QUESTION

What can be done about a website that allows students to cheat on homework?

Asked on Dec 13th, 2013 on Entertainment Law - California
More details to this question:
So it's pretty much a website where students can search up worksheets posted by other students. It's not limited to worksheets, it can be study guides, tests, and even individual question about certain subjects like English, World Languages, History, different levels of math, etc... It would also include questions from textbooks and how to do each problem. Each subject would have its own category for easy access and then specific categories for certain books, questions, etc.. Yes the whole idea of this website is to CHEAT and yes it is run by the users since they upload their own worksheets so other users can copy those. It would have its own reward system either with points/levels/items/trophies and even real prizes that come from the ad revenue. What domains/boundaries are there and is it possible to find a loophole such as if the worksheet isn't an exact copy of it so its not copyrighted, but has all the same questions just written out? Well thank you for reading.
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3 ANSWERS

Theodore M. Roe
If this website is run by user generated content (UGC) similar to youtube, there is little that can be done. If the copyright holder sends the website a notice of infringement and the refuse to take material down, they could potentially have an infringement issue, however, until then, there is likely no liability.
Answered on Dec 24th, 2013 at 4:05 AM

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Acquisitions Attorney serving Lincoln, NE at Jayne L. Sebby
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Contact your local public and private school super intendant's offices and let them know about the site. Pass the information on to your state's Department of Education as well.
Answered on Dec 18th, 2013 at 9:26 PM

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Susan Marie Basko
To me, this sounds like a good new way of learning, rather than cheating. Is it wrong for students to share their knowledge with others online? If a student goes to the trouble to look up what other students have posted, sort through it, read several, make a reasoned decision on which one is correct, and adopts the answer, likely with some modification, I'd say that is learning and people should be happy. Learning does not need to come only from schools or officials teachers. Peer learning and online learning are the wave of the now. It is also important to understand that in real life, as opposed to in school, the important thing to know is how to select information, how to choose who might be expert on a topic. No one can know everything and we are all interdependent. If a student learns the fine art of knowing which answer is likely right because of its source or other telltale signs, I'd say that student is learning things that are very important. In life, we don't know it all. We can learn how to find someone who does have the information we need on a particular topic. If students are learning that skill, more power to them.
Answered on Dec 16th, 2013 at 4:31 PM

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