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Delhi

High Court lifts ban on sale of photocopied books, green signal to Rameshwari Photocopy Service

The presiding judge Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw also removed the ban on the Rameshwari 
Photocopy Service, the famous photocopy kiosk located in the Delhi School of Economics, from photocopying parts of textbooks of the petitioners.

The petitioners, Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press and Taylor & Francis, had alleged in its plea, filed in 2012, that the photocopy shop and the University of Delhi of infringing Copyright laws by “photocopying, reproduction and distribution of copies of their publications on a large scale”. The petitioners also wanted to curtail circulation of “unauthorised” compilations of extracts from their publications.

Photocopied compiled reading materials, available from photocopy kiosks around the campus, was an integral part of campus culture until 2012 when the petitioners moved High Court.  

In October 2012, the High Court had ordered to restrain Rameshwari photocopy shop from selling photocopied texts of the books of the three international publishing houses. 

Later in 2013, the Delhi high court also had rejected a plea of the Delhi University students asking to lift the ban on the photocopy shop. The Friday’s decision is a reversal of it 2013 order. The verdict has brought cheers to the student community of Delhi University. 

“The order of the High Court is a triumph of public interest over private interest. It shows that knowledge is not a private property and should be accessible to all. We wholeheartedly welcome the verdict of the honourable High Court,” said Aman, an activist of All India Students’ Association.

“The books prescribed in the syllabus can cost as much as Rs 7,000. This makes the access to 
books very difficult, especially to students from weaker financial background. 

The photocopied compiled reading materials could be bought for only Rs 200. The verdict is definitely very good news for the students not only of the Delhi University but also for the whole country,” said Vikas Singh, an MPhil student.
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