PT123.S4.P3.Q18

PrepTest 123 - Section 4 - Passage 3 - Question 18

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P1

The World Wide Web, a network of electronically produced and interconnected (or "linked") sites, called pages, that are accessible via personal computer, raises legal issues about the rights of owners of intellectual property, notably those who create documents for inclusion on Web pages. …

Intro topic · World Wide Web raises legal issues concerning inclusion of documents on web pages
Some of these owners of intellectual property claim that unless copyright law is strengthened, intellectual property on the Web will not be protected from copyright infringement. Web users, however, claim that if their ability to access information on Web pages is reduced, the Web cannot live up to its potential as an open, interactive medium of communication.

Debate · Intellectual property owners want stronger copyright law to protect stuff on Internet; web users want open medium of communication
P2

The debate arises from the Web's ability to link one document to another. Links between sites are analogous to the inclusion in a printed text of references to other works, but with one difference: the cited document is instantly retrievable by a user who activates the link. …

Origin of debate · Linking documents on Internet
We can link documents on web pages, and clicking those links give immediate access to the document.
This immediate accessibility creates a problem, since current copyright laws give owners of intellectual property the right to sue a distributor of unauthorized copies of their material even if that distributor did not personally make the copies. If person A, the author of a document, puts the document on a Web page, and person B, the creator of another Web page, creates a link to A's document, is B committing copyright infringement?

Current copyright law · Gives right to sue distributor of unauthorized copies, even if distributor didn't make the copies himself
If B links to a document A puts on the Internet, is B violating copyright law?
P3

To answer this question, it must first be determined who controls distribution of a document on the Web. When A places a document on a Web page, this is comparable to recording an outgoing message on one's telephone answering machine for others to hear. When B creates a link to A's document, this is akin to B's giving out A's telephone number, thereby allowing third parties to hear the outgoing message for themselves. Anyone who calls can listen to the message; that is its purpose. While B's link may indeed facilitate access to A's document, the crucial point is that A, simply by placing that document on the Web, is thereby offering it for distribution. Therefore, even if B leads others to the document, it is A who actually controls access to it. Hence creating a link to a document is not the same as making or distributing a copy of that document. …

Argument against copyright violation · Person who links to document doesn't control access to the document and doesn't distribute it
The person who uploaded the document is the one offering it for distribution and controlling access to it. When B links to A's document, it's like B giving out A's phone number.
Moreover, techniques are already available by which A can restrict access to a document. For example, A may require a password to gain entry to A's Web page, just as a telephone owner can request an unlisted number and disclose it only to selected parties. Such a solution would compromise the openness of the Web somewhat, but not as much as the threat of copyright infringement litigation. …
Sufficient protections · Document uploader can already restrict access
Changing copyright law to benefit owners of intellectual property is thus ill-advised because it would impede the development of the Web as a public forum dedicated to the free exchange of ideas.

Author's perspective · We shouldn't change copyright law, because it would impede free exchange of ideas on Internet
Passage Style
Critique or debate
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18.

Based on the passage, the relationship between strengthening current copyright laws and relying on passwords to restrict access to a Web document is most analogous to the relationship between

a

allowing everyone use of a public facility and restricting its use to members of the community

The first thing allows more access than the second thing. This isn’t analogous, because strengthening current copyright law (by making links copyright infringement) would allow less access than relying on passwords.

18%
b

outlawing the use of a drug and outlawing its sale

It’s not clear that outlawing the use of a drug is more extreme than outlawing the sale. Using and selling are two different aspects of drugs. It’s hard to fit them into the framework of restrictions on one being more extreme than restrictions on the other.

6%
c

prohibiting a sport and relying on participants to employ proper safety gear

This is the most analogous. Prohibiting a sport is more restrictive and extreme than relying on people to use proper safety gear. We don’t need to prohibit the sport as long as people use proper safety gear.

38%
d

passing a new law and enforcing that law

It’s not clear that passing a new law is more restrictive or extreme than enforcing the law.

2%
e

allowing unrestricted entry to a building and restricting entry to those who have been issued a badge

The first thing allows more access than the second thing. This isn’t analogous, because strengthening current copyright law (by making links copyright infringement) would allow less access than relying on passwords.

35%

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