Thinking of photocopying that j-text? Think again

Hey, journalism students, is your required j-textbook not on the schools buy-back list this semester?

For many students, this is indeed the case. In the ongoing battle of expensive books, university and college students on a budget are always on the hunt for a cheaper version of their course texts. But if all is not done legally, then troubles are bound to arise.

The RCMP arrested 13 people from four photocopy stores in Montréal last Thursday after finding 2,700 counterfeit university textbooks worth $540,000.

Hey, journalism students, is your required j-textbook not on the schools buy-back list this semester?

For many students, this is indeed the case. In the ongoing battle of expensive books, university and college students on a budget are always on the hunt for a cheaper version of their course texts. But if all is not done legally, then troubles are bound to arise.

The RCMP arrested 13 people from four photocopy stores in Montréal last Thursday after finding 2,700 counterfeit university textbooks worth $540,000.

Those arrested for producing the forged books could be punished under the Copyright Act and face charges of up to $1 million in fines or five years in prison.

Playing with intellectual property crime, but appealing to students on a budget, the copied books were reproduced and resold at one quarter of their original value.

“It was well done; it was like they were real,” RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Luc Thibault told CBC News. Photocopies were made based on “university program course lists” and were advertised via Craigslist and Kijiji.

In an interview with CBC News, Sivan Havusha, student of social work at McGuill University, admitted she recently bought one of those photocopied text books: “While I knew it was illegal, I was justifying it as: we're students; we pay so much for books anyway. If they can do this, it will save me a bit.”

In an interview in Carleton U newspaper The Charlatan, Shamit Tushakiran, journalism student at Carleton University said he was unsure if the books were available in Ottawa, but if they were, he may se them to avoid paying full price for new textbooks.

One Maclean's commenter blames the high prices for textbooks on them being “Canadianized” — made specifically for Canadian students –which cost big bucks for a small market.

Another Maclean's commenter connotes the market of used books as being a direct cause for the rising price of textbooks. Though this makes for a good argument, what university student wouldn’t pay a cheaper price for books? Especially considering that once the course is over, are often deemed disposable.

The Globe and Mail’s Freshman Life blogger Josh McGee has decided that buying used is the way to go. In his article, McGee mentions SellMytextbooks.org and BookMob.ca.

To avoid textbook over expenditures, used books are always a safer bet than copied ones that disobey Copyright, because in the long run, it’s just too expensive a price to pay.