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The system of patent-granting, which confers temporary monopolies for
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Updated on: 13 Jul 2020, 09:12
Updated on: 13 Jul 2020, 09:12
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Question 1
00:00
A
B
C
D
E
Difficulty:
55%
(hard)
based on 3694 sessions
54% (02:45) correct
46%
(03:00) wrong
Question 2
00:00
A
B
C
D
E
Difficulty:
15%
(low)
based on 3440 sessions
77% (01:14) correct 23%
(01:37) wrong
Question 3
00:00
A
B
C
D
E
Difficulty:
65%
(hard)
based on 3479 sessions
43% (01:11) correct 57%
(01:26) wrong
Question 4
00:00
A
B
C
D
E
Difficulty:
25%
(medium)
based on 3343 sessions
72% (01:12) correct 28%
(01:28) wrong
Question 5
00:00
A
B
C
D
E
Difficulty:
15%
(low)
based on 3193 sessions
79% (00:48) correct 21%
(00:54) wrong The system of patent-granting, which confers temporary monopolies for the exploitation of new technologies, was originally established as an incentive to the pursuit of risky new ideas. Yet studies of the most patent-conscious business of all—the semi-conductor industry—suggest that firms do not necessarily become more innovative as they increase their patenting activity. Ziedonis and Hall, for example, found that investment in research and development (a reasonable proxy for innovation) did not substantially increase between 1982 and 1992, the industry's most feverish period of patenting. Instead, semiconductor firms simply squeezed more patents out of existing research and development expenditures. Moreover, Ziedonis and Hall found that as patenting activity at semiconductor firms increased in the 1980's, the consensus among industry employees was that the average quality of their firms' patents declined. Though patent quality is a difficult notion to measure, the number of times a patent is cited in the technical literature is a reasonable yardstick, and citations per semiconductor patent did decline during the 1980's. This decline in quality may be related to changes in the way semi-conductor firms managed their patenting process: rather than patenting to win exclusive rights to a valuable new technology, patents were filed more for strategic purposes, to be used as bargaining chips to ward off infringement suits or as a means to block competitors' products.
1. The passage is primarily concerned with discussing
(A) a study suggesting that the semiconductor industry’s approach to patenting during the period from 1982 to 1992 yielded unanticipated results
(B) a study of the semiconductor industry during the period from 1982 to 1992 that advocates certain changes in the industry’s management of the patenting process
(C) the connection between patenting and innovation in the semiconductor industry during the period from 1982 to 1992
(D) reasons that investment in research and development in the semiconductor industry did not increase significantly during the period from 1982 to 1992
(E) certain factors that made the period from 1982 to 1992 a time of intense patenting activity in the semiconductor industry
2. The passage suggests which of the following about patenting in the semiconductor industry during the period from 1982 to 1992 ?
(A) The declining number of citations per semiconductor patent in the technical literature undermines the notion that patenting activity increased during this period.
(B) A decline in patent quality forced firms to change the way they managed the patenting process.
(C) Increased efficiencies allowed firms to derive more patents from existing research and development expenditures.
(D) Firms’ emphasis on filing patents for strategic purposes may have contributed to a decline in patent quality.
(E) Firms’ attempts to derive more patents from existing research and development expenditures may have contributed to a decline in infringement suites.
3. The passage makes which of the following claims about patent quality in the semiconductor industry?
(A) It was higher in the early 1980’s than it was a decade later.
(B) It is largely independent of the number of patents granted.
(C) It changed between 1982 and 1992 in ways that were linked to changes in research and development expenditures.
(D) It is not adequately discussed in the industry’s technical literature.
(E) It was measured by inappropriate means during the period from 1982 to 1992.
4. Which of the following, if true, would most clearly serve to weaken the author’s claim about what constitutes a reasonable yardstick for measuring patent quality?
(A) It is more difficult to have an article accepted for publication in the technical literature of the semiconductor industry than it is in the technical literature of most other industries.
(B) Many of the highest-quality semiconductor patents are cited numerous times in the technical literature.
(C) It is difficult for someone not familiar with the technical literature to recognize what constitutes an innovative semiconductor patent.
(D) There were more citations made per semiconductor patent in the technical literature in the 1970’s than in the 1980’s.
(E) Low-quality patents tend to be discussed in the technical literature as frequently as high-quality patents.
