Transcript Document

Copyrights & Publishing
Industry in Pakistan
Presentation by
Muhammad Aslam Rao
Secretary
National Book Foundation
1
Sequence of Presentation
1.
History
2.
Prominent Muslim Publishers
3.
Publishing Houses
4.
Problems faced by the Publishing Industry at the of Independence
5.
Literacy
6.
Publishing Industry of Pakistan
7.
Categorization of books
8.
Textbooks
9.
Publishing Volume
10.
Printing paper and paper board
11.
ISBN
2
Sequence of Presentation
(Contd.)
12.
Copyright law in Pakistan
13.
National Book Foundation
14.
Reproduction of foreign Textbooks
15.
Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
16.
Reprints rights
17.
WIPO & IPO
18.
Present Situation
19.
Suggestions
20.
Financial Impact
21.
Liberal print licenses
22.
Conclusion
3
History
Before 1947, Lahore the capital of the Punjab
Province was the largest publishing centre of the
British India. The lion share of this industry was in
the hands of non-Muslims, who, after partition of
the sub continent migrated to India. The prominent
ones at that point in time were the publishers like:
 Messrs Attar Chand Kapur,
 Munshi Gulab Singh,
 Sardar Sant Singh,
 Thakur Dev Anand,
 Atma Ram & Sons,
 Rama Krishna & Sons, etc.
4
Prominent Muslim Publishers












5
Messrs Ferozsons
Darul Ishaa’t
Sheikh Mubarak Ali
Taj Company
Sheikh Ghulam Ali & Sons
Haji Chiragh Din-Siraj Din
Malik Fazal Din
Malik Channan Din
Sheikh Ilahi Buksh Muhammad Jalaluddin
Malik Din Muhammad
M. Sanaullah Khan
Sheikh Muhammad Ashraf, etc.
Publishing Houses
After independence the industry started
emerging, primarily in Lahore and Karachi,
and a few other places. With few exceptions,
these publishing houses started functioning
on a small scale with presses or bookshops
as their subsidiaries. In the 80s the industry
flourished because of the Government’s
emphasis on education and literacy.
6
Problems faced by Publishing
industry at the time of Independence




7
Shrinkage of market
Abrupt decrease in the number of bookshops
and heavy reduction in demand
Bookshops owned by the non-Muslims got
closed down while majority of the Muslims
preferred to switch over to other business
activities.
Those who wanted to make these shops
operational were not successful on account
of inexperience and non-professionalism.
Literacy
The challenge to revitalize the industry was
beyond the resources and acumen of the
Muslim publishers. This grim situation
continued for almost 40 years. The literacy rate
of the Muslims in British India was low. It did
not show much improvement after partition and
even now after a lapse of sixty years it is 56%.
8
Publishing Industry of Pakistan
The prominent publishing centres now are not confined to
Lahore and Karachi but have expanded to many other
cities, too. According to an estimate there are about 2000
publishers throughout Pakistan. The majority deals with
the publishing of school textbooks. In the Punjab alone,
there are four hundred publishers registered with the
Punjab Textbook Board. The number of bookshops in the
country is estimated to be over 20,000 including those in
small towns. The number of publishers, who deal with the
books of higher education, is relatively small and not over
100. The approximate number of printers including small,
medium and those possessing state of the art facilities is
5000. According to an estimate annual titles published
are about 2000.
9
Categorization of books







