Because the framers of the United States Constitution (written in 1787

Question

Because the framers of the United States Constitution (written in 1787) believed that protecting property rights relating to inventions would encourage the new nation’s economic growth, they gave Congress—the national legislature—a constitutional mandate to grant patents for inventions. The resulting patent system has served as a model for those in other nations. Recently, however,  scholars  have questioned whether the American system helped achieve the framers’ goals. These scholars have contended that from 1794 to roughly 1830, American inventors were unable to enforce property rights because judges were “antipatent” and routinely  invalidated patents for arbitrary reasons. This argument is based partly on examination of court  decisions in cases where patent holders (“patentees”) brought suit alleging infringement of their patent rights. In the 1820s, for instance, 75 percent of verdicts were decided against the patentee. The proportion of verdicts for the patentee began to increase in the 1830s, suggesting to these  scholars  that judicial attitudes toward patent rights began shifting then.

Not all patent disputes in the early nineteenth century were litigated, however, and litigated cases were not drawn randomly from the population of disputes. Therefore the rate of verdicts in favor of patentees cannot be used by itself to gauge changes in judicial attitudes or enforceability of patent rights. If early judicial decisions were prejudiced against patentees, one might expect that subsequent courts—allegedly more supportive of patent rights—would reject the former legal precedents. But pre-1830 cases have been cited as frequently as later decisions, and they continue to be cited today, suggesting that the early decisions, many of which clearly declared that patent rights were a just recompense for inventive ingenuity, provided a lasting foundation for patent law. The proportion of judicial decisions in favor of patentees began to increase during the 1830s because of a change in the underlying population of cases brought to trial. This change was partly due to an 1836 revision to the patent system: an examination procedure, still in use today, was instituted in which each application is scrutinized for its adherence to patent law. Previously, patents were automatically granted upon payment of a $30 fee.   1 
 1. The passage implies that which of the following was a reason that the proportion of verdicts in favor of patentees began to increase in the 1830s?

A. Patent applications approved after 1836 were more likely to adhere closely to patent law.
B. Patent laws enacted during the 1830s better defined patent rights.
C. Judges became less prejudiced against patentees during the 1830s.
D. After 1836, litigated cases became less representative of the population of patent disputes.
E. The proportion of patent disputes brought to trial began to increase after 1836.

2 
 2. The passage implies that the  scholars  mentioned in line 8  Recently, however,  scholars  have questioned whether the American system helped achieve the framers’ goals.] would agree with which of the following criticisms of the American patent system before 1830?

A. Its definition of property rights relating to inventions was too vague to be useful.
B. Its criteria for the granting of patents were not clear.
C. It made it excessively difficult for inventors to receive patents.
D. It led to excessive numbers of patent-infringement suits.
E. It failed to encourage national economic growth.

3 
 3. It can be inferred from the passage that the frequency with which pre-1830 cases have been cited in court decisions is an indication that

A. judicial support for patent rights was strongest in the period before 1830
B. judicial support for patent rights did not increase after 1830
C. courts have returned to judicial standards that prevailed before 1830
D. verdicts favoring patentees in patent-infringement suits did not increase after 1830
E. judicial bias against patentees persisted after 1830

4 
 4. It can be inferred from the passage that the author and the  scholars  referred to in line 21  scholars  that judicial attitudes toward patent rights began shifting then.] disagree about which of the following aspects of the patents defended in patent-infringement suits before 1830?

A. Whether the patents were granted for inventions that were genuinely useful
B. Whether the patents were actually relevant to the growth of the United States economy
C. Whether the patents were particularly likely to be annulled by judges
D. Whether the patents were routinely invalidated for reasons that were arbitrary
E. Whether the patents were vindicated at a significantly lower rate than patents in later suits

5 
 5. The author of the passage cites which of the following as evidence challenging the argument referred to in lines 14–15  invalidated patents for arbitrary reasons. This argument is based partly on examination of court ]?

