Reading ComprehensionDifficulty: Medium

PT157 S4 P4 Q23 Explanation

Patenting Software

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

TopicsMain PointLaw

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Passage

This passage was adapted from an article published

Because it is relatively easy and inexpensive to produce copycat computer programs, most people believe that some form of legal protection should be extended to creators of computer software. Without a legal deterrent to copycat programming, the resources expended by an individual or a company to develop an innovative software program could means of preventing this exploitation, some contend that patent protection is also needed to combat copycatting.

In essence, every piece of software is an encoding of one or more algorithms. An algorithm is simply defined as a series of steps to be followed in carrying out a task; to be usable in computer applications, an algorithm must be expressed in terms that can be processed by a computer. processes by which tasks are to be carried out by computers, should not be considered patentable.

Issuing patents for computer programs would extend protection to software developers beyond that afforded by copyright when there is really no compelling justification for doing so. Insofar as software programs constitute the expression of ideas in the form of specific texts (i.e., sequences of computer code), they fall more appropriately within the to existing copyright laws, and the financial incentive to develop innovative software could thereby be preserved.

What this question is testing

Main Point

Anticipate

The author's thesis in plain English: That is the main point.

Goal

Find the anti-patent, pro-modified-copyright answer.

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

The question
23.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of

Answer choices

  1. Wrong Viewpoint11% picked this

    Although patent protection is needed for a software program's underlying algorithms, existing copyright laws adequately protect the

    This author is arguing that patent protection is not needed ("there is no compelling justification for issuing patents for computer programs"). She thinks of algorithms as general principles, not specific inventions that deserve patent protection.

  2. Correct69% picked this

    Legal protection for software programs beyond that which could be provided through the modification of existing

    Why this is right

    We were looking for, "We should offer patent protection to computer programs / let's just modify existing copyright laws". This seems to capture both of those big payoff ideas. This answer aligns with the first and last sentence of the final paragraph, where we see first our author's rejection of the idea that we extend patent protection to software and then our author's recommendation of what we should do to combat copycat programming.

    Skill tested: Main Point · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

  3. Wrong Viewpoint4% picked this

    Without the legal protection afforded by patents, software developers will have little financial

    The author's final sentence is saying, "if we reject this patent protection idea and instead only slightly modify existing copyright laws, the financial incentive to develop innovative software will thereby be preserved." This answer contradicts that by saying, "If we don't offer patent protection, the financial incentive will largely go away".

  4. Too Narrow13% picked this

    Issuing patents for software programs would give software developers more protection against copycat programming than

    This is a very factual, narrow statement. Computer programs are currently covered by copyright law. If we also offer patent protection, then that will expand the level of legal protection, so yes it will offer more protection. Our Main Point answer needs to be giving us our author's big opinion on the topic of patent protection. Her big opinion isn't, "Patent protection would give developers more protection". It's, "we shouldn't extend patent protection to computer programs; let's just modify existing copyright law."

  5. Too Narrow3% picked this

    Copyright protects only the unique manner in which a software program's underlying

    This just rips a sentence verbatim out of the final paragraph, but it's a detail sentence. This answer doesn't convey the big takeaway: "I reject the solution of patent protection; I prefer the solution of slightly modifying existing copyright".

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