patents intellectual-property
Is it legal to use scientific personality tests like MMPI or IPIP on a website with ads?
<p>There are a lot of personality tests developed by scientific organizations, which goes under different licenses. The examples are MMPI, different big-five personality tests, the test for smoking behaviour developed by the World Health Organization. What are the conditions to use these tests for free on the websites with ads?</p>

<p>Any legitimate or scientifically/clinically viable personality and diagnostic test will have been developed by a company and/or an NGO and may require training to administer and may require licensing to use, score and analyze results.</p>

<p>You can read about each test and determine the requirements for training, use and licensing at the appropriate site; the sites are easy to find via Google. (The fact that a test requires licensing and/or training - or not -  doesn't have anything to do with its generally recognized scientific or clinical viability.)</p>

<p>In example, for the <strong>Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)</strong>:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Use of the MMPI is tightly controlled. Any clinician using the MMPI is
  required to meet specific test publisher requirements in terms of
  training and experience, must pay for all administration materials
  including the annual computer scoring license and is charged for each
  report generated by computer. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Multiphasic_Personality_Inventory" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - Wikipedia</a></p>
</blockquote>

<p>If you use the MMPI test a) on your own website without permission, and/or 2) make money from the site, you open yourself up to the possibility of legal action by the legal owners of the test. See <a href="https://www.upress.umn.edu/test-division/to-order" rel="nofollow noreferrer">MMPI Permissions &amp; Ordering Information — University of Minnesota Press</a></p>

<p>For the <strong>International Personality Item Pool (IPIP)</strong>, no licensing or training is required:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>One neat thing about the world of public domain is that NOTHING is a
  problem. You are free to use the IPIP items and/or scales in any way
  you want. You don't have to ask permission. <a href="http://ipip.ori.org/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) Home</a></p>
</blockquote>