5. The passage suggests that the use of patents as bargaining chips to ward off infringement suits
(A) was rarely successful during the 1980s
(B) became increasingly infrequent in the 1980s
(C) does not fulfill the intended purpose of the patent-granting system
(D) is a consequence of the decline in patent quality
(E) is discussed increasingly in the semiconductor industry's technical literature
(A) a study suggesting that the semiconductor industry’s approach to patenting during the period from 1982 to 1992 yielded unanticipated results
(B) a study of the semiconductor industry during the period from 1982 to 1992 that advocates certain changes in the industry’s management of the patenting process
(C) the connection between patenting and innovation in the semiconductor industry during the period from 1982 to 1992
(D) reasons that investment in research and development in the semiconductor industry did not increase significantly during the period from 1982 to 1992
(E) certain factors that made the period from 1982 to 1992 a time of intense patenting activity in the semiconductor industry
2. The passage suggests which of the following about patenting in the semiconductor industry during the period from 1982 to 1992 ?
(A) The declining number of citations per semiconductor patent in the technical literature undermines the notion that patenting activity increased during this period.
(B) A decline in patent quality forced firms to change the way they managed the patenting process.
(C) Increased efficiencies allowed firms to derive more patents from existing research and development expenditures.
(D) Firms’ emphasis on filing patents for strategic purposes may have contributed to a decline in patent quality.
(E) Firms’ attempts to derive more patents from existing research and development expenditures may have contributed to a decline in infringement suites.
3. The passage makes which of the following claims about patent quality in the semiconductor industry?
(A) It was higher in the early 1980’s than it was a decade later.
(B) It is largely independent of the number of patents granted.
(C) It changed between 1982 and 1992 in ways that were linked to changes in research and development expenditures.
(D) It is not adequately discussed in the industry’s technical literature.
(E) It was measured by inappropriate means during the period from 1982 to 1992.
4. Which of the following, if true, would most clearly serve to weaken the author’s claim about what constitutes a reasonable yardstick for measuring patent quality?
(A) It is more difficult to have an article accepted for publication in the technical literature of the semiconductor industry than it is in the technical literature of most other industries.
(B) Many of the highest-quality semiconductor patents are cited numerous times in the technical literature.
(C) It is difficult for someone not familiar with the technical literature to recognize what constitutes an innovative semiconductor patent.
(D) There were more citations made per semiconductor patent in the technical literature in the 1970’s than in the 1980’s.
(E) Low-quality patents tend to be discussed in the technical literature as frequently as high-quality patents.
5. The passage suggests that the use of patents as bargaining chips to ward off infringement suits
(A) was rarely successful during the 1980s
(B) became increasingly infrequent in the 1980s
(C) does not fulfill the intended purpose of the patent-granting system
(D) is a consequence of the decline in patent quality
(E) is discussed increasingly in the semiconductor industry's technical literature
Re: The system of patent-granting, which confers temporary monopolies for
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25 Jun 2018, 20:25
25 Jun 2018, 20:25
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Expert Reply
Question 1 Answer Choice A, Explained
Nived
Hi! Have gone through all the responses above, but still not clear why A is not the answer for question 1.
(A) a study suggesting that the semiconductor industry’s approach to patenting during the period from 1982 to 1992 yielded unanticipated results
Because of patent, we would expect patenting activity to be directly related with becoming more innovative.
However, a study (Ziedonis and Hall) yielded results contrary to expectations (unanticipated results). Hence, I thought A is the answer.
Could it be that A is correct, but not the main idea?
An answer choice can be a true statement while still being an incorrect answer choice. That's because the correct answer choice is the one that best answers the specific question being asked. This is a minor distinction in wording, but it's a major difference in how we eliminate answer choices and select the choice that is truly correct for a given question. It's all part of the joy of test-taking in GMAT Land. (A) a study suggesting that the semiconductor industry’s approach to patenting during the period from 1982 to 1992 yielded unanticipated results
Because of patent, we would expect patenting activity to be directly related with becoming more innovative.
However, a study (Ziedonis and Hall) yielded results contrary to expectations (unanticipated results). Hence, I thought A is the answer.
Could it be that A is correct, but not the main idea?
Quote:
1. The passage is primarily concerned with discussing
(A) a study suggesting that the semiconductor industry's approach to patenting during the period from 1982 to 1992 yielded unanticipated results
Like answer choice (E), choice (A) on its own is true. However, is the author primarily concerned with discussing a study and its results?(A) a study suggesting that the semiconductor industry's approach to patenting during the period from 1982 to 1992 yielded unanticipated results
Nope. Instead, this passage is structured to:
- Introduce us to the original purpose of granting patents.
- Present studies on the semi-conductor industry (especially the study by Ziedonis and Hall) to illustrate the point that firms do not necessarily become more innovative as they increase their patenting activity.
- Analyze the findings of the Z&H study in the context of measuring patent quality.
- Suggest a possible explanation for why semi-conductor patent quality declined during the 1980s.
Studies, and in particular the Z&H study, make up a crucial piece of this passage. However, the author's overall purpose is to analyze the relationship between patents and innovation.
