Anti-plagiarism software company sued

(via Burkhard Schäfer) Students in Arizona have sued Turnitin, the makers of plagiarism-detection software. They claim that the company violates their copyright because the papers are kept in a database. Students could get $600,000 USD from the suit if they are successful.

I'm having real problem seeing how a student could claim that their work is being infringed in any way by being hosted in a database to which there is no access. It's not like the essays involved, "Ancient Greek Contributions," "What Lies Beyond the Horizon," "Under a Pear Tree," and "Day is Weary" will ever see the light of day in any commercial way.

I'm also surprised that the students are not made to sign a licence when they submit their papers.