Facts:
a) International publishers including University Press, Cambridge University Press and Taylor & Francis lodged a case against Rameshwari photocopy shop, a licensed vendor located in DU’s north campus.
b) The publishers had alleged that photocopy shop had been indulging in creating pirated version of books and selling them away to the student at very cheap prices.
c) Further publishers contended that photocopy shop was violating copyright law and causing them financial loss since student stopped purchasing their books. At the time, the Court passed an interim order preventing the vendor from selling the compilations of photocopied texts.
The High Court held as under:
1) The interests of the students can be rightly protected under the Indian Copyright Act which allows for fair dealing practice. Further, there are exemptions on “fair use” of work including educational propose from the purview of infringement.
2) Copyright is not a divine, natural or inevitable right that confers on authors/publishers 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.
