COPY SHOP OWNER SHOPPED

The Gainesville Times reports on a copyright infringement case being brought against a Los Angeles copy shop owner (that's owner of a photocopying emporium for the IPKat's English readers). It is alleged that Kenneth Roberts, president of Custom Copies, copied twenty works in the form of course packs for University students without seeking a licence from the publishers of the works. Roberts’ lawyer argues that he routinely pays copyright royalties and any missed payments were down to a mistake, rather than an attempt to defraud the copyright owners.

The IPKat is split on this case. On the one hand it’s rough to go after the copy shop owner, rather than the people commissioning the copies, but on the other hand he is the one who has chosen to go into an industry that makes money from copying and so should (arguably) have to bear the risks that go with this.