By Jacqueline Theodoulou

POLICE ARE clamping down on copyright laws, after it emerged that printing shops are copying university books and selling them on at half the price.

Syllabus books for the University of Cyprus, along with a number of other colleges, are being reproduced and sold at a cut price, which has provoked an intense reaction from the books’ authors.

Nicosia police raided a printing shop in Aglandja on Thursday after receiving a tip that the owner was photocopying books and selling them on.

Police confiscated computers, printers, books, photocopiers, DVDs and other materials that were being used to copy the books.

The items are now being examined by police to determine whether copyright laws have been violated.

Lawyer Achilleas Demetriades yesterday told Phileleftheros newspaper that many of his clients are authors seeking protection for their books, which they’ve seen reproduced by the hundreds.
He added that due to the beginning of the new academic year, the phenomenon is much worse, so he called on police to step up checks.

Demetriades pointed out that there are strict penalties when it comes to copyright laws. First time criminals could face up to three years in jail and an up to £30,000 fine, while re-offenders could face four years in prison and a £35,000 fine.