A. The proportion of cases that were decided against patentees in the 1820s
B. The total number of patent disputes that were litigated from 1794 to 1830
C. The fact that later courts drew upon the legal precedents set in pre-1830 patent cases
D. The fact that the proportion of judicial decisions in favor of patentees began to increase during the 1830s
E. The constitutional rationale for the 1836 revision of the patent system

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homersimpsons · Answer

OE 
Q1. The passage implies that which of the following was a reason that the proportion of verdicts in favor of patentees began to increase in the 1830s?
A. Patent applications approved after 1836 were more likely to adhere closely to patent law.
B. Patent laws enacted during the 1830s better defined patent rights.
C. Judges became less prejudiced against patentees during the 1830s.
D. After 1836, litigated cases became less representative of the population of patent disputes.
E. The proportion of patent disputes brought to trial began to increase after 1836.
 Inference 
The question asks which statement can be reasonably inferred, from information provided in the passage, to be a reason for the increase in proportion of verdicts favoring patentees, starting in the 1830s. The second paragraph argues that what changed in that decade was not judges’ attitudes toward patent law, but the types of patent cases that were litigated. It explains that a law passed in 1836 required that, for the first time in U.S. history, applications for patents had to be examined for their adherence to patent law before a patent would be issued. This information implies that patents granted after 1836 were more likely to adhere to patent law and were thus more likely to be upheld in court.
A.  Correct . The passage implies that patents granted after the 1836 law went into effect were more likely to adhere to patent law.
B. The passage does not indicate that any law mentioned made changes to the definition of patent rights; rather, the passage indicates that the patent system was revised to require that patent applications be reviewed for adherence to existing law.
C. The passage rejects the explanation that judges’ attitudes toward patent rights became more favorable.
D. The passage indicates that the population of disputes that were litigated changed after 1836, but it does not suggest that the population of litigated disputes differed from that of patent disputes as a whole.
E. The passage does not indicate any change in the proportion of patent disputes brought to trial.
 The correct answer is A.

Q2. The passage implies that the scholars mentioned in line 8 would agree with which of the following criticisms of the American patent system before 1830?
A. Its definition of property rights relating to inventions was too vague to be useful.
B. Its criteria for the granting of patents were not clear.
C. It made it excessively difficult for inventors to receive patents.
D. It led to excessive numbers of patent-infringement suits.
E. It failed to encourage national economic growth.
 Inference 
This question asks about a statement implied by the passage. The scholars mentioned in line 8 question whether U.S. patent law achieved its goal. That goal is described in the first sentence of the passage: to encourage America’s economic growth. Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that the scholars would criticize the pre-1830 patent system for failing to encourage economic growth.A. The scholars contend that judges rejected patents for arbitrary reasons, not because the definition of property rights was vague.
B. The passage does not indicate that the scholars were critical of the criteria for granting patents.
C. The scholars are concerned with inventors’ attempts to protect their patents, not the difficulty of acquiring a patent in the first place.
D. The passage does not imply that the scholars in question believed that too many patent-infringement suits were brought to court, but rather that too few succeeded.
E.  Correct . The scholars doubt that patent law helped to achieve its goal, which was to encourage economic growth.
 The correct answer is E.

Q3. It can be inferred from the passage that the frequency with which pre-1830 cases have been cited in court decisions is an indication that
A. judicial support for patent rights was strongest in the period before 1830
B. judicial support for patent rights did not increase after 1830
C. courts have returned to judicial standards that prevailed before 1830
D. verdicts favoring patentees in patent-infringement suits did not increase after 1830
E. judicial bias against patentees persisted after 1830
 Inference 
The question asks what is indicated by the frequency with which pre-1830 cases have been cited in court decisions. The second paragraph rejects some scholars’ claims that judges prior to the 1830s were antipatent, while judges after that time were more accepting of patent rights. The passage supports its critique by pointing out that decisions made by judges before the 1830s have been cited as precedents by later judges just as frequently as post-1830s decisions have been. This implies that later judges’ attitudes toward patent rights were similar to those of pre-1830s judges. Thus, there is no reason to believe judges’ attitudes toward patent rights changed at that time.
A. The passage argues that judicial support for patents did not change in the 1830s.
B.  Correct . Pre-1830s court decisions have been cited as frequently as later decisions, suggesting no change in judges’ attitudes.
C. The passage does not indicate that judicial standards changed from, and then returned to, those that prevailed before 1830.
D. Although actual numbers of favorable verdicts are not mentioned, the passage indicates that the proportion of verdicts decided in favor of patentees did, in fact, increase beginning in the 1830s.
E. The passage rejects the notion that judges were biased against patentees either before or after 1830.
 The correct answer is B.

