Addressing the Growing Problem of Book Piracy (eBooks)

For many years, books have been used as a means to obtain knowledge. In the early times, books used to be so big that it was not practical to carry them around then pocket sized books were made. Due the growing interest of people it is was no longer enough to read just one, two, three or even four books so eBooks were created.

An eBook is an electronic version of a traditional print book that can be read by using a personal computer or by using an eBook reader.1 EBooks are a more convenient and more practical way to access information. The most efficient way to get eBooks is through the internet – it may be for free or it may come with a price.

The use of eBooks is becoming a trend nowadays because most of the books published can also be downloaded as eBooks. Most of the people at this point in time can be seen holding an eBook reader. And because of the rampant of the use of it, electronic piracy in relation to eBooks is also rising.

Any person who has acquired or purchased an eBook may copy it into another device, share it to another user and may even post or share it in the internet; said practice may lead to infringement because it may not constitute fair use anymore. Article 185 of the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines states that “ xxx In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is fair use, the factors to be considered shall include:

(a) The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for non-profit education purposes;(b) The nature of the copyrighted work;(c) The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and(d) The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.” In this provision, the most important factor is the one mentioned under paragraph (c). In downloading and sharing eBooks, the document or book created by the owner of the copyright is the exact same thing downloaded and shared. Further in Habana v. Robles, the Supreme Court held that it is not required that the entire work or even a large portion thereof be copied in order for copyright 1 Definition of eBook. Retrieved from http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/definition/eBook.

infringement to exist. It is enough that so much is taken that the value of the original work is substantially diminished. If this is the way how the Supreme Court ruled in said case, what more if the case involves copying of the entire work?

Infringement in eBooks is becoming as serious as music piracy but not as popular as it. Many legislations are enacted to protect the rights of those in the music and movie industry like the ones contained in the Optical Media Act but there is still no equivalent legislation applicable to books and eBooks, what is still applicable to their infringement is the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. Infringement in the Philippines especially as shown in the news focuses on piracy in relation to music and movies.

The increasing cases of book piracy calls for an investigatory arm that will exercise functions like the ones exercised by the Optical Media Board over music and movie piracy. Legislations regarding the regulation of downloading eBooks must be made and enacted and restrictions must strictly be incorporated in eBooks to better protect the rights of the copyright owners. The Cybercrime Law must take into account this issue because this may also be considered as a cybercrime.

Owners of copyright over these books are entitled to their rights because of the effort they have to exert in making extensive studies in producing a book that is worth reading. It is but right that they should be afforded adequate protection because they are the sources of the information that most, if not all, of us use in our daily lives.