PrepTest 144, Section 1, Question 10
The following passage was adapted from a law(455 more words not shown)
With which one of the(10 more words not shown)
- AIn the early(21 more words not shown)
- BCorporate patent holders(14 more words not shown)
- CThe cost of(24 more words not shown)
- DBiotechnology researchers in(17 more words not shown)
- EScientists who oppose(19 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
The author thinks the threat to basic research is overstated. One reason is practical: infringement litigation is expensive and usually protects a market position. Another is legal: judges have traditionally respected a noncommercial research exception.
What we’re looking for
This is a broad agreement question, so the answer could use either supporting reason or the overall conclusion. It still needs to express something the author supports, not a concern merely attributed to opponents.
Working the answers
- A
The author acknowledges an earlier sharing tradition but never says the researchers lacked intellectual property protection or that this caused them to share. Indeed, some protected their materials from competitors even then. A invents an explanation for the earlier practice.
- B
The opponents fear prohibitively high fees. That does not establish that patent holders typically charge them. B changes a possible problem raised by one group into a usual practice endorsed as fact by the author.
- CCorrect
The expense of litigation helps explain why patent holders are unlikely to sue simply to stop basic research. Calling that expense an “effective check” expresses its restraining effect. It need not prevent every lawsuit to discourage some that might otherwise be brought.
- D
Reliance on funding tied to patentability is stated; excessive reliance is not. “Too heavily” adds a criticism the author does not make.
- E
The opponents are concerned about access to materials. The author challenges their understanding of patent enforcement, not their ability to produce innovative research. Disagreeing with patents does not show that their work is unpatentable.
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