Q4. It can be inferred from the passage that the author and the scholars referred to in line 21 disagree about which of the following aspects of the patents defended in patent-infringement suits before 1830?
A. Whether the patents were granted for inventions that were genuinely useful
B. Whether the patents were actually relevant to the growth of the United States economy
C. Whether the patents were particularly likely to be annulled by judges
D. Whether the patents were routinely invalidated for reasons that were arbitrary
E. Whether the patents were vindicated at a significantly lower rate than patents in later suits
 Inference 
The question depends on recognizing differences between two explanations—one favored by the scholarsmentioned in line 21, the other favored by the author—for the frequency with which patents were invalidated in U.S. courts prior to 1830. The first paragraph describes the scholars’ view that judges before 1830 were antipatent and rejected patentees’ claims for arbitrary reasons. The author of the passage rejects that view. As an alternate explanation, the author in the second paragraph implies that earlier patents often violated copyright law; this view is supported with reference to an 1836 revision to the patent system which instituted a procedure by which patent applications were inspected to ensure adherence to patent law.
A. The author and the scholars are both focused on protecting inventors’ property rights, not with their inventions’ utility.
B. Although the passage suggests that the scholars thought America’s patent system did not help encourage economic growth, there is no suggestion that either the scholars or the author believes actual patents defended in court were irrelevant to economic growth.
C. Both the scholars and the author believe that patents defended in court prior to 1830 were more likely to be invalidated than were patents in later legal disputes.
D.  Correct . The scholars claim that judges before 1830 decided against patentees for arbitrary reasons, but the passage suggests that the patents may have been invalidated because they failed to adhere to patent law.
E. Both the scholars and the author accept that patents were upheld in court less often before 1830 than after.
 The correct answer is D.

Q5. The author of the passage cites which of the following as evidence challenging the argument referred to in lines 14–15?
A. The proportion of cases that were decided against patentees in the 1820s
B. The total number of patent disputes that were litigated from 1794 to 1830
C. The fact that later courts drew upon the legal precedents set in pre-1830 patent cases
D. The fact that the proportion of judicial decisions in favor of patentees began to increase during the 1830s
E. The constitutional rationale for the 1836 revision of the patent system
 Supporting idea 
The question asks what evidence the author brings to bear against the argument referred to in lines 14–15. In the first paragraph, the author summarizes scholars’ arguments to the conclusion that judges’ attitudes toward patent rights shifted in the 1830s, based on the fact that judges earlier had routinely ruled against patentees in lawsuits whereas judges after that time provided more protection for patent rights. In the second paragraph the author challenges the claim that judges’ attitudes shifted. The author provides evidence that judges after the 1830s cited legal precedents set in pre-1830s cases, suggesting that their views had not changed.
A. The proportion of cases decided against patentees in the 1920s is cited as evidence that supports the scholars’ argument in the first paragraph, not as evidence challenging their views.
B. The total number of disputes litigated is not mentioned in the passage.
C.  Correct . The fact that judges after 1830 cited earlier cases as precedents is used as evidence to challenge scholars’ claims that judges’ attitudes shifted around 1830.
D. The change in the proportion of decisions in favor of patentees is a fact that both the scholars and the author of the passage attempt to explain.
E. No constitutional rationale for the 1836 law is mentioned in the passage.
 The correct answer is C.

ChiranjeevSingh · Answer

I've created a video in which I explain the passage line by line and discuss all the options in all the questions. I hope it helps!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0T8EBGVSus

anurag2018 · Answer

Why is option B wrong in Q4?

