Karachi: The Additional Collector of Customs (Export) Karachi has issued an order pertaining to an intellectual copyright (IPR) case registered and investigated through the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) against Iqbal Kitab Ghar, the proprietors and partners of which were found involved in exporting pirated copies of Oxford University Press textbooks to Pakistan International School Al Khubar in Saudi Arabia.
Upon receiving a complaint in March this year that pirated books were being shipped outside Pakistan, FIA had conducted a raid at the Karachi Port and confiscated around eight consignments (eighty-four cartons) of the pirated books. As this act constitutes a punishable offense under the Copyright Ordinance 1962 and Customs Act 1969, an FIR was lodged against the owners and partners of Iqbal Kitab Ghar i.e. Haji Muhammad Gaba, Sher Bano, Tayyab Ahmed Gaba, and Anees Ahmed Gaba.
The value of the recovered goods was estimated at US$ 40,000. The order establishes the charges of violation of copyright laws levelled against the accused and imposes on them a penalty equivalent to three times the value of the seized books that is US$ 120,000 (Rs 1,200,000).
Such infringements of Intellectual Property Rights cause massive losses to the publishing industry, the authors, the Pakistan government, as well as the parents and pupils who are cheated into buying sub-standard, pirated books.