Law against piracy highly complicated

PUNE: Publishers point out that the Copyright Act, 1957, is an effective tool at the industry's disposal to deal with book piracy. "While all publishers are aware of the Act, most don't want to take action against the book pirates because of the complicated legal process involved," says Anil Mehta, advisor, Mehta Publishing House.
The process starts with the filing of a police complaint against the culprits."A publisher cannot file a complaint unless he holds the copyrights of the book," Mehta says.
"Anyone involved in and abetting book piracy is punishable under the Act. This includes vendors, binders, printers and distributors of pirated books," eminent lawyer and former judge Suresh Naik said at the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Prakashak Sangh's seminar on book piracy organised in the city last month.
Law enforcers say that a suitable response from the affected publisher is required to check piracy. "However, we don't see that happening often. We handle just one case pertaining to book piracy in six to seven months," says inspector Ram Pathare of the crime branch, Pune, who busted a piracy racket at a bookstore in Appa Balwant Chowk two months ago.
Mehta says that keeping book prices low is one of the solutions to the problem. "We have also urged booksellers not to stock pirated books, and to get in touch with the concerned publisher if they come across any," says Ramesh Kundur, president of the Marathi Prakashak Parishad.
"Outside Pune, there have been cases of booksellers calling up publishers to caution them about pirated copies of their books being circulated in the market," he adds.
Kundur points out that his own company, Aadarsh Vidyarthi Prakashan, which mainly publishes religious literature pertaining to the warkari tradition, hasn't so far suffered piracy of its publications.
Nishad Deshmukh of Career Publications, Nashik feels that raising awareness among readers too is equally important. "Often, copies of older editions of a book are pirated, while the latest versions are available in authorised versions. Buying pirated older editions only mean a loss for the reader," Deshmukh states.
Hence, a collective effort by publishers, booksellers and readers can address the menace of book piracy effectively.