Posting college exam questions online is a tried-and-true strategy practiced by less ethical students for decades. A Chapman University professor may have just found a way to hit back.
Professor David Berkovitz of Chapman University’s George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics filed a complaint against five anonymous students in the U.S. District Court in California this past March.
He found portions of midterm and final exam questions from his Spring 2021 Business Law course posted on an online forum for students called Course Hero. His complaint alleges that the students infringed his copyright right to “reproduce, make copies, distribute or create derivative works” when they posted the exams online without his permission.
The exams were administered remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and contained clear notices against copying answers.
Professor Berkovitz submitted applications for the material to the U.S. Copyright Office in February.
The suit seeks a permanent injunction preventing the students from further infringing the professor’s copyrights, an order impounding all devices containing copies of the exams, damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs.
Berkovitz claims that he initially tried to handle the matter through Course Hero but was “stymied at every turn” by the platform.
A Course Hero spokesperson has since said that the site does not review content posted by users. However, it uses automated copyright filters to scan uploaded content, and its terms of use prohibit users from uploading content they don’t have the rights to. The spokesperson further stated that Course Hero “does not tolerate copyright infringement of any kind and employs a range of preventative measures, investigation, and enforcement policies.”
Professor Burkovitz says that the purpose of his suit is primarily to send an anti-cheating message. “It’s partly punishing the wrongdoers, but more importantly, it’s protecting the other students who are being hurt by this behavior,” said an attorney representing Berkovitz in the suit. “They did nothing wrong. They studied hard, they didn’t cheat, and yet their grade is artificially lower than it should have been because of the mandatory curve.”
Chapman University has thus far declined to comment, beyond stating that sharing exam questions likely violates the school’s academic integrity policy.
Ironically, the Business Law course in question covered copyright infringement issues.
If someone is infringing your copyright and you need assistance, give The Myers Law Group a call today at (888) 676-7211.