Gottfried Honnefelder, head of the group that represents publishers and booksellers, said at the fair’s opening news conference that around 60 percent of e-book downloads in Germany are pirated through Internet sources such as file-sharing sites.

The e-book market remains tiny in Germany, with about 0.5 percent of the market. E-readers have not caught on as they have in the US

Some 7,400 exhibitors are expected for the fair Wednesday through Sunday. It’s a forum for trading in publishing and translation rights.