3 min readNew DelhiAug 23, 2012 01:39 AM IST
First published on: Aug 23, 2012 at 01:39 AM IST
Shops on the Delhi University campus have stopped photocopying books after prominent publishers moved the Delhi High Court to stop the practice.
An email circulated by deputy librarian Dr Lokesh Sharma of Ratan Tata Library,located on the premises of Delhi School of Economics,it has been alleged that Rameshwari Photocopy Service had been “reproducing and issuing publications of reputed publishers,namely,Oxford,Cambridge and Taylor & Francis” in an “unauthorised and illegal manner”.
The High Court served a notice,taking cognisance of the publishers’ petition,and a raid was conducted on Saturday at Rameshwari Photocopy Service adjacent to Delhi School of Economics.
Following the court order,the library,too,has suspended the photocopying service.
Professor S C Panda,Director of Delhi School of Economics,said: “It has come to our notice that the shop was photocopying books and selling them. Hence,we have temporarily suspended these services.”
Rattled by the court order,other shops in North Campus colleges,including Hindu,Ramjas and SRCC,have also stopped photocopying books and study material.
This has caught the majority of students off guard. Sanya Syed,a third-year student of Sociology (Honours) in Hindu College,said: “Until recently,I used to buy a course pack (a compilation of all the articles and chapters that were part of the syllabus) from the photocopy shops. The shopkeepers have now stopped selling the pack. Without it,students will find it difficult to finish their assignments.”
Mayank Tomar,an MA (Sociology) student,said: “We have always depended on the photocopy shops for our study material. Otherwise,it would take weeks to collect materials from different libraries. With the restrictions in place,our studies are gong to be seriously affected.”
Dharmpal Singh from Rameshwari said he was not aware of the laws. “At the beginning of every term,we used to compile articles and parts of books on the basis of the syllabus. We were not aware that this was illegal. The university should have told us about it.”
The owner of Pradeep Xerox,a shop near Hindu College,said he stopped selling the course packs from Saturday.
Fear of a crackdown or raid was palpable. A shopkeeper at Patel Chest denied that such study packs were sold. “We don’t photocopy whole books. Our work involves photocopying handwritten notes and documents,” he said.
To protest against the High Court order,a campaign has been launched on Facebook. Dr Ashley Tellis,assistant professor of English in Miranda House,said: “It needs to be checked whether these course packs violate copyright laws. But I feel that it is unfair that a case has been registered against this small shop.”
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