To find La Pirateca it is necessary to have experience searching for PDFs on the Internet. The social networks of the project have been suspended and do not have a known spokesperson. Even so, the page of this collective circulates by word of mouth among those who seek to download free books on the Internet and recently, it has become the focus of a discussion on the limits between copyright and free access to culture in Mexico. .
The website has a collection of books selected by the anonymous curators of the project. Under the motto “books are not stolen, they are expropriated”, on this site you can find texts on philosophy, narrative, music and more available for free download, mostly violating current legislation on copyright, which prohibits the reproduction of content without permission of the rights holder.
Libreria Impronta reported through a statement that in June 2022 it received an inspection by authorities of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (Impi) and the application of precautionary measures because they had a piggy bank on the premises to raise funds for La Pirateca . Simultaneously, reviews were being carried out at other literary businesses that had joined in raising money for the anonymous project.
The debate surrounding the existence of La Pirateca has moved digital rights defenders, publishers, copyright lawyers, bookstores and authors, both for and against. While the struggle between legality and piracy continues to develop, readers like Gisela Munoz appreciate the existence of La Pirateca because thanks to pages like this one, they say, they have managed to grow their reading culture even from the periphery and with limited financial resources.
