Several vendors of pirated textbooks will this morning be served with an injunction blocking sales of the photocopied books as several publishers were yesterday granted an injunction in the commercial court.
The injunction, granted by Justice Rishi Persaud, restrains Abbisham Boodhoo; Gandhi Sales and Investments Ltd, trading under the name Gandhi Variety Store; T Nicholas and J Nicholas, trading under the name T&J Bookstore and T&J Bookshop; Metro Office and Computer Supplies and Monica Beepat, trading under the name Giftland Officemax from reproducing, selling, exhibiting and exposing for sale, textbooks printed by the publishers.
The publishers that were granted the injunction are: Nelson Thornes Ltd; Cambridge University Press; Oxford University Press; MacMillan Publishers Ltd and Pearson Education Ltd.
Their attorney Andrew Pollard yesterday afternoon told reporters that his clients had made extensive complaints to former minister of education Shaik Baksh, who had promised to take urgent action, but nothing had been done. The injunction follows a brouhaha over Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon’s statement that it was a cabinet decision to procure pirated texts because they are cheaper and offer value for money. The government had asked seven companies to submit tenders to supply the Ministry of Education with the pirated textbooks for distribution at schools. In official documentation, the companies were asked to produce copies as close as possible to the original books.
This action did not go down well with regional and international publishers, which have strongly criticized the government. Royards Publishing Company of Trinidad and Tobago and the UK Publishers Association Limited subsequently signalled that legal action was likely over the state’s actions, which had been ongoing for some time.
Parliamentary opposition parties, APNU and AFC, have condemned the government’s defence of its decision, saying that it was sending a mixed message on the rule of law.
Dr Luncheon, meantime, when questioned on the opposition’s criticism of procuring pirated textbooks said what the government was doing had nothing to do with the opposition or the media and that government was engaging publishers on the issue.
President Donald Ramotar later said at a press conference that his administration was trying to resolve the issue.
Pollard said “government will have to decide what its priorities are” as it pertains to the piracy of the texts.
He added that his clients welcome discussions with government since they too want an amicable solution to the problem and for the piracy to cease.