Quote:
(C) the connection between patenting and innovation in the semiconductor industry during the period from 1982 to 1992
Choice (C) best expresses this overall purpose.Question 3, Explained
jayarora
3. The passage makes which of the following claims about patent quality in the semiconductor industry?
(A) It was higher in the early 1980???s than it was a decade later.
(B) It is largely independent of the number of patents granted.
(C) It changed between 1982 and 1992 in ways that were linked to changes in research and development expenditures.
(D) It is not adequately discussed in the industry???s technical literature.
(E) It was measured by inappropriate means during the period from 1982 to 1992.
Hi, Could someone explain the answer to the above question? If the citations per semiconductor(alias for quality according to the passage) declined during the 1980s, how can we infer that the quality was higher than that in 1990? or am I missing out something here?
Answering this question is entirely process of elimination, so let's start with A and make our way down the line.(A) It was higher in the early 1980???s than it was a decade later.
(B) It is largely independent of the number of patents granted.
(C) It changed between 1982 and 1992 in ways that were linked to changes in research and development expenditures.
(D) It is not adequately discussed in the industry???s technical literature.
(E) It was measured by inappropriate means during the period from 1982 to 1992.
Hi, Could someone explain the answer to the above question? If the citations per semiconductor(alias for quality according to the passage) declined during the 1980s, how can we infer that the quality was higher than that in 1990? or am I missing out something here?
Quote:
(A) It was higher in the early 1980's than it was a decade later.
The passage tells us that Ziedonis and Hall studied trends in semi-conductor patenting between 1982 (the early 1980's) and 1992 (a decade later). Then, the author writes:- "Moreover, Ziedonis and Hall found that as patenting activity at semiconductor firms increased in the 1980's, the consensus among industry employees was that the average quality of their firms' patents declined."
Between the early 1980's and a decade later, the average quality of firms' semiconductor patents declined. Therefore, patent quality was higher in the early 1980's than it was a decade later. We'll keep (A) as the best choice for now.
Quote:
(B) It is largely independent of the number of patents granted.
Choice (B) is not supported by any statement we can see in the passage. Furthermore, this choice is contradicted by the very same portion of the passage that reinforces choice (A):- "...as patenting activity at semiconductor firms increased...the average quality of their firms' patents declined."
The author links the rise in number of patents granted to a fall in quality, so let's eliminate (B).
Quote:
(C) It changed between 1982 and 1992 in ways that were linked to changes in research and development expenditures.
The author doesn't mention any change in R&D expenditures. In fact, the author suggests that there was little change in these expenditures during the time period being studied:- "...investment in research and development (a reasonable proxy for innovation) did not substantially increase between 1982 and 1992."
So let's eliminate (C), too.
Quote:
(D) It is not adequately discussed in the industry's technical literature.
This is also contradicted in the passage, when the author writes:- "Though patent quality is a difficult notion to measure, the number of times a patent is cited in the technical literature is a reasonable yardstick, and citations per semiconductor patent did decline during the 1980's."
The technical literature seems adequate enough for the author to use as a reference point in this passage. Eliminate (D).
Quote:
(E) It was measured by inappropriate means during the period from 1982 to 1992.
The very same portion of the passage we used to rule out choice (D) can be used to rule out choice (E). The author thinks that quality was measured by "a reasonable yardstick" in the technical literature.Eliminate (E), and we're left with (A) as the best answer choice.
Who's Got GMAT Fever?
jayarora
On a side note, what does the phrase 'most feverish' mean in this passage? Many thanks :D
When someone does something "feverishly," she is putting a great amount of energy or excitement into it. If I write GMAT explanations feverishly, then you might picture me staying up all night, writing many, many explanations, one after the next, without taking a break.This is related to the idiomatic use of "fever" or "crazy" in a statement showing how much a person is driven to a certain action:
- My friend's got GMAT fever! He spent seven hours reading and posting on GMAT Club last night.
- Oh, Peter is crazy about mangoes. Once mango season begins, he'll eat them feverishly, until he's literally sick.
By using the word "feverish," this passage tells us that the period between 1982 and 1992 was the semiconductor industry's most prolific, enthusiastic, energetic period of patenting. For the record, I'm personally much more crazy about reading and mangoes than I'll ever be about patents.
A Closer Read to Answer Question 5
Nived
Also, while I got question 5 correct (by process of elimination), where does the passage "suggest" that the use of patents as bargaining chips to ward off infringement suits does not fulfill the intended purpose of the patent-granting system?
The use of patents as bargaining chips to ward off infringement suits seems to be just mentioned as a reason for low quality of patents. Does this mean that the passage is implying that the act of using patents does not fulfill the intended purpose of the patent-granting system?
The use of patents as bargaining chips to ward off infringement suits seems to be just mentioned as a reason for low quality of patents. Does this mean that the passage is implying that the act of using patents does not fulfill the intended purpose of the patent-granting system?
