Licensing Boards Think Studying For A Test Is Copyright Infringement, Forbid Memorization Of Material
from the 'all-applicants-must-have-brain-wiped-before-leaving-testing-area' dept
Today's copyright-induced stupidity is brought to you by… a whole host of regulatory institutions. An anonymous Techdirt reader sent in a pointer to this ridiculous warning that greets those accessing the National Association of Legal Assistants practice tests. (Press "Sign In" to view the legal threats pop-up.)
These online practice tests and all items contained herein are protected by federal copyright law. No part of this examination may be copied, reproduced or shared in any manner, in part or whole, by any means whatsoever, including memorization or electronic transmission.While I realize there have been several attempts to broaden the coverage of copyright and extend its length towards the far end of perpetuity, I was unaware that federal copyright law now provides remedies for the creation of infringing memories.
This would be merely inane (but still noteworthy), if this stupidity began and ended with the NALA's stern warning. But a search for that wording finds examples elsewhere.
Here's the National Board of Chiropractic Examiners making the same ridiculous claim:
These sample tests and all items contained herein are protected by federal copyright law. No part of these tests may be copied, reproduced, or shared in any manner, in part or in whole, by any means whatsoever, including memorization or electronic transmission.Here's Michigan State University going one step further than the previous two and basically stating that studying for a test is copyright infringement.
The examination and the items contained therein are protected by copyright law. No part of this examination may be copied or reproduced in part or whole by any means whatsoever, including memorization, note-taking, or electronic transmission.Who else thinks copyright law forbids the storage of infringing copies in the original cloud storage system, the human brain?
- American Board of Perianesthesia Nursing Certification
- Texas Pharmacy Technician Certification Board
- American Association of Veterinary State Boards
- Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation
- National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc.
The list goes on from there, but as you can see, anyone offering some sort of expensive testing process/licensing claims you can't memorize their tests. How they aim to prevent this remains unanswered. Presumably, if someone duplicates the test from memory and offers these materials to others, they would pursue this as infringement.
It's clear they're trying to head off students selling questions and answers, something that could undermine the certification system. (Of course, these agencies could change their questions from year-to-year to head this off, but that would be far more difficult than just smacking around applicants with highly-dubious legal language.) But claiming that memorization is forbidden under copyright law is just idiotic. Unauthorized duplication and distribution might be, but creating cached copies in your mind while studying certainly isn't. It's an integral part of studying for tests. Throughout their educational existence, students use memorization to become familiar with the subject matter, and now, when they attempt to apply that in hopes of receiving certification, they're greeted with notices that say this practice is against the law.
Then there's the question of fair use, that awkward part of copyright protection that many rights holders tend to ignore. A few sample questions being reproduced would be an obvious case of fair use, but according to the (literally) "don't even think about it" warnings, this would also be an actionable offense.
A better solution would be to simply strike that asinine wording and deal with actual duplication of test materials that stretch beyond the limits of fair use. Those performing these acts of infringement are generally in it to profit from those who can't be bothered to learn the material. Chances are, most people wouldn't view the edited legal preamble as providing a but-I-can-store-it-in-my-brain loophole. The same goes for note-taking, which a few of these notices also single out. The problem isn't the person's notes, which are still personal. It's the duplication and distribution to the public. You can still keep people from taking notes during the actual tests, but you certainly can't keep them from remembering what they've seen.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: copyfraud, copyright, licensing, memorization, studying, tests
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Where can I go to find someone that is NOT certified? They may be able to legally know the answers.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
when taking the test for the exam write as answer: "according to the exam preparation rules, answering this question would be a copyright infringement violation".
they HAVE to pass you with an EXCELLENT rating.. if not, you can sue their asses off for inducing copyright infringement.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
"according to the exam rules, remembering the answer to this question is a copyright infringement violation"...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
First you pass the test, then they can sue you for copyright infringement. Because obviously you memorized their intellectual property if you were able to pass the test.
