Decision to recall pirated book "Blue Lotus"

On August 5, the Publishing Department issued a document directing the recall of pirated copies of the work Blue Lotus to the Department of Information and Communications of localities, local state management agencies and book publishing units nationwide.

Pirated copy of Blue Lotus (left) and official copy of Kim Dong Publishing House

The Department also requires these establishments to notify the Department and relevant authorities if they discover this pirated copy of the book in circulation. Blue Lotus was pirated three times from 2013 to 2014, with a total of 3,000 copies printed, but the distribution was quite limited.

The Department confirmed that the Blue Lotus book, printed and distributed under the name of Thoi Dai Publishing House and Nhan Dan Book Joint Stock Company, was illegally printed and distributed, violating copyright, but the organization organizing the illegal printing has not been identified. "This matter needs to be investigated by the police to find out," said Mr. Pham Quoc Chinh, Deputy Director of the Department of Publishing, on August 8.

Currently, Thoi Dai Publishing House has affirmed its innocence, while Nhan Dan Book Joint Stock Company has not responded despite receiving written requests for a response from Kim Dong Publishing House, the unit whose copyright was violated, and the Publishing Department.

However, in an interview with the press on August 5, Mr. Chinh also said that Nhan Dan Book Joint Stock Company was a unit that had been fined and had its books confiscated many times by the Publishing Department for illegally printing books.

In mid-July, Kim Dong Publishing House discovered that the novel Blue Lotus by writer Son Tung was being illegally printed through a reader's notice. The publishing house sent a petition to the Publishing Department and two related units, Thoi Dai Publishing House and Nhan Dan Book Joint Stock Company. Up to now, the case is still being investigated and handled by the Publishing Department in conjunction with security agencies.

According to TT&VH