As a business model, the world of publishing has always been a somewh

As a business model, the world of publishing
has always been a somewhat sleepy enclave, but
now all that seems poised to change. Several Line
companies have moved aggressively into a new
(5) business endeavor whose genesis comes from
the question: Who owns the great works of literature?
Text-on-demand is not a completely new idea, of course.
In the 1990s, the Gutenberg project sought volunteers
to type literary classics that had
(10) expired copyrights into word processing files
so that scholars would have searchable databases
for their research. Most of the works of Shakespeare,
Cervantes, Proust, and Moliere were to be found free
online by as early as 1995.

(15) However, now large-scale companies have
moved into the market, with scanners and business
plans, and are looking for bargain basement content.
These companies are striking deals with libraries,
and some publishers, to
(20) be able to provide their content, for a price,
to individual buyers over the Internet.

At stake are the rights to an estimated store
of 30 million books, most of which are now out
of print. Many of these books are now also in the
(25) public domain, giving any company the
right to sell them online. Still, a good portion of the
books a general audience might actually want to buy
is still under copyright. The urgent question: Who
owns those copyrights? In the case of all too
(30) many books put out more than 20 years
ago by now-defunct publishing companies, the
answer is unclear—a situation the new text-on-demand
companies are eager to exploit. An association of
publishers has sued, claiming massive copyright
(35) infringement. The case is several years
away from trial.

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. present the results of a statistical analysis and propose further study
B. explain a recent development and explore its consequences
C. identify the reasons for a trend and recommend measures to address it
D. outline several theories about a phenomenon and advocate one of them
E. describe the potential consequences of implementing a new policy and argue in favor of that policy

2. It can be inferred from the passage that the works of Shakespeare, Cervantes, and Molière

A. are some of the most popular works of literature
B. are no longer copyrighted
C. are among the works for which the association of publishers is suing text-on-demand companies
D. do not currently exist as searchable databases
E. were owned by now-defunct publishing companies

3. Which of the following is an example of a book that a text-ondemand company would not have to acquire the rights to?

A. A book still under copyright
B. A book more than 20 years old
C. A book in the public domain
D. A book a general audience might want to buy
E. A book not already owned by publishers the company has a deal with

4. It can be inferred from the passage that a common practice of texton-demand companies is to

A. use scanners to find books they want to acquire
B. create business plans well before they have any actual business
C. buy content at premium prices
D. acquire the rights to books for as little as possible
E. attempt to supplant the role of traditional publishers