When I think about the idea of piracy in today’s society, I think about those warnings that precede every DVD that you view. One part of the warning advises the viewer that piracy is not a victimless crime. That idea was made very evident in the article “The Book Boys of Mumbai” in Sunday’s NYT.
This essay written by Sonia Faleiro is not about those who pirate DVDs but those who sell pirated copies of best selling books on the streets of Mumbai. Young boys, typically from the ages of 12 to about 16, are hired by a seth. These young boys hawk their pirated books in plain sight, even though there are Indian laws regarding copyright infringement and child labor. Young book sellers pay their seth about $2.00 for every book he provides. Everything that the sellers make about that price is profit. Twelve-year old Yakub Sheikh sells at least three books a day making a minimum of 300 rupees for himself.
There is so much that is tragic in this story. The young book sellers don’t last long in the job because of the dangers of darting in and out of traffic. They can tell you what the best-selling titles and novelists are but can’t read them because they can’t/ don’t go to school. The books are very valuable to these young sellers. They must be guarded against harm. “Don’t touch my books,” says Sheikh. ” I don’t take chances. At night I sleep with them. I use my books for a pillow.”