10
School Textbooks up to Higher Secondary
level
Books for scientific, technical and
professional institutions
Books for children
Books for general readers
Braille publications
Magazines, etc.
Miscellaneous material for publishing
Textbooks
 Revision of textbooks incorporating new
knowledge.
 Textbook Banks in the educational
institutions.
 Multiple choice of textbooks.
11
Publishing Volume
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
12
Total publishing volume
School textbooks for Government
Schools
Exercise Note Books and other
materials related thereto
Books of general reading interest
including children books
Books of higher education including
foreign books being used in English
medium schools
Rs.4 billion
Rs.1.75 billion
Rs.1.25 billion
Rs.0.50 billion
Rs.0.50 billion
Printing paper and paper
board
Local printing Paper and Paper Board production
during the year 2006-07 was 388.8 thousand
metric tones. Imports are in addition to it. The
ratio of Paper vis-a-vis Board is approximately
40:60. The volume of publishing in different
categories was determined on the following data:
13
Printing paper and paper
board (Contd.)
14
ISBN
In accordance with the record of Department of
Libraries, 1500 publishers have been enrolled
since 1984-85. Approximately, 8 to 10
publishers are registered a month. There are
others who have not yet enrolled themselves.
Since 1984-85, 25000 books have been
granted International Standard Book Numbers.
Almost 2000 books are being allotted ISBN a
year.
15
Copyright Law in Pakistan
Copyright law in Pakistan was first introduced in 1962
through an Ordinance. It was a comprehensive document
and covered all aspects including civil remedies, offences,
penalties and appeals. In pursuance of Section 45 of the
Ordinance, a Copyright Board was constituted by the
Federal Government which was deemed to be a civil court
under the Criminal Procedure Act of 1898 and proceedings
before the Board were deemed to be the judicial
proceedings within the meaning of the relevant sections of
Pakistan Penal Code.
16
Copyright Law in Pakistan (Contd.)
In 1972, massive devaluation of Pakistani currency
altogether changed the situation of book industry. Books of
foreign origin were the main source in almost all higher
educational institutions including professional and technical
institutions. As a result, the price of these books increased
beyond the reach of ordinary students. The shortage of
books so occurred resulted in disturbances on the
campuses that created a law and order situation in the
country. The Government therefore added sub-section 2A to
Section 10 as reproduced below:
17
Copyright Law in Pakistan (Contd.)
“2A) Copyright shall not subsist in any work referred to in
sub-section: (2) as respects its reprint, translation,
adaptation or publication, by or under the authority of the
Federal Government as textbook for the purposes of
teaching, study or research in educational institutions.”
18
National Book Foundation
National Book Foundation (NBF) was established in 1972
through an Act of the Parliament. The objectives envisaged
in its charter were primarily educational welfare and service
rendering focusing on book promotion and book
development activities. The Government of Pakistan
authorized NBF to reprint books needed by the students at
low prices. This infuriated the foreign publishers who took it
as infringement of copyright.
19
Reproduction of foreign
Textbooks
Reproduction of foreign textbooks was one of the activities of
the NBF besides other important and major operations
including free Braille books for the visually handicapped
people. As a policy, the NBF, in consultation with the USA and
the UK Publishers Associations, decided to pay royalty of all
the books published by it and also forwarded agreements with
a view to seeking their consent. Royalties were accepted by
the publishers while the agreements duly signed were
received in almost 90% cases. This practice continued
smoothly till 90s when the reprint programme of NBF was
restricted and the local pirated editions started flooding the
market.
20
Reproduction of foreign
Textbooks (Contd.)
Reproduction of foreign textbooks was one of the activities of
the NBF besides other important and major operations
including free Braille books for the visually handicapped
people. As a policy, the NBF, in consultation with the USA and
the UK Publishers Associations, decided to pay royalty of all
the books published by it and also forwarded agreements with
a view to seeking their consent. Royalties were accepted by
the publishers while the agreements duly signed were
received in almost 90% cases. This practice continued
smoothly till 90s when the reprint programme of NBF was
restricted and the local pirated editions started flooding the
market.
21
Protection of Intellectual
Property Rights
The protection of intellectual property rights is not very old.
Some of the countries had their own laws not applicable to
other countries. The emphasis on intellectual property rights
became more relevant when the international trading of books
progressed. The necessity of protection of intellectual property
rights was addressed on different occasions such as Rome
Convention 1961, Paris Convention 1967, Berne Convention
1971 and finally the WTO Regime and TRIPS Agreement.
Pakistan, being a member of WTO, had to accept the TRIPS
obligations. It was obligatory thereby to bring its laws and
enforcement efforts in line with TRIPS by the year 2000.
22
Protection Intellectual
Property Rights (Contd.)
Accordingly, amended copyright laws were introduced by
Pakistan in the year 2000. In the said amended law, the
controversial sub-section 2A of Section 10 was deleted.
However, a new sub-section in Section 36 after sub-section 2
was introduced whereby the Federal Government or the Board
could grant a license to reprint, translate, adapt or publish any
textbook on non-profit basis. In pursuance of the Government
policies to respect international obligations, the NBF further
restricted its reprint programme inspite of legal remedy
available and now it has virtually stopped it. Simultaneously, it
initiated efforts in collaboration with IPO to persuade the
foreign publishers for print licenses.
23
Reprints rights
Pricing structure of foreign books is still beyond the reach of
common students while use of these books in higher
education including professional and technical institutions is
entirely dependent on these books. When NBF stopped
reprinting books and the local publishers also reduced
publication of these books as a result of the enforcement
measures adopted by IPO, the situation, as it obtained in
1972, got revived. Market forces played their role and pirated
and plagiarized editions from the neighbouring countries
started pouring in. In the meantime, there was some positive
indication from IPO which asked the foreign publishers to
appreciate this problem and agree to discuss this issue.
24
Reprints rights (Contd.)
A Video Conference with the US Publishers to negotiate for print
licenses is likely to take place. Recently, the Managing Director of
NBF held discussions with some of the publishers in the Frankfurt
Book Fair. It is, in fact, the defining moment that will determine
future protection of intellectual property rights in Pakistan. Book
trade with the representatives of offices of foreign publishers in
India would not be a sustainable arrangement in view of the
peculiar and fragile political relations between the two countries.
Moreover, the printing and distribution cost in Pakistan is
relatively low in the region. There has been a history of shift of
publishing industry on the basis of low cost from one country to
another. That is why some publishers from India have contacted
NBF to facilitate them in the printing of their books in Pakistan in
view of lower cost here.
25
WIPO & IPO
From Pakistan’s point of view, the awareness of
intellectual property rights left much to be
desired. It is, in fact, the World Intellectual
Property Organization and Intellectual Property
Organization in Pakistan which have taken
effective steps for creating awareness among
the stakeholders through different programmes.
Their achievement in this behalf deserves
appreciation and recognition.
26
Present Situation
In fact, both NBF and IPO are facing an embarrassing
situation and do not have a satisfactory explanation to offer to
the question posed to both the organizations that as to why
the local publishing industry has been deprived of their
business. Their business has been diverted to the
neighbouring countries from where the unauthorized or
plagiarized editions are emanating with constant flow.
Simultaneously, the educationists have serious reservations
on account of two basic reasons:-
27
Present Situation (Contd.)


