Delhi police have busted two major book piracy rackets, seizing tens of thousands of Western best sellers including 8,000 copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, of which counterfeit editions were being sold rampantly in India just days after release last month. Harry Potter counterfeits were going for as little as Rs 175, compared with the retail price of 890 rupees. This comes after Friday’s seizure of 34,000 counterfeit best-sellers, with five people having been arrested for violation of India’s Copywright Act. The convicted could face up to two years in prison.

Book piracy is relatively commonplace in India and Asia, where popular Western books are sold on the street for considerably less than their retail prices.

Update: Kiruba Shankar weighs in on piracy

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