Textbooks in Malaysia: Copyright or Right to Copy?

Written by Quek Yew Aun and Selvapandiyan a/l Krishnan, second-year Bachelor of Jurisprudence students, University of Malaya; and Vishal a/l Gopinathan, Advocate and Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya.
Edited by Chrystal Foo.
Reviewed by Luc Choong and Celin Khoo Roong Teng.​

​For students in Malaysia, textbooks are often a scarce and expensive resource. This situation has led to the widespread practice of photocopying textbooks and use of electronic copies as reference. However, the legality of such practices in Malaysia is unclear. Textbooks come under the definition of ‘literary works’ and hence their copyright is protected by the Copyright Act 1987. The legality of photocopying and common practices of textbook dealings was examined based on the Copyright Act 1987, decided cases in Malaysia and the Commonwealth.
 
I. INTRODUCTION
The start of every semester as a student is almost always accompanied by a brief period of confusion. Among some of the most common questions asked would be the subjects to register for, names of lecturers and number of assignments. However, in the momentary dissonance, a routine always exists: the search for textbooks.

Read More