Copyright Is Not A Divine Right

At least the Delhi High Court thinks so. In a recent judgment passed by the Delhi High Court in the case of The Chancellor, Masters & Scholars of the University of Oxford & Others Vs. Rameshwari Photocopy Services & Another, the Court held that photocopying of portions of books by the students or the University, which are part of the course curriculum and available in the University library does not constitute infringement under the Indian Copyright Act, 1957.

The Court was deciding an infringement suit filed by Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Taylor & Francis Group, U.K. amongst others against the University of Delhi and the shop owner who was permitted by the University of Delhi to photocopy its books.