“Pirated” books can be used by consumers accidentally, or intentionally. Sometimes the buyer doesn’t pay attention or use it because pirated books are cheaper and easier to buy. However, whether used accidentally or intentionally, pirated books have consequences for consumers and copyright in general. VCD’s following article will highlight more clearly the consequences of “pirated” books on copyright.
1. What is a “pirated” book?
Pirated books can be understood as books printed and published illegally, that is, without legal documents proving the origin of the work and ownership of the work within the market area of at least Vietnam, and/or do not have a legal publishing license.
According to Clause 4, Article 213 of the Intellectual Property Law, it is stipulated that “Pirated goods are copies produced without the permission of the copyright owner or related rights owner.”
Moreover, according to Decree 17/2023/ND-CP regulating the determination of copyright infringement elements at Point g, Clause 1, Article 66: “Infringement of the right to copy works: Duplicating or creating copies of works without obtaining the consent of the owner or co-owner of copyright according to the provisions of law.”
Therefore, the act of making pirated books is considered an act of copyright infringement according to Vietnamese law.
2. Why are pirated books growing so much?
The production and sale of pirated books help discredited manufacturers blind because of huge profits, at the same time, consumers also buy a lot for simple reasons – cheap.
Firstly, pirated books do not cost money to buy copyright. If the book is copyrighted from abroad, book companies have to pay extra for translation and proofreading, which is often not a small amount. People who make fake or pirated books do not have to pay translators, proofreaders, editors, pre-press staff, cover artists… so they can save a lot of costs.
Secondly, pirated and fake books are often of poor quality. They often choose worse, thinner, lower quality paper, smaller size… All of this lowers the price of the book.
Thirdly, private printing factories that print pirated books are often small, located in remote areas, with outdated, old, and poor-quality equipment. In case of arrest or confiscation of evidence, the cost is not too large. Reputable printing companies, located in the city, will often have higher printing costs and most must apply for a publishing license before printing books.
In addition, we can also see that the fact that pirated books still thrive and survive well in the market is partly because readers sometimes cannot distinguish the difference. If you are not a person who regularly goes to bookstores, many readers often buy books “where they see them” and this situation can easily lead to readers buying pirated books without knowing it.
3. Consequences of using “pirated” books
- Consequences of using “pirated” books for readers
People who buy pirated books suffer losses because they spend money to buy a poor-quality product. Books are poorly photocopied, causing blurry text, broken lines, uneven colors, low quality, easily damaged… Even due to sloppy production and lack of content censorship, sometimes the translation is not according to the author’s intention. The author leads to serious errors in knowledge.
The biggest danger that pirated books and fake books bring is that people accept pirated books, which means accepting the habit of stealing knowledge, and accepting books that are false in content and weak in form. awake.
- Consequences of using “pirated” books for the author
As for the authors, they are the ones who suffered heavy losses. We know that authors receive royalties from the number of books sold. If pirated books are widely produced, the company or publisher that holds the copyright to sell the book cannot sell the book and thus cannot pay much royalty to the author.
This is one of the main reasons why authors are discouraged. If the effort and enthusiasm we put in do not bring worthy results, will reputable authors still want to concentrate on writing books?
- Consequences of using “pirated” books for publishers
The damage to book companies and publishers is clear, they suffer both economic and reputational losses. Publishers spend money to buy copyrights, and hire people to translate, proofread, edit, present, and give birth to dedicated children with a lot of effort and intelligence but are blatantly robbed and snubbed.
The revenue from publishing activities does not contribute much to the economy, but this is an industry that helps improve education, culture, and people’s knowledge. A book following the correct process, from receiving the manuscript to publishing the book, takes at least half a year and must be approved by management at all levels to be published. All that effort because of “pirated” books became useless.
