DELHI (Web Desk) – In a strikingly odd verdict, the Delhi high court on Friday allowed Delhi University to issue photocopies of major textbooks published by leading publishers saying copyright is not a divine right.
In 2012, the Delhi High Court declared compiling of course packs illegal and passed an injunction against a photocopy shop called Rameshwari Photocopy Services at D-School.
In a 94-page order, the court essentially concluded that if DU can photocopy content within its library to impart education to students, then similar protection is enjoyed by the contractor, Rameshwari Photocopy Service.
Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw dismissed the four year old suit filed by a consortium of publishers including Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and Taylor and Francis Group against photocopiers in Delhi University, accusing them of selling compilations of text books and other course material for “commercial gain”, India Times reported.
“Copyright, specially in literary works, is thus not an inevitable, divine, or natural right that confers on authors the absolute ownership of their creations. It is designed rather to stimulate activity and progress in the arts for the intellectual enrichment of the public,” the Justice observed.
The Justice recalled his own experience and noted, “In the times when I was studying law, the facility available of photocopying was limited, time consuming and costly. The students then used to take turns to sit in the library and copy by hand pages after pages of chapters in the books suggested for reading and subsequently either make carbon copies thereof or having the same photocopied.”
Reflecting on the verdict, the publishers in a joint statement said, “It is unfortunate that the court’s decision today could undermine the availability of original content for the benefit of students and teachers.”
