NCERT Warns Against Copyright Infringement Of Educational Materials

Today we live in a world where everything is being copied or plagiarized from music, fashion styles, and beauty products and now they have not even spared education. 

Recently NCERT stated that some unscrupulous publishers have been printing faculty textbooks on internet sites under their very own identity without acquiring permission from NCERT. It additionally warned against copyright infringement of its academic materials, cautioning the public in opposition to unauthorized printing and industrial sale of NCERT school textbooks.

In the press release, NCERT additionally requested the public to continue to stay away from such textbooks as the content material written on them would possibly be factually incorrect and in opposition to the fundamental philosophy of the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2023. 

Here is what you need to know about The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). It is an independent organization set up in 1961 by the Government of India to aid and advocate the Central and State Governments on insurance policies and programmes for qualitative improvement in college education.

 The fundamental goals of NCERT are as follows:

1. Undertake, promote and coordinate research in areas related to school education;
2. Prepare and publish  textbooks, study material, newsletters, and journals and develop educational kits, multimedia digital materials, etc
3. Organise training of teachers; develop and disseminate innovative educational techniques
4. Collaborate and network with state educational departments, universities, NGOs and other educational institutions;
5. A clearing house for ideas and information related to school education
6. Research, development, training, extension, publication and dissemination activities
7. Bilateral cultural exchange programmes with other countries for school education
8. Collaboration with international organisations, visiting foreign delegations and training facilities for educational personnel from developing countries.
9. The nodal agency to develop National Curriculum Frameworks (NCFs) for (a) Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE), (b) School Education, and (c) Adult Education.

Now a senior council official said “A few unscrupulous publishers were printing NCERT school textbooks available on its website under their name, without obtaining permission from the NCERT. Anyone found publishing NCERT textbooks, either in whole or in part, for commercial sale or using NCERT textbook content in their publications without obtaining explicit copyright permission, will face legal repercussions under the Copyright Act of 1957,”. 

What is the Copyright Act? 

Copyright provides the right to the creativity of someone, and no other can use that without the owner’s permission. Copyright refers to the legal right of the owner of intellectual property the original creators of products and anyone they give authorization to are the only ones with the exclusive right to reproduce the work. 

What legal action can be taken? 

The penalties for copyright infringement can range from civil damages, crook prosecution, fines, and imprisonment. In India, under the Copyright Act, of 1957, a character determined responsible for copyright infringement can be fined up to Rs. two lakhs and imprisoned for up to three years. Copyright infringement in India is a civil and criminal offence. 

To sum up, the motive of copyright is to protect the rights of the creator and grant incentives and financial advantages to the creator. The scope of copyright extends to literary or inventive works which need creativity which include database and laptop software. The registration of work is no longer indispensable to be eligible for copyright; however, it is regularly suggested to register the work due to the fact it serves as proof in court. If any person infringes the copyrighted work of any individual then he will be responsible for each of the criminal liabilities and civil liabilities.

So we urge you, readers, to ensure you are buying books and materials which are from the right sources and sold through the correct channels to avoid promoting copyright infringement.