Egyptian Publishers Association seize 19 thousand illegal copies

Egyptian Publishers Association (EPA) said on Wednesday that Egyptian ministry of interior has seized 19 thousand illegal book copies; the announcement of this number comes three weeks after the EPA declared its intention to prepare a blacklist with the names of the publishers involved in book piracy. EPA has vowed last month to fight against book piracy and illegal book copies, saying that it is about to prepare a black list of all the publishers  and print houses which violate copyrights law and sell illegal copies of the protected books. The move comes as a part of an Anti-Piracy plan, after the association declared that book piracy rate reached unprecedented levels in the Egyptian market during the past few months; the plan also included organising a two-day event under the title “Book Piracy and Author Copyright,” last week. The association said in a statement that the ministry of interior seized exactly 18,900 none original book copies, were about to be distributed in the Egyptian market, adding that these copies violate the copyrights and print laws.