Police told us to protest outside the hall. Students distributing pamphlets inside the hall were also told that they could be detained. It was visitors at the book fair who started arguing with police and took our side,” said a protester.
Students are also campaigning on Facebook and their signature campaign has reached over 1,000 supporters.
“For 14 years, the photocopy shop has been compiling a reading list for us. There were times when the book was not available in the library. On days when a whole class gets an assignment, how can one or two copies of the book be made available to everyone?” said Kapil, a PhD student of Sociology in DSE.
Students have it tough
He said sometimes when the library doesn’t have the book, the teacher gives a personal copy for the essay to be photocopied.
It is then distributed among everyone in the class, he added.
Students involved in the campaign say teachers are distancing themselves from the issue.
“The director of Ratan Tata Library has stopped giving any book to the photocopy shopkeeper for compilation till the case is going on,” said Chaturvedi.
“He (the director) stated in his letter about books being illegally photocopied under his nose, and with his permission I got a book photocopied from the library,” said Chaturvedi.
“The teacher is either giving online reading list or are asking students to look in
other libraries.
Why can’t DU think about taking copyrights of these books?” added Chaturvedi.
Students said publishers have told Delhi University authorities to buy books in bulk. Despite repeated attempts, officials of the three publishing firms could not be contacted.