Reading ComprehensionDifficulty: Hard

PT115 S3 P4 Q28 Explanation

Canadian Copyrights and Digitialization

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Reading Comprehension question.

TopicsNon-Author OpinionLaw

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Passage

The following passage was written in

Users of the Internet—the worldwide network of interconnected computer systems—envision it as a way for people to have free access to information via their personal computers. Most Internet communication consists of sending electronic mail or exchanging ideas on electronic bulletin boards; however, a growing number of transmissions are of copyrighted works—books, photographs, copyright holders look for ways to protect their material from unauthorized and uncompensated distribution.

Copyright experts say that Canadian copyright law, which was revised in 1987 to cover works such as choreography and photography, has not kept pace with technology—specifically with digitalization, the conversion of data into a series of digits that are transmitted as electronic signals over computer networks. Digitalization makes it possible to create clear whether digitalization constitutes a material reproduction—and so unauthorized digitalization is not yet technically a crime.

Some experts propose simply adding unauthorized digitalization to the list of activities proscribed under current law, to make it clear that copyright holders own electronic reproduction rights just as they own rights to other types of reproduction. But criminalizing digitalization raises a host of questions. For example, given that digitalization allows the the publishing community, which is accustomed to treating it as a commodity owned by its creator.

What this question is testing

Non-Author Opinion

Your task

Pin down exactly what the question asks about the passage — a detail, the author's view, the structure, or the main point — before looking at the choices.

Common trap

Answers that restate a true detail from the passage but don't answer the specific question being asked.

Winning move

Anticipate the answer in your own words from the passage, then find the choice that matches that prediction.

Reading along? Open the full official question in LawHub — we show a fragment here and keep the reasoning in our own words.

The question
28.

Which one of the following views can most reasonably be attributed to the experts cited in

Answer choices

  1. Correct53% picked this

    Unauthorized digitalization of a copyrighted work should be considered a crime except when it is done for purposes

    Why this is right

    This answer is hard to pick on a first pass, because although part of it is what we're looking for (unauthorized digitalization should be a crime), the other part comes out of nowhere (except if it's for private study or research). The latter half of the 3rd paragraph explains that: current copyright law allows generous exemptions for those engaged in private study or research. How would we know whether these experts think the same exemptions should be applied to digitalizing copyrighted works? Well, it's captured by the feel of the first sentence of the 3rd paragraph, in which it sounds like these experts are saying, "Hey, just add unauthorized digitalization to list of things proscribed by current law." Current law proscribes unauthorized copies, if they are not involved in private study or research. So adding unauthorized digitalization to the current list would mean, "unauthorized digitalization is forbidden, if it's not part of private study or research."

    Skill tested: Non-Author Opinion · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

  2. Too Strong17% picked this

    Unauthorized digitalization of a copyrighted work should be considered a crime even when it is done for purposes

    This, of course, comes down to the same distinction we just analyzed with (A). It's not directly stated whether these experts think that the typical exemptions for private study or research should or should not apply. But since they are saying we "simply" add unauthorized digitalization to the list of currently proscribed activities, and since unauthorized duplication for the purposes of private study or research is not currently proscribed, it sounds like these experts would be assuming the same exemptions apply to digitalization.

  3. Opposite3% picked this

    Making a copy of a copyrighted work from an unauthorized digitalization of the work should not

    These experts propose adding unauthorized digitalization to the list of activities currently proscribed (i.e. forbidden) under current law. So they think unauthorized digitalization should be considered a crime.

  4. Too Specific Unknown Comparison3% picked this

    Making a copy of a copyrighted work from an unauthorized digitalization of the work should be punished, but not as severely

    All we know about these experts is that they think unauthorized digitalization should be treated essentially the same way we treat other unauthorized forms of copying. They don't qualify that statement and talk about different degrees of punishment.

  5. Too Specific Unknown Comparison24% picked this

    Making a copy of a copyrighted work from an unauthorized digitalization of the work should be punished just as severely

    All we know about these experts is that they think unauthorized digitalization should be treated essentially the same way we treat other unauthorized forms of copying. They don't qualify that statement and talk about different degrees of punishment.

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