"International Edition" Textbooks

I finally purchased what I thought was a legitimate version of my Microeconomics textbooks - I had seen some of my peers carrying soft-copy versions of our book and was told that they were international editions. They looked exactly like the domestic version, only in paperback. Essentially, publishers give the rights to their books out in different places for different prices (which, as we learn in Microeconomics, is called price discrimination) so these students either purchased theirs back in their countries or got someone to send them over from wherever they bought them from.

When I started looking online for my book (somewhat late in the semester, given midterms had already happened) I found someone selling a new international edition book for around $40 (the brand new book sells for over $130) and, of course, I jumped at the opportunity to save $90! I placed the order and the book was sent DHL.

When the book arrived from India, I eagerly tore open the covering and was shocked to see a red book with Black words and gray lines (versus a white original with black and orange markings). This book looked nothing like the original and nothing like the other "International Edition" books I have seen!

When I turned over the book to find the opening of the book's cellophane wrapping I was greeted with a note that explained exactly why it was that I was seeing what I was seeing and why it was not violating copyright laws. Apparently, in India, they also have the rights to print this book but in their case, it seems, they also have the right to change the look of the cover.

I generally think that if you have to include a note with your product stating that it does not violate copyright laws, it probably does. That said, I'm not sending my book back - I can't prove that the printing of the book in which I am currently reading about Oligopoly violates copyright laws but even if printing the book does, I am pretty sure buying it unawares certainly doesn't.

At the end of the day, it would probably be best for local textbook printers to simply reduce their prices to a point where there are no profits to be made from importing international editions, whether they are legitimate or not. It's a clear arbitrage opportunity and one that really shouldn't exist.