Posted from my mobile device

MBAB123 · Answer

Hey anurag2018 , the author doesn't address his view on the patents being relevant to economic growth. Rather, the author believes that the patents were routinely invalidated for the right reasons. Speaking logically, if a country is granting patents just by a mere payment of $30, there is a high chance that the patent would get invalidated sooner or later. I could just go and patent the KFC recipe for $30, but of course they would beat my a** in court. The scholars, however believe that the judges were anti-patent. So the crux of the question (and of the passage) is that the scholars believed that the judges were the problem (anti-patent attitude), whereas the author believes that the patents themselves were not up to the mark (probably bound to be rejected on a proper evaluation). Hence, option D is the correct answer.

zoezhuyan · Answer

dear  GMATNinja ,   AndrewN  ,

I have not absolutely got what above.
the author points 1) early judicial decisions were NOT prejudiced against patentees and 2) judicial attitudes toward patent rights did NOT change in the 1830s, how can infer judicial support did not increase. I just thought B could be true. it is possible that the judicial keeps rational, keeps neutral.

would you please clarify further?

thanks in advance

have a nice day

GMATNinja · Answer

If judicial attitudes remained neutral, then the support for patent rights did not increase. The author’s point is that judicial attitudes did NOT  change  in the 1830s, so we can conclude that judicial support did not  increase .

I hope that helps!

kittle · Answer

How would you evaluate option D?

GMATNinja · Answer

The correct answer should present evidence cited by the author to  challenge  the following claim: from 1794 to 1830, "American inventors were unable to enforce property rights because judges were 'antipatent' and routinely invalidated patents for arbitrary reasons." In other words, we're looking for evidence which  challenges  the idea that judges were "antipatent" from 1794 to 1830.

Now let's take a look at answer choice (D):

How does this fact function in the passage? According to the author, this fact was used by scholars as evidence that "judicial attitudes toward patent rights began shifting" in 1830. In other words, these scholars believed that judges were antipatent before 1830, but changed their attitudes after 1830, and they cited the fact in answer choice (D) to  support this argument .

So instead of challenging the claim that judges were "antipatent" from 1794 to 1830, answer choice (D)  supports it , as it shows that after 1830 judges became more likely to decide in favor of the patentee. Since answer choice (D) supports rather than challenges our claim, it must be wrong.

I hope that helps!

aryan0406 · Answer

In question 3, why is option D incorrect? In passage it's mentioned that  proportion of verdicts for the patentee began to increase in the 1830s  , but increase in proportion does not necessarily mean increase in the number of  verdicts favoring patentees in patent-infringement suits  . So why can't we infer option D?

GMATNinja · Answer

(D) is wrong because it's untrue: the passage specifically tells us that " he proportion of verdicts for the patentee began to increase in the 1830s" (see last sentence, first paragraph).

This begs the question: how do we explain that increase? Was it because judicial attitudes toward patent rights began shifting then? If that were the case, we'd expect the post-1830 courts to REJECT the pre-1830 legal precedents.

But that did not happen, as suggested in the passage: "pre-1830 cases have been cited as frequently as later decisions". So this is evidence that judicial support for patent rights did NOT increase after 1830. But it doesn't change anything about the verdict data, so (D) has to go.

For more on why (B) is correct, check out  this post .

shvm_sin7 · Answer

While I understand your point, The author does not talk about the real reason of the high patent rejection cases before the line 21. The real reason is being elaborate in the next paragraph. As per the question we need to look  as per the eyes of the author and scientist in the line 21 and the facts availaible till that moment. Please help for my understanding

GMATNinja · Answer

The phrase "  referred to   in line 21" simply tells us which scholars we're talking about.

There's nothing in the question specifying that we can only look at a certain part of the author's argument, so we should absolutely consider the stuff in the subsequent paragraph, which explains why the author disagrees with THOSE aforementioned scholars.

7Amulya · Answer

Hi GMATNinja,

Can you please explain me why option D is incorrect. 
I was confused between option C & D, and marked D. Since option D also states as evidence challenging the argument.

Regards,
Amulya

GMATNinja · Answer

Question 5 
 
According to the passage, 75 percent of verdicts were decided against the patentee in the 1820s. If, during that time, judges were in fact ROUTINELY invalidating patents for arbitrary reasons, then that percentage is higher than it should have been. Maybe if the judges had NOT routinely invalidated patents for arbitrary reasons, that number would have only been, say, 30-40 percent.