But don't worry, I'm sure they'll work out a settlement with you, that involves say forking over 25% of your annual salary to them once you get a job that requires that certification.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Thank you and have a nice day
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
How are they planning on enforcing this?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: How are they planning on enforcing this?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: How are they planning on enforcing this?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Well Jaysus Christ
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I smell a new MPAA money-making opportunity
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: I smell a new MPAA money-making opportunity
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: I smell a new MPAA money-making opportunity
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: I smell a new MPAA money-making opportunity
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Legal idiocy is a rapidly traveling meme
This kind of crap is very akin to classic urban legends; no one knows where it comes from, there's no evidence to support it, and it's easy to find some idiot to swear that it's absolutely true and they got it from a friend of friend.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
No problem here...
So I guess I'll be in the clear for sure.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
"The answers submitted are protected by United Stated Federal Copyright Law.
It is unlawful to use these works without express permission from the author.
If examination of the results is required, please contact the author for licensing terms.
Violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent the law allows."
I keep getting straight A grades.
Lucky me.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Quite Literally Insane
They're saying - someone PLEASE tell me I'm wrong - that if you memorize the information you've committed copyright infringement?
Let's totally forget the fact that this is a system designed SPECIFICALLY TO AID IN >>>>> MEMORIZATION
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Quite Literally Insane
Insanity is a word that gets bandied about a lot but I do believe this is the most literal example of insanity I have ever witnessed, even here on TD, which is saying something.
They're saying - someone PLEASE tell me I'm wrong - that if you memorize the information you've committed copyright infringement?
Let's totally forget the fact that this is a system designed SPECIFICALLY TO AID IN MEMORIZATION FOR A TEST. Because rather than focusing on imbuing students with logic and reasoning in this country and letting natural curiosity take over, we throw volumes and volumes of raw information at students and pray that 70% sticks. I mean, Christ, we teach by shotgun, basically.
Disregarding that, how would this theoretical "copyright-violation-by-memory" be any different than me simply REMEMBERING a famous line from a movie? I'm remembering several right now. If the MPAA is employing any psychics right now, this would make me liable for at least 30+ cases of infringement. And it's my memory! It's not like I can manually make myself dumb because the law demands I do so. I can ACT dumb in the TSA line, sure. But I can't BE dumb on command. Sorry, I really can't.
What about music? Do I need to only remember the rhythm to infringe or does it have to include the lyrics? What if I'm playing Name That Tune in the car? Is the fact that I remember 90% of the song before it has played (well, usually) also infringement?
GASP! Wow I just had an epiphany. The RIAA needs to sue the MPAA for the TV show Name That Tune! I mean, clearly ALL of those contestants were committing memory-copyright-violations! That's all that entire show was! And if they sue them, it has to be for every single song, even the ones where the contestants got the right answer after like 5 seconds, because clearly they were thinking of the whole song in their memory! This could be great, guys! We could have one goliath slay the other for us!
But of course, then remembering anything that has happened at all in the last 140+ years (or however long the specific copyright term for the specific thing is) is now a crime. Drats! Well, it was nice knowing you internet, electricity, and everything it has spawned since! I gotta go forget my entire life plus 70 years now, buh-bye!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Quite Literally Insane
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
They're saying that once the exam is over, the ex-students aren't allowed to think of any of the scenarios, find one that matches, take action on it (to save a person's life) and then log it in the log book, because the log would be in copyright violation of the exam.
Yeah, we know the intent of what they're saying: "Don't reproduce the exam questions and sell/trade them with others taking the exam in the future" -- but then that's what they need to put on their legal warning; NOT "do not commit this exam to memory" which is what they HAVE stated.
I thought Tim was pretty straightforward about that in the article.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
"No part of this examination may be copied or reproduced in part or whole by any means whatsoever, including memorization, note-taking, or electronic transmission."
If you remove the lawyerly crap & simplify it, it means this:
"...this exam may be ... reproduced ... by ... memorization..."
