Bunuel
Journalist: Even though it may be true that the system of patenting encourages patent holders to share information that they otherwise would not have made open because of the fear of competitors benefitting from the research done solely by the patent holder, patenting does severely retard the growth of innovations in a field as _________________________________________________________________________________________
Which of the following, if true, best completes the above passage?
A. only the patent holder is able to reap the monetary benefits for the amount of time the patent is valid.
B. not only do patent holders have the exclusive right to the patented technology but also to any kind of developmental research on it.
C. the information disclosed by the patent holder could educate the public by making them aware of previously unknown facts about a phenomenon.
D. the usual period for which a company can hold a patent is twenty years during which patent holder can license the patented innovation to others.
E. even though not all innovations that are filed for patents are granted the status, some of them are extremely informative and useful for developmental work.
Patents are good for the patent holders, but restrict others: we are looking for an answer which states this:
B.In slightly more words, we are looking for a reason that patenting harms innovation, meaning we are looking for some ways in which patents restrict or halt innovators. T
his is exactly what B tells us - even though patent holders share information, others cannot perform any developmental research on it without their permission.
Another way to go about this is to go over the answers:
A - this is an advantage for the patent holder, but not a clear restriction of other innovators.
B - this DOES restrict innovation, since it means that the patent blocks out research which could have resulted in new innovations. C - this is an advantage, not a disadvantage, of patents.
D - just additional information, doesn't seem to add either way.
E - ditto.