A commercial-scale book piracy operation in Delhi has been dismantled following a raid conducted by Penguin Random House India, Simon & Schuster India, Hay House and investigators on July 20, Penguin reported in a blog post on its website on 11 August.
The operation targeted a digital print-on-demand facility in Delhi’s South Ganesh Nagar and a storage and sales point in Pandav Nagar. Police arrested two accused linked to the printing facility and one person allegedly involved in storing and selling the pirated books.
The authorities seized more than 1,600 unauthorized books along with photocopying, binding, cutting and lamination equipment and computers. The seized titles included popular works such as Atomic Habits, Ikigai, It Starts with Us and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Heart Lamp.
Penguin Random House India described the raid as a significant development in its nationwide anti-piracy campaign, noting that it was the campaign’s third successful raid and its first targeting a digital print-on-demand operation.
Jyoti Taneja, counsel for Penguin Random House India, was quoted as saying, “The action specifically targeted a commercial-scale digital piracy unit, resulting in the seizure of a complete print-on-demand production line, including photocopying, binding, cutting and lamination machines, computers, and over 1,600 pirated books. The operation sends a strong message that intellectual property crimes will not be tolerated and that those involved in organized piracy will be identified and punished in accordance with law.”
The publishers said the action was particularly significant because it disrupted both the production facility and the distribution network. They warned that pirated books may lack the editing, proofing and quality controls associated with authorized editions.
Manoj Satti, SVP, product, sales and marketing, Penguin Random House India, has been quoted as saying, “What makes this operation significant is that we found a printing unit and the wholesale network it was feeding, in the same action. Piracy networks are usually easier to disrupt at one point than to shut down entirely, because there’s always another link to pick up the slack.”
Hitting the source and the distribution point together is what sets a network back, Satti said. “For readers, it’s worth remembering that a book moving through this kind of network was never checked or proofed the way it should be, so what looks like a good deal is really a copy nobody stood behind.’
Sanjiv Gupta, managing director, Simon & Schuster India, said the raid is a reminder that a pirated book is not a harmless bargain; it is an unauthorized copy produced and sold for profit.”
