Part 1: Piracy is rampant

(Baonghean) -In recent times, copyright infringement and illegal copying of books have continued to occur. The authorities have also carried out many cases of copyright infringement, but the results have not been much.

The consequences!

According to the report of the Inspectorate of the Department of Information and Communications, in recent times, hundreds of copyrighted books of famous publishers have been discovered to be publicly "published" and distributed. In 2011, out of 37 inspected establishments, 14 were found to have violated; hundreds of books and 32 calendar blocks were confiscated and destroyed; and nearly 50 million VND were imposed for administrative violations. In 2012, out of 28 inspected establishments, 15 were found to have violated, thereby confiscating and destroying dozens of pirated books. In the list of copyright violations, most were famous textbooks serving the needs of learning and teaching and being consumed strongly in the market.

With many forms of piracy such as photocopying original books with covers of 2 or 4 colors (like the original book) but the inside of the book has only one color; books printed 80-90% similar to the original book; counterfeit books similar to the original book in content but with a few Vietnamese notes and the name of the local publisher; bilingual books in both Vietnamese and English with the name of the foreign author and the translator into Vietnamese, but without any copyright transfer contract from the author or the foreign publisher...

The organization of printing and distributing pirated books is quite sophisticated. To "trick" buyers and management agencies, real books are often mixed with fake books. If consumers do not consider carefully, it will be difficult to distinguish. Another "trick" that pirated book printers and distributors use is to find ways to "hit" customers' psychology of liking to buy cheap things, finding ways to lower the selling price much lower than genuine books. This "trick" is carried out through discounts and promotions, sometimes up to 35-50% compared to the selling price printed on the cover.

With the “support” of science and technology, the printing of pirated books is done easily. The huge profits from pirated books have attracted many state-owned enterprises and big names in the publishing industry to participate in publishing and distributing. Pirated books are flooding the market, from sidewalk bookstores, to small retail stores, to large bookstores and in schools. Pirated books are also smuggled into rural and mountainous areas; For example, the same book, but the price at Nghe An Book Distribution Company is double the price at a private bookstore in the mountains. Obviously, the book pirates are willing to pay high discounts, even 50% of the cover price, to stimulate sales agents.

The increase in book piracy has caused significant damage to the reputation and revenue of publishers. Publishers lose revenue and do not have enough finance to pay royalties to authors, leading to authors no longer having the motivation to create, no longer having the motivation to print books, do business and expand the market at home and abroad. The Deputy Director of Tre Publishing House - one of the publishers with the most pirated books, said: "Honestly, we have run out of options. We think it is easier to make new, quality books to "live with" pirated books than to fight pirated books...".

With poor quality, even incorrect content and form of works, pirated books are causing long-term consequences for readers, especially the acquisition of knowledge by students in schools. Errors in book titles, headings, subheadings, and the phenomenon of “putting this man’s beard on that woman’s chin” in pirated books are not uncommon. In literature books, if even one punctuation mark is printed too much or too little, it can distort the meaning of the entire text. For pirated textbooks, if images or captions are printed incorrectly, it can cause misunderstandings about the content, and students will be distorted in their knowledge acquisition.

The difficulty of fighting pirated books

Faced with the problem of pirated books, the Department of Information and Communications Inspectorate has increased regular and surprise inspections. The interdisciplinary team to prevent and combat pirated printing has been established. After 2 years of operation, initial results have been positive. After inspecting book publishing and photocopying establishments, many pirated books with incorrect information were discovered; dozens of books with tens of thousands of copies were recalled and destroyed; A large number of photocopy textbooks were confiscated and destroyed, most of which were facilities around Vinh University. In addition to organizing interdisciplinary inspection teams, surprise inspections, and regular inspections, the Department also sent many official dispatches reminding and requiring book printing and distribution establishments to comply with legal regulations.



Nghe An police seized thousands of pirated books in Ben Thuy ward - Vinh city. Photo: Huong Giang

However, the situation of pirated books still shows no signs of abating. According to the Department Inspectorate, the situation of pirated books rampant in the book market in recent times stems from many different objective and subjective reasons. First of all, because readers have a mentality of liking to buy cheap things, they have unintentionally helped pirated books. When buying books, customers do not have the habit of getting invoices, and individuals doing business on sidewalks, parks, etc. do not need to get invoices when importing goods, so agents can receive "fake books" mixed with "real books" but still get past the management agency, because the import and export invoices have the same data.

In addition, the "business" methods of the book pirates are increasingly sophisticated, organized in a continuous and tight manner from the printing, processing, finishing to distribution to the market, making it very difficult for the authorities to detect and eradicate. Sometimes, the book pirates organize printing in other provinces, each place performs a stage, then collects and organizes distribution. Meanwhile, the functional force is still thin, not enough to control the large and complex book market; specialized inspectors are not allowed to inspect other areas such as finance...

The inspection and examination of shops, agents, and street vendors only solves the "tip", but does not thoroughly "get to the root". And the situation of "kidnapping and abandoning the disc" recurs. On the other hand, the sanctions in this field still have many shortcomings. Currently, the regulation of printing activities of publishing printing establishments and non-publication printing establishments do not have the same legal framework, and do not have the same sanctions. For publishing printing establishments, they must meet all the conditions to be granted an operating license by the management agency. But for non-publication printing establishments, they only need to register their business to operate, while they can do one of the printing steps, and the sanctions are also "lighter". Printing is a specific activity, while the agency granting business registration does not have the function of inspecting and supervising printing activities. It can be said that the provisions of the law regulating printing activities are inconsistent and have many "loopholes". This is a “loophole” for printing establishments and “brokers” to “fish in troubled waters”. In reality, the current penalties for violations are not “heavy” enough to deter those who illegally print books.

Genuine publishers do not have enough money and human resources to fight against pirated books; even if they are compensated, the amount is not enough to cover the loss of money spent on lawsuits. Customers and readers do not have the habit of buying books and getting invoices or reporting printing establishments for violations and boycotting "fake books". Many agents and stores, for profit, have helped to distribute "pirated books", finding ways to "circumvent the law". All levels and sectors believe that this is the management of the Information and Communications sector, so they do not get involved, and if they do get involved, they are not enthusiastic or responsible. Meanwhile, the sanctions are not strong enough to deter. Therefore, pirated books still have a place to "survive"!

(To be continued)

Lan Oanh (Department of Information and Communications)