#13 - Concept Reference, Must Be True, Author's Perspective

[Administrator]

Please post your questions below! Thank you!

[nihals23]

Could you please explain how D is the right answer?

[Malila Robinson]

Hi Nihals23,
Since the question relates to noncommercial research, Answer D can be supported by the line in the last paragraph that states: " ...there has been a tradition among judges deciding patent cases to respect a completely noncommercial research exception to patent infringement." Which means that the author feels that the judge will likely allow the alleged patent infringement because the academic researcher is not trying to profit from the research.
Hope that helps!
-Malila

[ataraxia10]

But the same line says "exception to patent infringement" (54-55). So if the cell lines are patented and she conducts the research without permission, wouldn't that qualify as patent infringement and subject to penalization? The text mentions that judges have been leaning towards respecting completely noncommercial research EXCEPTION to patent infringement.

[KelseyWoods]

Hi Ataraxia!

The line you're referring to tells us that judges often provide a noncommercial research exception to patent infringement. What that means is that if the research being conducted is noncommercial, the judge provides them with an "exception" to the patent infringement laws, meaning that they can conduct the research without being subject to the consequences that may normally come from violating patent infringement laws. Basically, noncommercial researchers are exempt from those laws and are allowed to continue research without legal consequences.

It's similar to how there are often exceptions to copyright infringement for educational purposes. So you might not normally be able to photocopy a book and distribute it, but if you are a teacher distributing it to your class, you maybe be seen as an exception to the normal copyright infringement rules and not subject to the same legal consequences.

Hope this helps!

Best,
Kelsey

[ataraxia10]

Thank you!