HKMU Accused of "Normalising Piracy" After Requesting Teaching Material Authorisation from Taiwan Publisher

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Taiwan's Wu-Nan Book Inc. recently posted online, criticising an unnamed Hong Kong institution—later identified as Hong Kong Metropolitan University (HKMU)—after a staff member requested an electronic scan of a physical book and stated an intention to reproduce 75 free copies for students' reference. The publisher accused the university of "normalising piracy," stressing it does not agree to distribution "in the form of scanned physical books or downloaded PDF e-books."

📖 Wu-Nan Book Inc.: Requested Download, Photocopy and 75 Free Copies
Wu-Nan Book Inc., which specialises in publishing academic monographs, tertiary textbooks and reference books, recently posted on social media that it had received a letter from an overseas institution "applying for authorisation to reproduce." The sender requested electronic photocopying of 3 chapters of New Perspectives on Educational Action Research, totalling 25 pages, to be used as course teaching materials, with 75 free copies to be reproduced for students. The attached image showed the course "Professional Skills: Primary Humanities (Teaching Practicum)," a teacher training course offered by HKMU. Wu-Nan directly described the request to "download, photocopy and use 75 copies for free" as unreasonable, characterising it as "normalising piracy," and stated it "does not permit any scanning of physical books or downloading of e-books." It also revealed it had replied asking the sender to obtain legitimate e-book copyright and copies through e-book distributors, but received no response. Wu-Nan later deleted the post, reiterating that the publisher does not agree to any publication being "distributed in the form of scanned physical books or downloaded PDF e-books," and that overseas e-book copyrights should be obtained "through distributors or legitimate channels (including Google Play)." It is understood that New Perspectives on Educational Action Research is authored by Taiwanese scholar Tsai Ching-tien and is often used in teacher teaching practice research and education dissertations. It is currently only available in physical print, with no e-book version.

🏛️ HKMU: Solemnly Declares Allegations Are Inconsistent with Facts
In reply, HKMU stressed it has always respected intellectual property and strictly complies with copyright regulations. Regarding the accusation of "normalising piracy," HKMU solemnly declared that the claim is inconsistent with the facts, stressing that the university had no intention of reproducing the relevant content without authorisation. It had proactively contacted the publisher by email in accordance with established procedures to apply for reproduction of certain chapters and enquire about copyright reproduction fees, to ensure authorised reproduction of the content for producing teaching materials. After the publisher replied that no authorisation would be granted, the university did not use the relevant content. HKMU added that it has always obtained teaching material reproduction authorisations through proper channels, such as the copyright licensing scheme of the Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society or by applying directly to copyright holders, and pays the relevant copyright fees annually.

💬 Publishing Industry Figure: Fair Use Must Meet Multiple Principles
A publishing industry figure familiar with copyright told Sing Tao Education that it is quite common for academic institutions to apply to publishers for authorisation for teaching and research purposes, but "fair use" must meet multiple principles, including that the reproduction proportion must not exceed 10% of the entire content, that it is for internal teaching use only, and that it cannot substitute for purchasing the publication, to avoid harming the economic interests of authors and publishers. "Even for academic journals, general authorisation is limited to one paper." He believed HKMU staff had no intention of infringing copyright, "if they intended to infringe, they simply would not have asked the publisher." He noted that different places have "fair use" and "partial authorisation" provisions, and considered the publisher's reaction excessive, with no need for an "online public trial." "A university is not a tutorial centre or photocopy shop. If they communicate and apply through proper channels and there is a genuine misunderstanding, the best way to handle it is to seek reconciliation."