copyright internet
Legal to create a publicly-available multiple choice test on a publicly-available resource?
<p>I am a web developer, and also have children, and had the idea of creating multiple choice tests on a "resource".  Take for example a BBC nature documentary on Netflix.  Actually that's NOT public so it's a better example.  I want my son to really learn that so I come up with maybe 30-40 multiple choice or T/F questions about it, and post it so he (and others) could take a test.  I feel like this will really facilitate learning.  All of a sudden, he's got a real incentive to pay attention!</p>

<p>I am not giving access to the video.  You'll need your own access to watch it.  I am not copying any clips of the video.  But I am essentially commenting on the video and creating a resource that discusses the video.  Am I infringing on any copyright laws by doing this?</p>

<p>The other question as a corollary is, are there specific restrictions on the format of the questions?  Am I violating laws if I quote short sections in order to implement the question?  I will of course cite the resource name and location.  I'm thinking that a lot of educational blogs could have this type of testing associated with them as well, so this applies not just to videos or private resources.  Thanks.</p>

<p>Asking questions and having discussion about a work is not copyright infringement. <a href="https://www.americanbar.org/groups/young_lawyers/publications/the_101_201_practice_series/elements_of_a_copyright.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Copyright infringement requires copying</a>.</p>

<p>When quoting short sections, you <em>are</em> copying, so the question turns into a <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/7683/in-the-us-when-is-fair-use-a-defense-to-copyright-infringement">fair-use</a> or fair-dealing question.</p>

<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Fair use primer from the US Copyright Office</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.copyright.gov/history/1961_registers_report.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law (1961)</a>: Kinds of uses that may be permitted under fair use include "<em>quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author's observations</em>".</li>
</ul>
