Reading comp PrepTest 157 · Section 4 · Question 27

Passage

This passage was adapted from an article published in 1991.  Because it is relatively easy and inexpensive to produce copycat Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary Topic:
Legal

Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • Problem (computer software easy to replicate), debate over solution (copyright vs. patent)
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Cause-and-effect relationship: Ease of replicating software and lack of legal protection causes lack of financial incentive to produce computer software (second and third sentences)
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • Background on computer software/algorithms, proponents of patents, author's view on patents
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Comparison: Distinction between "product of invention" and "law of nature"/"logical axiom" (fifth sentence)
    • of patentable process: innovative way to induce chemical reaction (fourth sentence)
    • of product of invention: innovative windmill design (sixth sentence)
    • of law of nature: wind can produce energy (sixth sentence)
    • Author's attitude: "software algorithms ... should not be considered patentable" (last sentence)
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • Author's conclusion: Copyright enough to protect software
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Comparison: copyright for execution (similar to software) and patent for underlying invention (third and fourth sentences)
    • Author's attitude: "no compelling justification" (first sentence), "more appropriately" (second sentence), "more effectively afforded" (last sentence)
Main Point:
Modifying existing copyright law to cover computer software coding, rather than extending patent protection to computer software’s algorithms, is sufficient to protect the financial incentive to develop innovative software.

Key Lines?
Paragraph 1, Sentences 2-3 (P1, S2-S3) - Problem defined
P1, S4 - Debate between copyright and patent proponents
P2, S3 - Patent propopents' view
P2, S7 - Author's rebuttal of patent proponents
P3, S5 - Author's conclusion

Meta-Structure?
Resolving a Debate: There's clearly a debate in this passage. On one side, most legal commenters want to protect computer software innovation with copyright law. On the other, some commenters wish to supplement copyright protection by extending patent law to software. A passage featuring a debate could either utilize a Describe a Debate or a Resolve a Debate Meta-Structure — it all depends on whether the author is passive or active in the passage. A passive author will generally describe the debate without taking a side or attempting to reconcile the two sides. An active author will argue that one side is preferable or that both sides can get along. This author clearly takes a side. The author rebuts the patent proponents' view in the last sentence of the second paragraph and asserts that copyright law is enough to protect patent protection in the third paragraph. So this passage is best understood as a Resolve a Debate passage. Accordingly, the main point will be how the author resolves the debate: by asserting that modifications to copyright law are enough to preserve software innovation — that patent protection isn't necessary.

(We could also classify this as a Problem/Solution passage. However, copyright and patent protection were introduced in the context of a debate between two legal commentators (P1, S4). Additionally, the author spends far more time responding to the patent fans' views than proposing a solution to how copyright law can be modified. So, we think this passage is better understood as a Resolve a Debate passage.)

Last Thoughts?
Like the third passage of this section, this one also describes a debate. As was the case for the third passage, it's advisable to jot down or memorize some basic facts about each side of the central debate. So let's try to remember the following: copyright law protects the way ideas are expressed, while patent law protects the ideas as long as they are a product of the invention. Remembering those basic facts will help us avoid having to fish for the correct answer in the passage.

Question prompt

Which one of the Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: A

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Legal

Answer choices

  1. A
    General scientific principles currently Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A matches the stem
    Question Type:
    Minor Point/Must Be True

    Strategy Overview:
    Remind ourselves of the main point of the passage, then head to the answers, focusing on those that line up with the main point and then using our notes/the passage to find the correct answer

    Answer Anticipation:
    This question stem provides no indication as to the topic of the correct answer or where it'll show up in the passage. As such, we'll need to rely on our big-picture understanding of the passage to answer this question. We should start by reminding ourselves of the main point (either by reviewing what we said after reading the passage or by rereading our answer to the main point question). From there, we can head to the answers, deferring on those that don't line up with the main point. For those that do, we'll use our notes and the passage to see if it's correct.

    Answer Choice Explanation:
    You may not recall reading about general scientific principles and whether they qualify for patent or copyright protection. It doesn't contradict the main point of the passage, so we shouldn't eliminate it. For this reason, it might make sense to resist the urge to review the passage and instead defer on this choice. If we can eliminate the remaining choices, we can confidently select this one. If we have several answer choices remaining in contention, we can review the passage to see if this is supported.

    If we eventually need to consult the passage, we can find the support needed to select this one. The author explicitly excludes scientific principles — such as the principle that wind can be harnessed to produce energy — from patent protection (P2, S6). And in the author's description of copyright protection, the author says that copyright protects how an idea underlying an invention gets expressed (P3, S3). Obviously, a scientific principle isn't an expression of an invention, so it couldn't be covered by copyright law either. So, this answer choice is supported by the passage, and it is correct.

    Key Takeaway:
    As discussed in the Last Thoughts section above, simply knowing a few key facts about copyright protection and patent protection would have been sufficient to answer many of these questions without taking the time to review the passage in search of an answer.
  2. B
    The value of patents Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    This seems to conflict with the author's main point — the author claims in the second paragraph that "generic principles" like algorithms are not eligible for patent protection (P2, S7). Since this conflicts with the main point, we can eliminate it.
  3. C
    Items that qualify for Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    This answer choice also seems to conflict with the author's main point, so it can be eliminated. In supporting the main point, the author claims that copyright law protects the way ideas are expressed, while patent law protects the ideas as long as they are a product of the invention (P3, S3). These are two different things, so qualifying for patent protection is not sufficient to also qualify for copyright protection.
  4. D
    The algorithm underlying a Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    This seems to conflict with the author's main point. The author concludes that the algorithms should not receive protection under patent law, so we don't have any reason to think that algorithms are so protected that they can't be used in multiple software programs without permission. This is another one we can eliminate.
  5. E
    The majority of commercially Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Unlike (B) - (D), this answer choice doesn't appear to contradict the author's main point. However, this is a fairly bold assertion and is consequently quite hard to support. Moreover, most test-takers will probably not remember any references to the prevalence of "illegally copycatted computer code." Indeed, this was not a topic the author addressed, and this answer choice is incorrect.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A Credited 32%
  2. B 25%
  3. C 18%
  4. D 20%
  5. E 5%

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