IP Law Daily, COPYRIGHT—S.D.N.Y.: Testing companies get temporary restraining order in lawsuit over nursing exam materials, (Sep 16, 2026)

By Matthew Hersh, J.D.

The court order, filed in August but recently unsealed, shuts down a Kenyan-run company that allegedly distributed confidential test materials and offered proxy test-taking services.

Two national testing organizations were likely to prevail on their copyright infringement complaint against an ostensibly Kenyan-run company that allegedly exploits unauthorized copies of nursing student assessment tests, the District Court for the Southern District of New York has held. The court, in issuing a temporary restraining order against the allegedly infringing company, also found that the testing organizations were likely to succeed on common law claims of tortious interference and fraud (Elsevier Inc. v. Naxlex Prep LLC, No. 1:26-cv-07130-DLC (S.D.N.Y. Sep. 10, 2026)).

The court’s ex parte order was not accompanied by a separate memorandum of law, so the rationale for the order must be gleaned from the testing services’ filings. The complaint was brought by Elsevier Inc., an academic publisher and provider of scientific, technical, and health education content. Elsevier publishes a series of exams designed to assess whether candidates are prepared for admission into nursing school and, later in their educational career, ready to take the appropriate licensing exams. The complaint was also joined by Assessment Technologies Institute, a provider of data-driven nursing education resources and assessment. That company develops exams administered to students throughout the nursing program curriculum (including, as with Elsevier’s curriculum, to assess their readiness to sit for licensing exams).

The lawsuit takes aim at Naxlex Prep, a company that appears to be operated, according to the testing companies’ investigation, by Kenyan-based Geoffrey Kimang’a. The complaint alleges that Naxlex, through its website Naxlex.com, has reproduced and sold “hundreds of verbatim or near verbatim registered assessment questions and answers” that were developed by the testing companies. The companies also allege that Naxlex serves as “paid stand-ins for students, secretly taking proctored or otherwise secured exams in the students’ names, while making it appear that the students themselves are completing the exams.” Data from last month, the complaint asserts, shows that Naxlex.com has over 320,000 monthly visits, up by 13.41% from June 2026. (The website is inaccessible as of this writing, likely in connection with this lawsuit).

The court’s TRO order finds that the testing companies are likely to prevail on their claims and also that the balance of harm and public interest factors weigh in favor of an injunction. The order enjoins the ostensibly Kenyan-run company from continuing to exploit the testing companies’ materials and operating via Naxlex.com or other websites. The order also authorizes expedited discovery into Naxlex’s ownership and physical and online presences.

The complaint and ex parte order were initially filed under seal in August but were only recently unsealed on the docket within the past few days. The apparently Kenyan-run company and its founder have yet to appear in the action.

The Case is No. 1:26-cv-07130-DLC.

Judge: Cote, D.

Attorneys: Danae Tinelli (Oppenheim and Zebrak LLP) for Elsevier Inc.

Companies: Elsevier Inc.; Naxlex Prep LLC

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