To evaluate any given intellectual property policy, we must weigh the

Question

To evaluate any given intellectual property policy, we must weigh the costs and benefits of awarding copyright protection. If an innovation, then the benefits of the protection are nonexistent, and so, by the cost-benefit criterion, it is unwarranted. Such a situation arose in 1998 when the United States Congress extended the term of copyright from 50 years after an author's death to 70. Book buyers are harmed by this. A book's price is higher under copyright because the publisher continues to owe  royalties  to the author's heirs and does not compete with others printing the same book. Against that drawback, there is no countervailing benefit.  Authors are hardly likely to find motivation in the prospect of earnings that will arrive more than 50 years after their death.  Moreover, the extension was applied retroactively to existing copyrights but authors do not need incentives to write books they have already written.   
 1 
 1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

A. argue that intellectual property policies are often unwarranted
B. show how a particular criterion can be used to evaluate an intellectual property policy
C. summarize the costs and benefits of introducing intellectual property policies
D. approve the reasoning that was used to justify a particular intellectual property policy 
E. challenge a claim that the benefits of intellectual property policies outweigh the costs

2 
 2. The author mentions “royalties” primarily in order to identify

A. a benefit that is likely to motivate authors
B. a way in which publishers compete with one another
C. a factor that contributes to a negative effect of copyright 
D. a reason underlying Congress’ actions regarding copyright 
E. an unintended effect of extending the term of copyright

3 
 3. It can be inferred that which of the following assumptions underlies the statement in the highlighted sentence?

A. Concern for their heirs is not a factor that motivates authors to publish.
B. Authors are motivated by factors other than the prospect of financial gain. 
C. Sales of a book are unlikely to change after its author's death.
D. Publishers tend to act in their own best interest rather than in the author's 
E. The earnings of most authors tend to decline over time.

samrat123456 · Answer

3. It can be inferred that which of the following assumptions underlies the statement in the highlighted sentence?

A.  Correct: Concern for their heirs is not a factor that motivates authors to publish. - Passage states that authors hardly care that they earn money after 50 years of their death. So, concern about their heirs is not a motivating factor for authors.
B.  Incorrect: Authors are motivated by factors other than the prospect of financial gain. - This answer choice talks about current motivation factors other than money which the passage never talks about.
C. Incorrect:  Sales of a book are unlikely to change after its author's death. - Out of scope 
D.  Incorrect: Publishers tend to act in their own best interest rather than in the author's - Irrelevant because even if the publisher tends to act in their best interest how will it support the assertion Authors are hardly likely to find motivation in the prospect of earnings that will arrive more than 50 years after their death.
E.  Incorrect: The earnings of most authors tend to decline over time.- Passage never talks about this decline.

Sweetiag · Answer

can you pls give me a better poe for ques3 option 2 bec in RC it is given that money is not a motivation for author

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to

Difficulty Level:   Hard

Explanation

A.  This option suggests that the passage's primary purpose is to argue that intellectual property policies, in general, are often unwarranted. However, the passage does not make a general statement about all intellectual property policies. Instead, it focuses on a specific instance (the extension of copyright terms in 1998) to argue that this particular policy was unwarranted.

B.  This option accurately describes the passage's primary purpose. The passage uses a specific criterion (the cost-benefit criterion) to evaluate the extension of copyright terms in 1998.

C.  This option suggests that the passage primarily summarizes the general costs and benefits of introducing intellectual property policies. However, the passage focuses on one specific policy change and its consequences rather than providing a general overview of all intellectual property policies.

D.  This option suggests that the passage's primary purpose is to approve or endorse the reasoning behind a specific intellectual property policy (the copyright term extension). However, the passage actually challenges the reasoning and argues that the extension was unwarranted.

E.  The author did not challenge, they rather state a position.

Answer: B

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

2. The author mentions “royalties” primarily in order to identify

Difficulty Level:   Hard

Explanation

The passage discusses the extension of the term of copyright from 50 years after an author's death to 70 years, and it argues that this extension has negative consequences. One of the negative consequences mentioned is that book buyers are harmed because the price of a book is higher under copyright. The author explains that this is because the publisher continues to owe royalties to the author's heirs, which means that they don't compete with others printing the same book. In other words, the payment of royalties is a contributing factor to the negative effect of copyright on book prices. Therefore, the author mentions  "royalties"  to highlight a factor that leads to an undesirable outcome of copyright protection, making  option C  the correct answer.

Answer: C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

3. It can be inferred that which of the following assumptions underlies the statement in the highlighted sentence?

Difficulty Level:   Hard

Explanation

The statement in the quoted sentence is, "Authors are hardly likely to find motivation in the prospect of earnings that will arrive more than 50 years after their death." This statement implies that authors are not strongly motivated by the prospect of financial gain that occurs long after their death.

Now, let's examine each option:

A.   This is the correct assumption. The statement suggests that authors are not motivated by the prospect of earnings arriving more than 50 years after their death, indicating that concern for their heirs (who would receive those earnings) is not a significant motivational factor for authors.

B.  This assumption is not directly supported by the statement. While the statement implies that authors are not motivated by delayed financial gain, it doesn't specify what other factors might motivate them.

C.  This assumption is unrelated to the statement. The statement primarily discusses author motivation, not the impact of an author's death on book sales.

D.  This assumption is not directly related to the statement. The statement discusses author motivation and the impact of copyright extension on book prices, but it doesn't address the actions of publishers.

E.  This assumption is not directly supported by the statement. The statement focuses on the lack of author motivation due to delayed earnings, but it doesn't indicate that earnings necessarily decline over time.

Answer: A

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

Two ways to think about this:

1) Just because authors aren't motivated by money doesn't mean they ARE motivated by something else. Maybe they aren't motivated by anything! (Or maybe that's just "authors" like me who are going to finish a book . . . someday.)

2) Don't buy #1? A more definitive takedown is that the passage does NOT say authors aren't motivated by money. This is really important! It just says that they aren't likely to be motivated by the idea that they will get paid long after their death. That's a big difference! I will tutor you for money, but not on a century-long deferral plan. That doesn't mean I don't care about $. (Don't you wish you had enough money not to care about it at all?)

To evaluate any given intellectual property policy, we must weigh the

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GMAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Questions

To evaluate any given intellectual property policy, we must weigh the

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