Reading Comprehension

Because the framers of the United States
Constitution (written in 1787) believed that protecting
property rights relating to inventions would encourage
the new nation's economic growth, they gave
Congress-the national legislature-a constitutional
mandate to grant patents for inventions. The resulting
patent system has served as a model for those in
other nations. Recently, however, scholars have
questioned whether the American system helped
achieve the framers' goals. These scholars have
contended that from 1794 to roughly 1830, American
inventors were unable to enforce property rights
because judges were "antipatent" and routinely
invalidated patents for arbitrary reasons. This
argument is based partly on examination of court
decisions in cases where patent holders ("patentees")
brought suit alleging infringement of their patent
rights. In the 1820s, for instance, 75 percent
of verdicts were decided against the patentee.
The proportion of verdicts for the patentee began to
increase in the 1830s, suggesting to these scholars
that judicial attitudes toward patent rights began
shifting then.
Not all patent disputes in the early nineteenth
century were litigated, however, and litigated
cases were not drawn randomly from the
population of disputes. Therefore the rate of
verdicts in favor of patentees cannot be used
by itself to gauge changes in judicial attitudes
or enforceability of patent rights. If early judicial
decisions were prejudiced against patentees, one
might expect that subsequent courts-allegedly
more supportive of patent rights-would reject
the former legal precedents. But pre-1830
cases have been cited as frequently as later
decisions, and they continue to be cited today,
suggesting that the early decisions, many of
which clearly declared that patent rights were
a just recompense for inventive ingenuity,
provided a lasting foundation for patent law.
The proportion of judicial decisions in favor of
patentees began to increase during the 1830s
because of a change in the underlying population
of cases brought to trial. This change was partly
due to an 1836 revision to the patent system:
an examination procedure, still in use today, was
instituted in which each application is scrutinized
for its adherence to patent law. Previously,
patents were automatically granted upon payment
of a $30 fee.

529) The passage implies that which of the following was a reason that the proportion of verdicts in favor of patentees began to increase in the 1830s?
A. Patent applications approved after 1836 were more likely to adhere closely to patent law.
B. Patent laws enacted during the 1830s better defined patent rights.
C. Judges became less prejudiced against patentees during the 1830s.
D. After 1836, litigated cases became less representative of the population of patent disputes.
E. The proportion of patent disputes brought to trial began to increase after 1836.

530) The passage implies that the scholars mentioned in line 8 would agree with which of the following criticisms of the American patent system before 1830?
A. Its definition of property rights relating to inventions was too vague to be useful.
B. Its criteria for the granting of patents were not clear.
C. It made it excessively difficult for inventors to receive patents.
D. It led to excessive numbers of patent-infringement suits.
E. It failed to encourage national economic growth.

531) It can be inferred from the passage that the frequency with which pre-1830 cases have been cited in court decisions is an indication that
A. judicial support for patent rights was strongest in the period before 1830
B. judicial support for patent rights did not increase after 1830
C. courts have returned to judicial standards that prevailed before 1830
D. verdicts favoring patentees in patent-infringement suits did not increase after 1830
E. judicial bias against patentees persisted after 1830

532) It can be inferred from the passage that the author and the scholars referred to in line 21 disagree about which of the following aspects of the patents defended in patent-infringement suits before 1830 ?
A. Whether the patents were granted for inventions that were genuinely useful
B. Whether the patents were actually relevant to the growth of the United States economy
C. Whether the patents were particularly likely to be annulled by judges
D. Whether the patents were routinely invalidated for reasons that were arbitrary
E. Whether the patents were vindicated at a significantly lower rate than patents in later suits

533) The author of the passage cites which of the following as evidence challenging the argument referred to in lines 14-15 ?
A. The proportion of cases that were decided against patentees in the 1820s
B. The total number of patent disputes that were litigated from 1794 to 1830
C. The fact that later courts drew upon the legal precedents set in pre-1830 patent cases
D. The fact that the proportion of judicial decisions in favor of patentees began to increase during the 1830s
E. The constitutional rationale for the 1836 revision of the patent system

Q529: A
Q530: E
Q531: B
Q532: D
Q533: C