Industries that use biotechnology are convinced that intellectual prop

The following passage was adaptedfrom a lawjournal article published in 1998.

Industries that use biotechnology are convinced
that intellectual property protection should be
allowable for discoveries that stem from research and
have commercial potential. Biotechnology researchers
(5) in academic institutions increasingly share this view
because of their reliance on research funding that is
in part conditional on the patentability of their results.
However, questions about the extent to which
biotechnology patenting is hindering basic research
(10) have recently come to the fore, and the patenting and
commercialization of biotechnology inventions are
now the focus of increased scrutiny by scientists and
policy makers.

The perceived threat to basic research relates to
(15) restrictions on access to research materials, such as
genetic sequences, cell lines, and genetically altered
animals. These restrictions are seen as arising either
from enforcement of a patent right or through
operation of a contractual agreement. Some researchers
(20) fear that patenting biological materials will result in
the patent holder's attempting or threatening to enjoin
further research through a legal action for patent
infringement. In other instances, a patent holder or the
owner of biological materials may refuse to make such
(25) materials available to scientists conducting basic
research unless a costly materials-transfer agreement
or license agreement is undertaken. For example, the
bolder of a patent on unique biological materials may
want to receive a benefit or compensation for the costs
(30) invested in the creation of the material. Academic
researchers who oppose biotechnology patents fear
that corporate patent holders will charge prohibitively
high fees for the right to conduct basic research
involving the use of patented materials.

(35) While it is true that the communal tradition of
freely sharing research materials has shifted to a
market model, it is also undoubtedly true that even in
the early days of biotechnology, some researchers took
measures to prevent competitors from gaining access to
(40) materials they had created. Scientists who resist the
idea of patenting biotechnology seem to be confusing
patent rights with control of access to biological
materials. They mistakenly assume that granting a
patent implies granting the right to deny access. In
(45) reality, whether a patent could or would be enforced
against a researcher, particularly one conducting basic
and noncommercial research, is questionable. First,
patent litigation is an expensive endeavor and one
usually initiated only to protect a market position
(50) occupied by the patent holder or an exclusive patent
licensee. Second, there has been a tradition among
judges deciding patent cases to respect a completely
noncommercial research exception to patent
infringement. Moreover, it is likely that patents will actually
(55) spur rather than hinder basic research, because
patents provide scientists with a compelling incentive
to innovate. Researchers know that patents bring
economic rewards as well as a degree of licensing
control over the use of their discoveries.

1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

(A) By commercializing the research enterprise, biotechnology patents threaten the progress of basic research in the biological sciences.
(B) The recent shift away from a communal tradition and toward a market-driven approach to basic scientific research has caused controversy among scientists.
(C) The current system of patent protection for intellectual property unfairly penalizes both academic researchers and commercial interests.
(D) Concerns expressed by academic researchers that biotechnology patents will negatively affect their ability to conduct basic research are largely misguided.
(E) Patent litigation is so expensive that biotechnology patent holders are unlikely to bring patent-infringement lawsuits against scientists engaged in basic research.


2. The academic researchers mentioned in lines 30-31 would be most likely to subscribe to which one of the following principles?

(A) The competitive dynamics of the market should be allowed to determine the course of basic scientific research.
(B) The inventor of a biological material should not be allowed to charge fees that would prevent its use in basic research.
(C) Academic researchers should take measures to prevent their competitors from gaining access to materials they have created.
(D) Universities should take aggressive legal action to protect their intellectual property.
(E) Funding for scientific research projects should depend at least in part on the commercial potential of those projects.


3. According to the passage, why do university researchers increasingly believe that patents should be granted for commercially promising biotechnology discoveries?

(A) Researchers' prospects for academic advancement depend on both the quality and the quantity of their research.
(B) Researchers' funding is often contingent on whether they can produce a patentable product.
(C) Researchers see no incompatibility between unfettered basic research and the granting of biotechnology patents.
(D) Researchers increasingly believe their intellectual labor is being unfairly exploited by universities that partner with for-profit corporations.
(E) Most researchers prefer a competitive model of scientific research to a communal model.


4. With which one of the following statements would the author be most likely to agree?

(A) In the early days of biotechnology research, scientists freely shared research materials because they were not entitled to intellectual property protection for their inventions.
(B) Corporate patent holders typically charge excessive fees for the right to conduct research involving their patented materials.
(C) The cost of patent litigation is an effective check on patent holders who might otherwise try to prevent researchers engaged in basic research from using patented materials.
(D) Biotechnology researchers in academic institutions rely too heavily on funding that is partially contingent on the patentability of their results.
(E) Scientists who oppose the idea of patenting biotechnology do so because their work is not sufficiently innovative to qualify for patent protection.


5. The author refers to the early days of biotechnology (line 38) primarily in order to

(A) furnish a brief account of the evolution of academic biotechnology research
(B) establish that present competitive practices in biotechnology research are not entirely unprecedented
(C) express nostalgia for a time when biotechnology research was untainted by commercial motives
(D) argue that biotechnology research is considerably more sophisticated today than it was in the past
(E) provide a historical justification for opposition to biotechnology patents


6. The passage provides the strongest support for inferring which one of the following?

(A) Policy makers are no less likely than academic researchers to favor new restrictions on biotechnology patents.
(B) Most biotechnology patent holders believe that the pursuit of basic research in academic institutions threatens their market position.
(C) Biotechnology researchers who work in academic institutions and oppose biotechnology patents are generally unable to obtain funding for their work.
(D) Suing for patent infringement is not the only way in which patent holders can assert legal control over the use of their patented materials.
(E) Rapid commercialization in the field of biotechnology has led to a dearth of highly educated biologists willing to teach in academic institutions.


7. Suppose a university researcher wants to conduct basic, noncommercial research involving cell lines patented by a for-profit biotechnology corporation. The author would be most likely to make which one of the following predictions about the researcher's prospects?

(A) The researcher will probably be unable to use the cell lines because the corporation holding the patent will demand a prohibitively high payment for their use.
(B) The corporation holding the patent will probably successfully sue the researcher for patent infringement if she conducts the research without permission.
(C) The university that employs the researcher will likely prohibit the research in an effort to avoid being sued by the corporation holding the patent.
(D) The researcher has a good chance of not being held liable for patent infringement if she conducts the research and is subsequently sued.
(E) The corporation will probably offer to fund the research if granted exclusive rights to any resulting marketable product.