Experts of copyright laws have hailed the Delhi High Court judgement as progressive and a big relief for students, teachers and researchers. According to them, the decision does not promote piracy or photocopying of books.
Gaurang Kanth, managing partner at Kanth and Associates, says, “The judgement, which appears to have leaned in favour of the students, has not gone in for a strict interpretation of the copyright infringement law, at least as far as the photocopy of reference books is concerned. However, this is in line with technological progress and should be appreciated as it provides students with all the relevant material that may otherwise be out of their reach.”
“The judgement is progressive and would go a long way in encouraging students who are to become the future of this country,” said Mr Kanth.
‘Case is specific to DU’
Designated senior advocate Pratibha Singh, who holds expertise in cases of copyright law, says the court in this case was specifically dealing with course packs prepared by the Delhi University.
“The court has specifically held that photocopying substantial portions of books is infringement, but here, the court was specifically dealing with course packs that contained portions of works from different books. That is not infringement. You see, if I teach law, and on a particular point, to explain to my students, I cite various cases and portions, that itself requires a lot of expertise and cannot be called infringement,” said Mrs Singh.
Asked if the verdict would impact the interpretation of the law, she said, “I don't think the judgement changes the law in any way. It does not encourage piracy or photocopying of books.”
Dr S. N. Singh, former dean of the Delhi University’s Law Centre said the judgement would only help students, teachers and researchers.
