Digital books for schools and universities with a mandatory 50 per cent discount; the AIE calls for the scheme to be scrapped

“A pointless and harmful provision, which places a burden on the supply chain without bringing any real benefit to families.” So says the president of the Italian Publishers’ Association (AIE) Innocenzo Cipolletta, calling for the repeal of the provision, contained in Article 105 of the draft Budget Bill, which requires publishers to provide school and university students with digital, printable versions of textbooks at 50 per cent of the cover price of the equivalent paper version.

“We are stunned,” he continues. A measure is being introduced, without any prior consultation, which harms publishers, booksellers and authors, and which is designed with utter disregard for the educational and academic publishing sector, for copyright, and for the fair remuneration due for the intellectual work of those who write, illustrate, lay out, updates and publishes these texts – and whose value and development costs – we reiterate this even though it should be clear – are certainly not limited to the cost of the paper on which they are printed. We wonder how it is possible to introduce, without ever having engaged in any consultation, a measure that causes serious harm to the entire book supply chain, whilst bringing no real benefits to families. For all these reasons, and given the social – as well as industrial – significance of the educational and academic publishing sector, we can only call for its withdrawal.”