HC rejects copyright claims of 3 publishers

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court dismissed suits by three international publishers against the sale of photocopied books and pages in Delhi University, a landmark

NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court dismissed suits by three international publishers against the sale of photocopied books and pages in Delhi University, a landmark verdict likely to have a wide-reaching impact on copyright laws. Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw also lifted a ban on the photocopier kiosk from issuing copies of chapters from textbooks of the three international publishers to students.

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In 2012, the court banned the Rameshwari Photocopy Service near Delhi School of Economics on a petition moved by publishers including University Press, Cambridge University Press and Taylor & Francis. The international publishing giants had alleged that the kiosk was violating their copyright and “at the instance of Delhi University” was causing huge financial losses.

But Delhi University supported the photocopiers, saying the use of reproduced copyrighted books by students was a “reasonable educational need” and should not be treated as infringement.

The university argued that calling reproduction of copyrighted books for educational purpose as infringement was “wrong.

Intellectual property experts hailed the verdict. “Copyright laws are meant to balance public and private interests but in recent years, the public interest has been eroded due to lobbying. The HC has restored that balance,” said Shamnad Basheer, intellectual property law expert.

“The court has actually said that copyright is not divine and that education is an important social need. This is a huge moment,” he added.