Chile's PDI seized over 37,000 pirated books on March 26 from three shops in Santiago's Galería Comercial San Diego, valued at an estimated $1.4 billion pesos. The raid followed a complaint from publishers affiliated with the Corporación del Libro y la Lectura. Two people were arrested for infringing intellectual property law.
On March 26, the PDI's Brigada Investigadora de Delitos de Propiedad Intelectual (Bridepi) conducted a raid at the Galería Comercial San Diego in Santiago's commune, seizing over 37,000 pirated books. The operation, authorized by the Fiscalía Local de Pudahuel, stemmed from a complaint by publishers linked to the Corporación del Libro y la Lectura and the law firm Alessandri Abogados, after spotting unauthorized copies for sale in three shops.
The seized books are estimated to be worth $1.4 billion pesos. Sebastián Rodríguez-Peña, president of the Corporación del Libro y la Lectura, stated: “Unfortunately, the pirated book mafia persists over time, directly affecting the work of authors, illustrators, designers, booksellers, and other areas linked to books. [...] in recent years, seizures of illegally produced books have reached approximately 400,000 copies.”
He added: “It is a situation that overwhelms the world of books and culture; it is a serious security issue, possible tax crimes, harm to copyright, among other aspects. We hope authorities can advance in increasing penalties, which are very low.”
Hernán Torres from Estudio Alessandri explained the seizure was part of an investigation into breaches of Law No. 17.336 on Intellectual Property for unauthorized reproduction and sale of protected works. He noted that “judicial actions will be evaluated to effectively protect the violated rights and fully repair the damage caused.”
Two individuals were arrested on the spot: a foreign woman in irregular status and a Chilean man, both without prior records.
