Mock Exams

[jonnysl]

Hi everyone,

Basically I would like to create mock speaking test videos to help students prepare for the Speaking section of a widely recognised English exam called First Certificate English (FCE). The certificate is awarded by Cambridge English.

I would be mirroring the exact structure of the exam, i.e. timing, format, difficulty and areas of questions, task type etc; BUT using all my own content. My mocks would be unofficial and not endorsed in any way by Cambridge.

I would like to know what type of problems I might run into and how to avoid them.

Thanks in advance,

[AndyJ]

Hi jonny,

Provided that you use entirely new content for your tests, there shouldn't be a copyright issue with this. That's because ideas alone aren't protected by copyright, and the elements such as the format, length etc are all ideas, not the expression of the ideas, which is the protected part.

The difficulty comes from the fact that the title of the exam, First Certificate English, is a registered trade mark which is owned by the University of Cambridge.

Effectively this means that you cannot use this title to describe your mock tests without permission. If you think that you can describe your mock tests without naming the actual exam board concerned or using the title, then that should be OK. However it might be worth seeing if you can get a licence to use the trade marked words, which if you are successful, would also have the bonus of endorsing your mock tests.