HC restores foreign publishers suit against photocopy shop

Delhi High Court today did not stop a shop in Delhi University from selling photocopies of textbooks published by leading foreign publishers but gave Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and others partial relief by restoring their lawsuit which was dismissed by a single judge.

A division bench of Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Yogesh Khanna said it was "not inclined" to grant interim injunction to the foreign publishers but was setting aside part of the September 16 judgement of a single judge, who had allowed sale of photocopies of textbooks by saying there was "no triable issue" arising out of the dispute.

However, the division bench which restored the suit filed by the publishing houses, said there are triable issues involved in the lawsuit seeking to restrain the shop in the varsity campus from selling photocopies of textbooks.

It said it has to be determined whether photocopying of entire books would be a permissible activity and whether the inclusion of copyrighted work in course pack for students was justified.

"Having restored the suit and identifying the triable issue warranting evidence, we are not inclined to grant interim injunction to the appellants (publishers) but would direct respondent number one (photocopy shop) to maintain a record of course packs photocopied by it and supplied to the students," the bench said in its 58-page verdict.

"Every six months, the statement of number of course packs photocopied and supplied shall be filed in the suit," it said.

The bench disposed of the appeal filed by publishers -- Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press (UK), Cambridge University Press India Pvt Ltd, Taylor and Francis Group (UK) and Taylor and Francis Books India Pvt Ltd -- while "setting aside the impugned judgment and decree holding that no triable issue on fact arises".

"The suit is restored for trial on the issue of fact and for which parties would be permitted to lead expert witness testimony," the court said and posted the matter for further proceedings before the single judge on January 4 next year.

The publishers have approached the division bench against the single judge order which had allowed the shop, Rameshwari photocopy services, to sell photocopies of their textbooks saying copyright in literary works does not confer "absolute ownership" to the authors.

Rameshwari photocopy service runs a shop in the precincts of Delhi School of Economics in the university campus.

The publishers had argued before the bench that sale of photocopies of books published by them affected their market share and it was infringing upon their copyright over the text books.