‘Quotation of Textbooks Violates Law’
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Quoting school textbooks without permission from the authors is a violation of copyright, according to a court ruling Friday.
The ruling came out as a co-author and publisher of an English textbook applied a suspension against online education company, Megastudy. The online business was accused of manufacturing, distributing and selling their English books that directly quoted a textbook without any permission from the author or the publisher.
Megastudy also made lecture video clips that students could buy and download from its Web site.
``Megastudy claimed that less strict measures should be applied here because the textbooks are for public purpose. But according to the Copyright Act, materials quoting public textbooks for profit are not included in this category,'' the court said.
The Copyright Act allows a more flexible restriction to quotation of a textbook when materials are for public purpose.
The court accepted the application for the suspension, banning Megastudy from selling and distributing the English books and video clips.