The University of Phoenix is suing Chegg for selling answers to their homework and offering some of their entire course syllabii online. I thought this was an interesting case because if Chegg is putting together a curriculum for, for example, differential equations, then there is only a limited amount of material that the class covers. So, is information copyrighted as well? Does the University of Phoenix have the right to restrict Chegg from posting their curriculum because the two are similar?
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130304/03161322186/magician-sued-teller-copyright-infringement-has-tried-disappearing-act-response.shtml
It depends on the nature of this situation. If Chegg is simply creating their own course that happens to cover the same material as the University of Phoenix’s, then it would be utterly ridiculous to accuse Chegg of theft. However, if Chegg is actively selling Phoenix’s information without permission, then this is a strict invasion of personal property. Education is after all a large business, and profiting off of someone else materials without permission would most certainly be punishable by law.
It’s definitely one thing if Chegg is directly giving information from the curriculum, and if UP owns that curriculum, then yes, it would be stealing. However, if the material is only similar due to the nature of the course, then it could hardly be called stealing. Otherwise, if the curriculum itself is public, then Chegg can’t really be blamed for posting answers.