As I said, you're not allowed to REPRODUCE the exam FROM memory. I don't know what they felt compelled to spell that out, but that's what it says & means.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
"...this exam may (not) be ... reproduced ... by ... memorization..."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
We all know that what they MEAN is you can't USE the copy in your brain to then type out the questions later, but then they should have said so. (Or not said so. It's not like there's some loophole where they must explicitly state that infringement by memorizing and then copying is infringement.)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
Nothing to see here folks - move along now. No need for concern or pointing out how poorly written it is as it will never become a problem because some guy on the internet said so.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
The problem here is more general. Sure, we can recognize that THIS particular legalese is bogus, but we might not recognize that THAT particular bit of legalese is bogus. Or perhaps someone looks at that paragraph, correctly sees that it's ridiculous, and incorrectly thinks that the fact that the warning is wrong means that they CAN copy the entire test.
Lawyers should be held responsible when they make ridiculous legal claims that have no basis in the law. If your lawyer tells you to put up a sign that says you aren't responsible for damage done by shopping carts in your parking lot, but the law clearly says you are liable for that damage, then there should be an official mark against that lawyer's license to practice law.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
How can you be so sure about that? We've seen much sillier and more obnoxious lawsuits than that, after all.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
Also this person does not think fighting lawsuits is expensive or that the simple threat of a lawsuit might be used to extract money via a so called "settlement" because obviously this has never happened - amirite?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
Because he says so!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
Try actually reading the story. "No part of this examination may be copied ... by any means whatsoever, including memorization.." clearly states that it may not be copied to memory.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Quite Literally Insane
Right. Copied to memory. Not reproduced from memory. So they're prohibiting memorization.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
*confiscates memories for violating copyright*
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I Have A Theory...
My conclusion? Someone decided to indulge in a little sabotage, and nobody noticed until now because nobody reads EULAs anyway.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: I Have A Theory...
No irony there...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: I Have A Theory...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
A simple test
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Wow I nerver trieed this in school,,
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Wow I nerver tried this in school,,
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Fahrenheit 415
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Blu-Ray-Brain
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
ASE certification testing
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: ASE certification testing
There must be more to it than that, because that makes little sense. First, why would they need special non-scoring questions to determine this. Can't they get the same information from one the regular questions? Second, it makes it sound less like the test is gauging level of knowledge and more like the test is designed to adapt to be a "difficulty level" that is adjusted to the test-taking population. That would make a knowledge test fairly bogus. That can't be right.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
They are preping for the future ....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I see a problem here
Can we charge them for forcing us to commit crimes?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
You're missing what they're trying to prevent.
In effect these places offer you "the test" so you can avoid the hard work of studying and *learning* the material, and instead just memorize the specific answers needed to pass.
What this clause is meant to do is to tell you that *reproducing* the test is copyrighted and that by memorizing the questions and writing them out afterwards for distribution, you are violating the law.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: You're missing what they're trying to prevent.
You write this as if there is no legitimate purpose to practice tests. But practice tests serve an incredibly legitimate purpose: how you perform on the test has a lot to do with things aside from how well you've learned the material. Practice tests help to minimize the risk of doing poorly due to those other factors.
"What this clause is meant to do is to tell you that..."
We all know that. The point is that isn't what the clause says. What it actually says is what matters, not the intent behind it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
...
You view the online tests by electronically transmitting a copy to your computer.
So, what they're trying to say is, "We give you access to these tests, but if you access them, you're a dirty pirate terrorist lawbreaker."
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
Unfortunately, as we have learned from MAFIAA, download also makes you as liable as upload.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
I think their work has been done for them, all TD needs to do is bring it to your attention.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Unenforcable laws are no goof
If people aren't going to be punished for "memorizing", then they probably figure they won't be punished for anything else listed in the copyright notice.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Memorization and dissemination of test questions is a fact of life for those communities. Anything to get an edge over the competition, i.e. everyone else. Using the test questions for mock exams is standard procedure for most East Asian schools. Universities have already tried to get around it by having unconventional entrance exam procedures. Didn't work; concerned parents still figured out how to get the best responses out of examiners.
