Counterfeits are an all too familiar problem in the industries of luxury goods and consumer electronics, but piracy is not confined to the latest gadgets or designer goods.

With the high demand for quality educational content and countless channels of distribution, it should come as no surprise that textbooks are not immune to the threat of counterfeiters.

Counterfeit textbooks are a substantial problem in the educational marketplace, burdening students with inferior products; exposing distributors to legal liability and unsaleable inventory; and depriving authors and publishers of the funds necessary to reinvest in new educational content.

 

Why should I care?
Liability

  • Copyright infringement is a strict liability offense, which means that intent and knowledge of infringement are not necessary in determining liability for selling counterfeits.

  • If found liable for copyright infringement, apart from actual damages, statutory fines can be awarded from $750 to $30,000 per work infringed (or up to $150,000 per work willfully infringed).

Harm to the Educational System

  • The sale of counterfeit textbooks deprives authors of royalties and publishers of capital required to continue to develop educational content.

  • Lost revenue can lead authors and publishers to cease creation and publication of deserving works, adversely affecting scholarly endeavor and progress.

Inferior Products

Counterfeit textbooks are of an inferior quality than the legitimate textbooks manufactured and produced by the publisher. Flaws can include:

  • Poor binding and missing pages or pages falling out;

  • Missing access codes for supplemental online or e-learning materials;

  • Poor quality or “grainy” images;

  • Different or missing content such as photos, cases, and end-of-chapter review materials; and

  • Different pagination.

Your Brand and Reputation

  • Booksellers want to be associated with value and authentic products, not counterfeits and the headaches that come with them.