Facts are not copyrightable
excerpts from “College Board Asks Group Not to Post Test Analysis” by Diana Jean Schemo, NY Times, 12/4/04, p. A15
The College Board, which owns the SAT college entrance exam, is demanding that a nonprofit group critical of standardized tests remove from its Web site data that breaks down scores by race, income and sex. The demand, in a letter to The National Center for Fair and Open Testing, also known as FairTest (fairtest.org), accuses the group of infringing on the College Board’s copyright.
“Unfortunately, your misuse overtly bypasses our ownership and significantly impacts the perceptions of students, parents and educators regarding the services we provide,” the letter said.
[Let’s hope so: Check out 2004 College Bound Seniors Test Scores]
FairTest has led opposition to the exams, and releases the results to support its accusation of bias in the tests, a claim rejected by test makers, who contend the scores reflect true disparities in student achievement. Robert A. Schaeffer, FairTest’s spokesman, said its easily accessible data charts were the Web site’s most popular features. The group said it would neither take down the data nor seek formal permission to use it. FairTest has been publicly showing the data for nearly 20 years. “It’s all about public education and making the public aware of score gaps and the potential for bias in the exams,” Mr. Schaeffer said.
Devereux Chatillon, a specialist on copyright law, said case law supports FairTest’s position: the College Board may own the exam, but the real authors of the test results are those taking the exams. “Facts are not copyrightable,” she said.