The concerns were raised during the re-launch of the Mutare Book Fair last week. The fair was last held in 2007 due to economic challenges that plagued the country. Book piracy is the illegal or unauthorized reproduction of books for personal or commercial purposes.
it was widely agreed that this should be treated like any other criminal offence. The Zimbabwe International Book Fair Executive Board Chairperson Musayemura Zimunya said: “Evidence of massive piracy of books has been uncovered in some schools, colleges and printing shops.
It is not deterrent enough to deal with the poor street vendor and end there. The authorities must also apprehend and punish the producers of the pirated books, even by confiscating their equipment, selling it and compensating the wronged copyright holder.
College Press Sales Director Cletus Ngwaru said book piracy was threatening to bring the publishing industry to its knees. He said the local industry had lost business to foreign publishers and hoped Book Fairs would restore the lost faith between local publishers and local authors.
Post published in: Arts