28
The knowledge of the students is now being
confined to short notes prepared by their teachers.
The plagiarized editions from the neighbouring
countries are poor in quality as compared to foreign
books.
The situation, therefore, needs to be addressed
without further loss of time.
Suggestions



29
Liberal policy regarding issuance of print licenses by the
foreign publishers in order to support and maintain the
effectiveness of the enforcement measures already taken
by the IPO. NBF is also a part of the Task Force
constituted for the purpose.
Foreign publishers may consider redefining a new
territory for countries including Pakistan, Iran,
Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Central Asian States.
Pakistan has relatively an edge vis-a-vis printing and
distribution cost in the region.
The existing efforts of IPO in creating awareness for
protection of the intellectual property rights need to be
encouraged and supplemented.
Financial Impact
While concentrating only on books, the portion where
infringements of copyrights have been noticed out of
Rs.0.50 billion is not significant. According to information
gathered from different sources, there are approximately
300 titles being used in all at the higher education level. We
assume a requirement of approximately 500 copies of each
title averaging a price of 20 dollars each copy, the total
would tune to 3 million dollars. In case the NBF’s proposal
for arrangements as made by foreign publishers with India,
that would fetch a royalty of 0.30 million dollars annually as
against zero earning today.
30
Liberal print licenses
Once liberal print licenses are given and that too on easy
terms and conditions, it is bound to increase the business. It
will also open up avenues for joint ventures. The spirit of the
intellectual property rights will prevail and the students will
have access to authentic knowledge rather than relying upon
plagiarized editions of the neighbouring countries which have
so far been either ignored or unnoticed by the stakeholders.
31
Conclusion
As is rightly been said that the publishing industry plays a
pivotal role in the building of a nation. It is therefore imperative
that it should receive assistance and patronage from the
highest quarters. From creative writers and academicians to
skilled financial management, the industry involves the finest
minds of the nation. It virtually focuses on every field of
human endeavour and activity and attempts to project it to
readers at home and abroad. However, in Pakistan the
industry is at the take off stage and requires moral and
material support of all the stakeholders. Efforts are afoot to
get support for its promotion and development from those in a
position of taking decisions.
32
Conclusion (Contd.)
The importance or priority of this industry in a country like
Pakistan cannot be gainsaid. Rejuvenation in the society
requires assimilation and an understanding on the course that
society has previously followed. Without this continuity new
growth will run the risk of sprouting aimlessly. Books are the
basic raw material with which societies are transformed from
one stage of development to the next. They are a window on
the past as also the future. Presently we are at a crossroad of
choice. It is up to us to make the right one. The objective can
be achieved if intellectuals’ rights are protected to keep their
creative contribution intact for the progress and welfare of
mankind may the entire Universe.
33
Thank You
34