Make rote memorization of knowledge and questions a crime; you'll have to arrest the whole fucking population of a few countries.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I was right
The worst part: I was joking.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
but you know that, right... ?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
That said, it's not about stopping the people from remembering, it's about going after the companies who re-create the tests as a result of collecting this information. Few do it, but there is potential. They create a huge expense the exams must be updated and changed much more often to avoid this type of cheating.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
2+2=
6x7=
9/3=
....
Horrible I say, horrible.
It would be the end of society as we know it, all would crumble into chaos and anarchy would rule. Hey, maybe that's what they want.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
It's not about simple things (like 2+2) but rather much more complex questions that might exist on an exam.
The question is will people study the whole subject (ie, learn it) or will they only memorize what they know is on the exam (not learning much).
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
Ask most adults if they remember everything from their schooling days. Most won't. A large fraction will happily declare they've already disregarded most of that obsolete knowledge.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
But since you're all for a police state, you don't care how it's going to be done or the train wreck that will happen in the attempt. You just want it done.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I am assuming....
they are claiming copyright on the specific questions and answers, rather than the base study material that is supposed to impart the learning to pass the exam - but it does put them in the odd position that remembering what questions you took is a violation of their copyright (rather than, for example, the act of reproducing their exam questions from memory)
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
onion?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
On a matter of a market for questions and answers...
Anyway he mentioned that they, and all technical certification exams, have a huge problem with question banks in asia. They regularly rotate questions but the vetting process means that the new questions may already be known by the time they go live.
So he has a hobby. He'll make up questions with outrageous answers and anonymously sell them to these banks. Outrageous answers that even someone guessing will never pick but someone who's not an English speaker who's mostly studied by a question bank might. Think Dilbert convincing his boss that a 'mauve' database is best.
He then watches for tests with these answers. It doesn't prove the person directly paid for the questions - maybe he thought it was a legitimate study group and didn't know the presenter bought the questions - but it gives them insight into how many test takers have been exposed to these question banks.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Always illegal unless you already own a copy...
If not...
Any unlicensed copying (even by our brains) is still an unlicensed copy. Period.
It's only not prosecutable RIGHT NOW because we can't perfectly scan a brain to verify that the copyrighted material has been illegally stored. And since there is no real way (yet) to retrieve that memory to reproduce a digital/analog copy, there's no sense in wasting time chasing down those few gifted people. This will change in the future with better tech when people will be prosecuted for "thought crimes."
Bottom line, it's still illegal, but poses no immediate threat to the copyright holders... yet.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
agen judi togel
Bonus FreeBet Bagi-bagi Freebet setiap harinya, syaratnya sangatlah mudah :
Hadiah : Bagi member yang beruntung mendapatkan 5rb (freebet) pada setiap harinya ( akan diundi hanya 10 member saja )
Bonus Loyalitas (permanen)
Hadiah : Deposit 10 Hari Berturut-turut - 5 RB Hadiah : Deposit 20 Hari Berturut-turut - 20 RB Hadiah : Deposit 30 Hari Berturut-turut - 50 RB Hadiah : Deposit 200 Hari Berturut-turut - 500 RB Bandar togel singapore terbaik indonesia
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hanya dengan 10 ribu rupiah saja kalian bisa memainkan semua game yang ada di website kami
Untuk info dan keluhan silahkan hubungi Customer Service kami yang siap melayani
selama 24 jam full tanpa henti
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Bandar Togel Dan Judi Togel
bergabunglah dengan kami di <a href="http://www.gruptoto.com">bandar togel</a> online terpercaya di indonesia.
kami juga memiliki result keluaran <a href="http://www.gruptoto.com/hasil_lengkap.php">togel hari ini</a> berserta <a href="http://www.gruptoto.com/hasil_lengkap.php">buku mimpi togel</a> yang menarik untuk di baca
[ link to this | view in chronology ]