|
NISCAIR ONLINE PERIODICALS REPOSITORY (NOPR) >
NISCAIR PUBLICATIONS >
Research Journals >
Journal of Intellectual Property Rights (JIPR) >
JIPR Vol.17 [2012] >
JIPR Vol.17(4) [July 2012] >
| Title: | Exhausting Copyrights and Promoting Access to Education: An Empirical Take |
| Authors: | Basheer, Shamnad
Khettry, Debanshu
Nandy, Shambo
Mitra, Sree |
| Keywords: | Parallel import
Copyright
Doctrine of exhaustion
Publishing industry |
| Issue Date: | Jul-2012 |
| Publisher: | NISCAIR-CSIR, India |
| Abstract: | In what must rate as a momentous occasion
in Indian copyright history, the Copyright Amendment Bill, 2012 cleared both
Houses of Parliament after 12 years of intense debate, discussion and
politicking. These set of amendments were particularly celebrated for fostering
social justice through provisions that included a special copyright exception for the disabled and a mandatory
royalty sharing arrangement for hitherto exploited Bollywood artists.
However, despite the general euphoria
surrounding the passage of these highly progressive provisions, there are
causes for concern. In particular, the abrupt deletion of a clause legalising
parallel imports, contrary to the suggestion of an expert Parliamentary
Committee, raised many an eyebrow. It would appear that publisher lobbies
prevailed upon the government to effect this last minute volte-face. The main
claim advanced by publishers to effectuate this change of heart was that the
Indian market was well served with the latest books at affordable prices,
rendering redundant the very need for a provision legalising parallel imports.
In this paper, the authors limit themselves
to empirically testing this claim. The data from three different libraries
demonstrate that the Indian versions sold by international publishing houses
are often old and outdated editions. The latest versions are available only
through imports via websites (or through mainstream distributors) and costs as
much, or more than their western counterparts. Further, the legality of such
imports is uncertain under the present copyright regime.
Based on this
evidence, the authors argue in favour of retaining Section 2(m) of the Indian
Copyright Act, 1957. They also argue that legal policy ought to favour free
market competition, unless the evidence suggests that the gains from such
competition are outweighed by the harm to the copyright owner and the growth of
the indigenous publishing sector. As of today, no such countervailing evidence
has been proffered. |
| Page(s): | 335-347 |
| CC License: |  CC Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India |
| ISSN: | 0975-1076 (Online); 0971-7544 (Print) |
| Source: | JIPR Vol.17(4) [July 2012]
|
|
