Publishers axed in copyright row

Abu Dhabi International Book Fair announces three exhibitors pulled from show.

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ABU DHABI // Three publishing houses' participation at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair has been cancelled amid charges of copyright violations.

Jumaa Al Qubais, the director of the event, said in a statement on the state news agency, WAM, that the errant publishers, which were participating for the first time, had been removed from the exhibition hall and would not be permitted to take part in future fairs.

The three publishers were not identified.

Mr Al Qubais said breaches of intellectual property rights were rare and generally involved small publishing houses. He said major publishers tended to comply with the conditions of the fair.

Meanwhile, more than 100 people have responded to a 17-question survey as part of the book fair that aims to collect information about UAE reading habits. The questionnaire can be found at www.surveymonkey.com/s/ abudhabiinternationalbookfair.

newsdesk@thenational.ae