No copies of Naravane's memoir have gone into publication: Penguin India warns of legal action over copyright infringement

Penguin Random House India (PRHI) on Monday said it has the exclusive right to publish the memoir of former Army chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane's memoir titled Four Stars of Destiny, further clarifying that it has not been published yet.

This comes amid rumours that the book has been in circulation. The Delhi Police had filed an FIR over the alleged illegal circulation of the manuscript in digital and other formats.

The publishing house said that no copies of the book, either in print or digital form, have been released to the public.

“Penguin Random House India would like to clarify that we hold the sole publishing rights for the book ‘Four Stars of Destiny’, a memoir by General Manoj Mukund Naravane, former Chief of the Indian Army. We wish to make it clear that the book has not gone into publication,” the publisher said in a statement.

The publishing house added that no copies of the book “in print or digital form -- have been published, distributed, sold, or otherwise made available to the public” by the company.

Further, Penguin said that any other version of the book that is currently circulating, in full or in part and in any format, including print, PDF or online copies, would amount to copyright infringement.

“Any copies of the book currently in circulation, in whole or in part, whether in print, digital, PDF, or any other format, online or offline, on any platform, constitutes an infringement of PRHI’s copyright and must immediately be ceased,” the statement said, warning of legal action against unauthorised material.

The Delhi Police had said that a case had been registered with the Special Cell to carry out a thorough investigation into the alleged leak or breach of a yet-to-be-approved publication, and an investigation is being taken up.

The issue arises as Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi was seen displaying a purported copy of the book in the Parliament complex last week.

He wanted to cite excerpts from the memoir in the Lok Sabha since February 2, but has been stopped as it has not yet been published.