12 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY ■ NOVEMBER 4, 2019
copyright registry in Colombia, which
happily coincided with the 133rd anniver-
sary of the Berne Convention. I spoke about
the work of IPA and the importance of copy-
right for creativity and innovation.
I also participated in a productive
meeting of the IPA member in Colombia,
the Cámara Colombiana del Libro, with the
Instituto Nacional para Ciegos (National
Institute for the Blind). We spoke about
IPA’s and the Colombian publishers’ sup-
port of the Marrakesh Treaty and the work
publishers are doing, under the Accessible
Books Consortium initiative, to bolster
accessible publishing.
Returning to Mexico, I spoke during a
seminar organized by the Mexican copyright office and dis-
cussed the challenges for copyright in the digital environment.
Mexican publishers are embracing technology and incorpo-
rating it into their processes and business models. The problem
is that technology makes it easier than ever to produce an unlim-
ited amount of perfect copies of a digital file, which is why
copyright remains essential in the digital era.
What struck me in particular about these three countries is
how publishers across the region are looking for growth and
business opportunities in foreign markets. Lima’s International
Book Fair is developing nicely every year and attracting more
participants from around the world. So is Colombia. Bogotá
hosts a major international book fair every April and has
attracted many participants from other countries; this fair is
becoming an important place to do business in Latin America.
In 2020, the Bogotá International Book Fair will have the
Nordic countries as guest of honor, thus expanding business
opportunities to that region.
In spite of the growth of other book fairs in the region, the
Guadalajara International Book Fair remains the most impor-
tant Spanish-language fair. Not only are the number of profes-
sionals from the U.S. increasing every year but the number of
publishers from other parts of the world are increasing as well.
The publishing markets in Latin America are growing and,
at the same time, publishers in the region are looking to the
rest of the world, not only the U.S., for growth opportunities.
As I visit those Latin-American markets, I hear about their
differences but also the similarities in the challenges publishers
face. National, regional, and international cooperation will be
essential to keep our region’s publishing sector growing. ■B
etween the end of July and early
September of 2019, I had the chance
to participate in several important
publishing events throughout Latin
America. The region is full of con-
trasts, and each country has its own
rich culture, including a dynamic publishing industry. Many of
the area’s largest publishing associations are members of the
International Publishers Association, including Mexico,
Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and Argentina.
In a time span of about six weeks, I visited two Latin-
American countries—Peru and Colombia—while attending
important IPA activities in my home country of Mexico. With
a combined population of 205 million people and world-
renowned authors like Nobel Prize winners Mario Vargas Llosa,
Gabriel García Márquez, and Octavio Paz, these three countries
have thriving publishing industries.
My first trip took me to Lima, Peru’s picturesque capital, July
22–25, where I attended the flourishing Lima International Book
Fair. The main topic that had publishers buzzing during the fair
was congressional approval of the book law that updated an
existing law that grants a VAT exemption for books.
At a seminar about public policies promoting books and
reading, I mentioned that, in addition to tax breaks, good public
policies in favor of books and reading should be based on respect
for copyright and the freedom to publish, and should consider
the whole book ecosystem, from authors and publishers to
librarians. I also spoke about the work publishers around the
world are doing to make books available in accessible formats
for visually impaired people.
During the fair, the Peruvian publishing association (and
IPA member) Cámara Peruana del Libro organized a meeting
with top officials of the Peruvian copyright office, Indecopi.
The discussion centered on the importance of copyright as an
enabler for the creation and dissemination of new works, joint
strategies to fight book piracy, and the next steps to create a
collective copyright management organization in Peru.
Moving on to Bogotá, I spoke at an important copyright sem-
inar organized by the National Copyright Office of Colombia. The
well-attended seminar celebrated the 133rd anniversary of the firstTO THE ANDES AND BACK
The president of the IPA
takes a cultural road trip
across Latin America
BY HUGO SETZER
Hugo Setzer is the CEO of the Mexican publishing house
Manual Moderno and president of the International
Publishers Association.