So if that's what happened in the 1830s (judges stopped routinely invalidating patents for arbitrary reasons), then -- all else being equal -- we'd expect the percentage to decrease towards 30-40 percent (where it should have been all along).

The percentage did in fact drop in the 1830s ("proportion of verdicts for the patentee began to increase in the 1830s"). The scholars look at that data and say, "ah, the percentage must have dropped because the judges were being unfair/arbitrary  before  1830, and then they became more fair and less arbitrary."

So the scholars are actually using the fact mentioned in choice (D) to support that the judges WERE "antipatent" and DID routinely invalidate patents for arbitrary reasons. But we're looking for something that the author cites to CHALLENGE that view, not support it.

For more on why (C) is correct, check out this post:  https://gmatclub.com/forum/because-the-framers-of-the-united-states-constitution-written-in-222703.html#p1892763 .

oscarpiastri81 · Answer

I believe this question is incorrectly tagged to 555-605 Level. It was a relatively complex passage.

Bunuel · Answer

We do not assign the difficulty level manually. The difficulty level of a question on the site is determined automatically based on various parameters collected from users' attempts, such as the percentage of correct answers and the time taken to answer the question. You can find the difficulty level of a question and its related statistics in the first post. So, the difficulty level of this question is 555-605 Level Level based on the timer attempts from the users.

Vineet921 · Answer

In Question 1 , Its directly written in passage " The proportion of judicial decisions in favor of patentees began to increase during the 1830s because of a change in the underlying population of cases brought to trial" making E better option. Also , its also given "This change was   partly   due to an 1836 revision to the patent system" making A less viable choice because of word   partly.

pls help , why is this reasoning not correct ??

soniasw16 · Answer

Can someone explain why C is wrong for Q3? It seems like judicial standards prior to 1930 were cited as a lasting foundation for patent law, so why is C wrong?

egmat · Answer

soniasw16

Looking at your question about choice  C , I can see why the phrase "lasting foundation" caught your attention. This is a common trap in GMAT RC - conflating  continuous use  with  returning to  something. Let me help clarify the critical distinction here.

The Key Issue with Answer Choice C:
 
Choice C states: "courts have  returned to  judicial standards that prevailed before 1830"

The word "returned" implies a specific sequence:
 
 Courts used certain standards before 1830 
 Courts  departed from  these standards at some point  
 
 Courts then  came back to  these standards

What the Passage Actually Says: 
The passage tells us that pre-1830 cases "have been cited as frequently as later decisions, and they  continue  to be cited today." This indicates  continuous, uninterrupted use  - not a departure and return.

Think of it this way: If you've been using the same recipe for 200 years, you haven't "returned" to using it - you've been using it all along. The passage argues that pre-1830 judicial standards provided a "lasting foundation" precisely because they  never went away .

Why This Supports Answer B Instead: 
The continuous citation of pre-1830 cases suggests that  judicial attitudes remained consistent  throughout the entire period. If judicial support had actually increased after 1830 (as some scholars claim), we would expect later courts to reject or ignore the allegedly "antipatent" earlier decisions. But they didn't - they kept citing them, indicating that judicial support was  already adequate  before 1830 and didn't need to increase.

Strategic Tip for Similar Questions:
 
Pay close attention to verbs that imply  change over time  (returned, reverted, went back) versus those that imply  continuity  (maintained, continued, persisted). GMAT often tests whether you can distinguish between:
 
 Something that changed and then changed back 
 Something that never changed at all

In this case, the passage's entire argument hinges on the fact that judicial standards  didn't change  - the increased favorable verdicts after 1830 were due to changes in the patent examination system, not changes in judicial attitudes.

manish8242 · Answer

IN Ques 1 the que asks why was the increase in 'NUMBER of FAVOURABLE OUTCOME' happened. So it happened because the number of cases was increased it is given in passage. The adherence cause more cases to bring , it is not given that it was responsible for inc in favourable outcome.

According to me Due to adherence -> Number of cases increased -> Favorable outcome increased so number of cases increased in the direct causation of the inc in fav outcome why not E is the right answer

Because the framers of the United States Constitution (written in 1787

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Because the framers of the United States Constitution (written in 1787

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