History Lesson 3 by Sanja Gjenero (via stock.xchng)

Today’s SMH reports that the Productivity Commission is likely to recommend the removal of parallel importation restrictions (PIR) on books to Australia.

If this happens, despite the Productivity Commission receiving a majority of submissions in support of retaining all or part of the current restrictions, it will be clear that the loudest voices in the media have prevailed.

It helps, of course, if your lobby group includes former NSW Premier Bob Carr, and former ACCC chairman Allan Fels.

Lobbying for cheaper prices

Carr has written several editorials in support of an open market for books, citing affordability and availability to children. It’s ironic that local authors of children’s books believe they’ll be one of the hardest hit by an open market. This is because illustrated children’s books are more expensive to produce due to their larger, non-standard formats, and because authors have to split the royalties with illustrators. (more)

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1. I don’t trust you. Emailing a customer mailing list with your political agenda is dodgy. Also dodgy is pretending to be something other than a group of chain retailers lobbying the government to change the law so you can increase your profits.

2. We don’t need to change copyright law to buy cheaper books. Readers can buy online. Not only do we take advantage of cheaper prices overseas, but we don’t have to pay GST. The Book Depository doesn’t even charge for shipping. I don’t see you lobbying to have the GST removed from books, or to have the government enforce the GST on overseas companies. Maybe it can’t. That’s not my fault.

3. Not everyone buys books according to price. The experience of being in a bookstore is what I want when I go into a bookstore. Otherwise, I’d buy online. I like seeing a book, touching it, reading the blurb and maybe a few pages. I can’t do that online. (more)

Stack of Old Books by Darren Hester (via Flickr)

This post is a continuation of yesterday’s post exploring the issues around parallel importation of books in Australia. To recap, part 1 talks about the 30/90 rule and summarises the arguments for and against the current legislation. Now I’m going to talk about my personal opinion regarding the issues.

Support for current legislation

Initially, I was against any change to the current legislation. I do most of my book shopping in brick and mortar stores and I never compare prices online. I figure, if I can’t afford the book on the shelf, then I ought to save up until I can or just get it from the library. As SMH journalist Malcolm Knox puts it:

A book’s real value lies in the hours it gives us in enjoyment or insight and the surprising ways it can open our hearts. A book can be a terrible rip-off at $9.99 or a bargain at $60. (more)

Stack of Old Books by Darren Hester (via Flickr)

Last week, the deadline passed for submissions to the Productivity Commission’s study on the copyright restrictions on the parallel importation of books to Australia. I had intended to read the submissions and give a full summary of the pros and cons, but there are way too many for me to get through. I also haven’t decided where I stand on this issue, and tomorrow I’ll talk about why.

The 30/90 rule

The Copyright Act includes an amendment commonly known as the 30/90 rule. When a book is first released anywhere in the world, the Australian publisher who owns local rights must publish an Australian version of the book within 30 days. If the local rights holder makes the book available within 30 days of its first release anywhere, all Australian booksellers must buy the book from the Australian publisher; they can’t import the book from an overseas publisher.

If the publisher fails to publish the book within 30 days, booksellers may import legitimate copies without the permission of the local rights holder—in effect, the publisher loses exclusive rights. (more)