Quote:
5. The passage suggests that the use of patents as bargaining chips to ward off infringement suits
(C) does not fulfill the intended purpose of the patent-granting system
At the start of the passage, we're told:(C) does not fulfill the intended purpose of the patent-granting system
- "The system of patent-granting, which confers temporary monopolies for the exploitation of new technologies, was originally established as an incentive to the pursuit of risky new ideas."
Later, the author writes:
- "rather than patenting to win exclusive rights to a valuable new technology, patents were filed more for strategic purposes, to be used as bargaining chips to ward off infringement suites or as a means to block competitors' products."
We know that the intended purpose of the patent-granting system was to incent companies to develop new technologies. The author then identifies the use of patents as bargaining chips in order to show that firms turned away from this intended purpose, and towards a different strategic purpose. That's why choice (C) works.
Thanks for the questions, everyone! I hope this helps.
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The system of patent-granting, which confers temporary monopolies for
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20 Jul 2015, 14:08
20 Jul 2015, 14:08
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For answer to first question we need to have mental structure of passage:
1) Patent was made for innovations.
2) However firms doesn't become more innovative
2a) For example ... (a lot of patents but low investments)
2b) Moreover ... (quality of patents declined)
3) Why this decline happened: ... (firms used patents for strategic purposes)
Let's check answers:
A. a study suggesting that the semiconductor industry's approach to patenting during the period from 1982 to 1992 yielded unanticipated results
Really tempting answer but if we reword this answer we will understand that this is a trap.
"Industry make some actions to achieve some results. But this results wasn't obtained. "
But according to the passage there was two groups:
first - creators of patent system and they wait for innovations
second - firms which used patent system for strategic purposes.
First group really received ununiticipated results but second group received anticipated results (looks like they received it)
Answer A talks about industry approach and its anticipated results so this is wrong answer.
B. a study of the semiconductor industry during the period from 1982 to 1992 that advocates certain changes in the industry's management of the patenting process
The studies in passage advocate nothing and don't mention any changes in patenting process so this is wrong variant
C. the connection between patenting and innovation in the semiconductor industry during the period from 1982 to 1992
This answer looks like too wide and like saying nothing specific.
But if we look to structure:
1 point about planned connection (patents should trigger innovations),
2 point about factual coonection (patents don't trigger innovations)
and subpoints 2a, 2b and point 3 are explaining why this situation is happened.
So this is the best answer.
D. reasons that investment in research and development in the semiconductor industry did not increase significantly during the period from 1982 to 1992
Investment mentions in point 2a. So this is only example of point 2. It can't be the main idea of a passage.
E. certain factors that made the period from 1982 to 1992 a time of intense patenting activity in the semiconductor industry
1 and 2 point show that one of the main parts of passage is a contrast between plans about patents and reality about patents. Increasing in patenting activity is a point 2a. So this is too narrow answer.
1) Patent was made for innovations.
2) However firms doesn't become more innovative
2a) For example ... (a lot of patents but low investments)
2b) Moreover ... (quality of patents declined)
3) Why this decline happened: ... (firms used patents for strategic purposes)
Let's check answers:
A. a study suggesting that the semiconductor industry's approach to patenting during the period from 1982 to 1992 yielded unanticipated results
Really tempting answer but if we reword this answer we will understand that this is a trap.
"Industry make some actions to achieve some results. But this results wasn't obtained. "
But according to the passage there was two groups:
first - creators of patent system and they wait for innovations
second - firms which used patent system for strategic purposes.
First group really received ununiticipated results but second group received anticipated results (looks like they received it)
Answer A talks about industry approach and its anticipated results so this is wrong answer.
B. a study of the semiconductor industry during the period from 1982 to 1992 that advocates certain changes in the industry's management of the patenting process
The studies in passage advocate nothing and don't mention any changes in patenting process so this is wrong variant
C. the connection between patenting and innovation in the semiconductor industry during the period from 1982 to 1992
This answer looks like too wide and like saying nothing specific.
But if we look to structure:
1 point about planned connection (patents should trigger innovations),
2 point about factual coonection (patents don't trigger innovations)
and subpoints 2a, 2b and point 3 are explaining why this situation is happened.
So this is the best answer.
D. reasons that investment in research and development in the semiconductor industry did not increase significantly during the period from 1982 to 1992
Investment mentions in point 2a. So this is only example of point 2. It can't be the main idea of a passage.
E. certain factors that made the period from 1982 to 1992 a time of intense patenting activity in the semiconductor industry
1 and 2 point show that one of the main parts of passage is a contrast between plans about patents and reality about patents. Increasing in patenting activity is a point 2a. So this is too narrow answer.
