The Delhi HC lifted this ban which was put due to the filed petition which claimed that a shop was violating their copyright by issuing photocopies of chapters from their books and causing losses to the publishers. The reason students were opting for photocopies instead of the books is because the books are expensive.
Three of the famous international publishers- University Press, Cambridge University Press, and Taylor & Francis filed a petition against a shop Rameshwari Photocopy Service, located near the Delhi School of Economics in North Campus, for issuing copies of chapters from their textbooks to students.
Publishers at loss:
Due to the ease of availability of photocopied textbooks, the number of students purchasing the actual book were decreasing, leading these publishers towards loss. According to a TOI report, the Delhi High Court on Friday lifted this ban which was put due to the filed petition which claimed that the shop was violating their copyright by issuing photocopies of chapters from their books and causing losses to the publishers.
Why students are buying photocopied textbooks?
- The reason students were opting for photocopies instead of the books is because the books are expensive and many of them are not even available in the market.
- Also due to the prevailing semester system, students feel that buying books only for a duration of six months is a waste of money.
- Shalagha Jindal, a third year English (Hons) student of Hans Raj College said, "We don't buy books, especially the ones by international publishers. Nobody prefers to buy these books and if someone does, then everyone takes the book from the person and gets it photocopied.
- "It is actually a waste of money to buy a book for six months,' she added.'
- Nisha Das, a second year Sociology (hons) student from Delhi School of Economics, said, "Our library does not have many copies of books, so we take bundles of photocopies. If we order a book from outside, it takes weeks to reach us. These shops, on the other hand, get us the photocopies sooner. We get a whole pack from them within an hour.
"They also know our curriculum better than us, so they already have sets prepared for us. PDFs are available but you need to study from hard copies, that is why photocopies are better," she added.
Tags: Photocopied
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