PT157.S4.P4.Q23 > Analytics

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This passage was adapted from an article published in 1991.

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Context · Need legal protection against copying software

Copying software programs is easy. Developers would have low financial incentive to innovate if copycatting were legal.

Other People's (OP) Perspective · Patent protection for software (on top of copyright) is needed to prevent copycatting

Most think copyright has been effective protection; some also want patent.

Context · Software encodes algorithms

Algorithms are a series of steps for doing stuff. They're encoded in software programs in terms that a computer can understand.

OP's Support · OP think encoding algorithms is analogous to designing processes, which are patentable

This is why OP think software should be patentable.

Requirement for patent · Designs must be product of invention to be patentable

Examples of things that are not inventions: law of nature, logical axiom, general principles (such as the idea that wind can be used to produce energy).

Critique of OPP · Software algorithms should not be patentable

Software algorithms represent principles, which aren't patentable.

Main Point · No good reason to extend patent protection to software

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Support · For author's main point

Software is just expression of an idea, which falls within domain of copyright. Only need slight changes to copyright law to adequately protect financial incentive of developers.

Passage Style

Critique or debate

Problem-analysis

23.

Which one of the following ████ ██████████ █████████ ███ ████ █████ ██ ███ ████████

Question Type

Main point

If the author has an opinion about a proposed solution, that opinion is typically the main point of a passage. Here, some people advocate for extending patent protection to software programs. But the author disagrees. He believes existing copyright laws are enough, with slight modification, and that patent protection should not be extended to software programs. This opinion is the main point.

Although patent protection ██ ██████ ███ █ ████████ █████████ ██████████ ███████████ ████████ █████████ ████ ██████████ ███████ ███ ██████████ ██ █████ ███████████

The author doesn’t believe patent protection is needed for software programs. In fact, he thinks it isn’t needed.

12%

Legal protection for ████████ ████████ ██████ ████ █████ █████ ██ ████████ ███████ ███ ████████████ ██ ████████ █████████ ████ ██ ████████████

This best expresses the main point. Here, some people advocate for extending patent protection to software programs. But the author disagrees. He believes existing copyright laws are enough, with slight modification, and that patent protection should not be extended to software programs.

66%

Without the legal ██████████ ████████ ██ ████████ ████████ ██████████ ████ ████ ██████ █████████ █████████ ██ █████████

The author believes patent protection of software is not needed in order to have sufficient financial incentive to develop software.

Issuing patents for ████████ ████████ █████ ████ ████████ ██████████ ████ ██████████ ███████ ███████ ███████████ ████ ████████ █████████ █████

Although (D) may be supported by the passage, it’s not the main point. It doesn’t capture the author’s opinion about patent protection, which is that it’s not needed to protect software programs.

13%

Although (E) may be supported by the passage, it’s not the main point. It doesn’t capture the author’s opinion about patent protection, which is that it’s not needed to protect software programs.

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PrepTest 157 - Section 4 - Passage 4 - Question 23

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PrepTest 157 - Section 4 - Passage 4 - Question 23

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