The number of students who get pirated copies is increasing because textbooks are too expensive, and Danish survey results that about half are using pirated copies



In

Denmark , known as a welfare state, university tuition is free, but students must purchase their own textbooks for lectures. TorrentFreak, a web media about file sharing and copyright infringement, said, ``In Denmark, more and more students are getting pirated editions because textbooks are too expensive, and about half of the students who use electronic textbooks are getting pirated editions.'' I reported.

Nye tal viser, at studerendes ulovlige forbrug af studiebøger fortsat er en kæmpe udfordring | RettighedsAlliancen
https://rettighedsalliancen.dk/nye-tal-viser-at-studerendes-ulovlige-forbrug-af-studieboeger-fortsat-er-en-kaempe-udfordring/

High Prices Make Textbook 'Piracy' Acceptable to Most Students * TorrentFreak
https://torrentfreak.com/high-prices-make-textbook-piracy-acceptable-to-most-students-230604/

In addition to tuition fees, students studying at university also have to pay for textbooks and reference books. Traditionally, in order to save money on textbooks, they borrowed from seniors, borrowed from the library, purchased second-hand books, and used photocopiers. There were times when I copied the necessary part in. However, in recent years, with the advent of e-books, the number of students who obtain pirated textbooks is increasing.

Of course, textbook publishers don't like pirated copies circulating among students. In Denmark, several young people have been convicted of selling pirated textbooks, including a 25-year-old man who was ordered to pay a fine for ``selling pirated textbook PDFs to 12 people'' in May 2023. is receiving



However, according to

the results of a survey released by the Rights Alliance, a Danish anti-piracy organization, students continue to obtain pirated textbooks despite aggressive attempts to crack down on textbook piracy. became.

According to the survey results, about half of the students who answered that they used electronic textbooks admitted to using at least one or more ``pirated books''. This number has been relatively stable since 2020 and hasn't declined despite aggressive efforts against piracy in recent years.

Students are not unaware that the act of distributing and selling pirated copies of books is illegal, and in the survey, 70% of students using pirated copies were aware of the illegality. In addition, the number of illegally pirated textbooks obtained varies from student to student, and while some students obtain only one or two pirated copies, about 25% of students who use pirated copies account for more than half of their textbooks. It seems that it is covered by pirated copies.



Based on a series of survey results, the Rights Alliance argues that it is important for educational institutions to inform students not to use pirated copies and to communicate more proactively. However, TorrentFreak points out that it is doubtful whether the use of pirated copies will actually decrease just by working with students, and states that there may be another problem.

In this survey, it became clear that even though many students who use pirated copies are aware of their illegality, they still obtain pirated copies. And it is also suggested that what is necessary for students to consider obtaining textbooks by regular means rather than pirated copies is 'textbook price reductions'.

The graph below shows the results of asking, 'How much will the price of textbooks go down when you stop sharing, selling, and buying illegal e-books?' Only 2% said they would stop using pirated software when it was 10% cheaper, but 28% said it was 25% cheaper, and 51% said it was 50% cheaper. doing. In other words, if the price of textbooks is halved, the number of students using pirated copies may decrease by more than 80%.



It is assumed that ``cutting the price of textbooks sold by 50%'' is not an acceptable option for publishers, but the biggest reason why students use pirated editions is ``the price of textbooks is too high.'' It seems certain that there is.

TorrentFreak said, 'Research shows that illegal copying of textbooks is difficult to stop as long as legal alternatives are considered financially unaffordable. More 'Prosecuting people and running awareness campaigns may deter some people from using piracy, but for the majority, it's all about money.'

in Note, Posted by log1h_ik