PrepTest 139, Section 4, Question 13
The proposed change to the patent system is(59 more words not shown)
The conclusion drawn above follows(9 more words not shown)
- AThe proposed change(8 more words not shown)
- BDramatic advances in(13 more words not shown)
- CDelays in the(11 more words not shown)
- DMost researchers oppose(7 more words not shown)
- EThe current rules(14 more words not shown)
Reading the argument
Would making scientists wait to share a discovery actually slow the research?
When I first hear that a patent change will have a “chilling effect,” I wonder whether it removes an incentive to do research. If people can't benefit from their discoveries, perhaps they will do less work. But that isn't the change described here. The passage focuses on when a discovery can be published relative to the patent application.
Under the current system described, researchers can publish first and apply within a year. Under the proposal, the application comes first. We're told that this change would delay communication. I can see why that might interfere with scientists learning from one another. Still, the argument needs to connect the delay with the claimed harm. What if research continued at the same pace despite the wait?
What we’re looking for
We're asked to make the conclusion follow. Supply the missing link: delaying communication of discoveries has a chilling effect on scientific research. Then the proposed change produces a delay, and that delay produces the effect the author predicts.
Working the answers
- A
More patent applications don't establish less scientific research. Scientists might file more applications while doing more work, less work, or the same amount. We need the proposed change's harmful effect, not simply a change in the number of filings.
- B
Scientific progress under the old system doesn't prove that this particular change would inhibit progress. Research could have advanced under that system and still advance after the change. B gives us a historical result without establishing the effect of the proposal.
- CCorrect
The proposal delays communication, and this answer says delays in communication have a chilling effect on research. That completes the connection: the proposal brings about something that produces the stated effect. We no longer have to assume that slower sharing matters to scientific progress.
- D
Researchers could oppose the proposal for reasons other than its effect on research, such as extra administrative work. Their opposition doesn't establish that the predicted chilling effect will occur. The question asks for a connection that proves the conclusion, not a vote against the policy.
- E
This explains a benefit of the existing rules. It still doesn't establish that the proposed change will discourage research. A different system could preserve enough communication or provide other incentives for progress. We need the consequence of the particular delay, which C supplies directly.
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