#16 - Global Reference, Must Be True

[DAthenour]

Hi Powerscore,

I'm wondering if you might be able to help me discern why B is the correct answer choice for this question. I initially chose E which, in hindsight, is a poor answer because nothing in the passage supports the idea that anything is "common to most legal systems." However, when I was doing the question on my first pass through, I thought that B was faulty because I had originally identified the proponents of the tangible-object theory to be different from the theorists mentioned in line 26. Because I thought these were two different groups and viewpoints, I crossed out B as a conflation of arguments set forth by the theorists and the proponents.

I guess my question is, did I miss something in the passage that would have hinted that these viewpoints were one in the same? Or is this a question in which I should just try to identify the four wrong answers?

Thanks so much!

[James Finch]

Hi DAthenour,

This is an unusual Must be True question, asking for an inference from the reading that will serve as an answer to the questions presented by the answer choices. The question that can be directly answered (ie the correct answer choice) will be based on an inference, not an explicit piece of information in the passage.

The way "theorists" is used in line 26 is as a general, catch-all, umbrella term, under which proponents of tangible-object theory would fall. The main way to understand this is to read further and see how the rest of paragraph 2 connects to paragraph 3 in the passage: paragraph 2 describes the concept of retained rights, and how it is applied to intellectual property, and paragraph 3 explains how tangible-object theory explains how those rights are justified, before critiquing that theory. Put together, we can infer that tangible-object theorists do in fact hold that rights may be retained on things that are not real property, so (B) is correct.

Hope this helps!

[caseyh123]

Can you point me to the specific line that answers this question? Where does the idea of real estate come from??????

[Luke Haqq]

Hi caseyh123!

Happy to address your questions. I'll start with your second one:

Where does the idea of real estate come from??????

You're right to be perplexed since it doesn't appear that the words "real estate" are used in the passage. At the same time, in suggesting where this idea comes from in the passage, I'd point to lines 21-24: "This notion of retained rights is common in many areas of law; for example, the seller of a piece of land may retain certain rights to the land in the form of easements or building restrictions." This is speaking about real estate, within the passage's broader discussion of tangible property rights versus intangible ones (like ideas).

You also ask,

Can you point me to the specific line that answers this question?

Working from the correct answer choice, answer (B) asks, "Do proponents of the tangible-object theory of intellectual property hold that ownership of anything besides real estate can involve retained rights?" In assessing this answer choice, the first sentence of the passage seems especially illuminative: "Proponents of the tangible-object theory of copyright argue that copyright and similar intellectual-property rights can be explained as logical extensions of the right to own concrete, tangible objects" (lines 1-4). This is then elaborated from lines 24-35:

Applying the notion
(25) of retained rights to the domain of intellectual property,
theorists argue that copyrighting a work secures official
recognition of one’s intention to retain certain rights to
that work. Among the rights typically retained by the
original producer of an object such as a literary
(30) manuscript or a musical score would be the right to
copy the object for profit and the right to use it as a
guide for the production of similar or analogous
things—for example, a public performance of a
musical score.

Therefore, the passage provides the reader an answer to the question, do proponents of the tangible-object theory of intellectual property hold that ownership of anything besides real estate can involve retained rights? (the answer being yes).

Hope that helps!

[SGD2021]

Hello,

Would answer choice D also be incorrect because we may kind of know from the passage what happens when creators do apply for copyright protection (or at least what that can entail), but we can never choose an answer choice that claims to know what happens when they DON'T apply? In other words, we may know that concept A is true under X conditions, but we can't claim to know what happens when those conditions are negated in a reading comprehension question like this?

[Adam Tyson]

That's right, SGD2021! While we can infer some things about what happens when a creator does have clear copyright protection, the passage never delves into the thorny issue of what might happen if the creator does not do so. Since the passage never goes there, we cannot say that the passage answers that question. "Directly" in the question stem means the passage should explicitly address the issue, and not just imply something about it.