LSAT India Practice Test 1 Section 4 with answers for free online practice
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The World Wide Web, a network of electronicallyproduced and interconnected (or “linked”) sites, calledpages, that are accessible via personal computer, raiseslegal issues about the rights of owners of intellectual(5) property, notably those who create documents forinclusion on Web pages. Some of these owners ofintellectual property claim that unless copyright law isstrengthened, intellectual property on the Web will notbe protected from copyright infringement. Web users,(10) however, claim that if their ability to accessinformation on Web pages is reduced, the Web cannotlive up to its potential as an open, interactive mediumof communication.
The debate arises from the Web’s ability to link(15) one document to another. Links between sites areanalogous to the inclusion in a printed text ofreferences to other works, but with one difference: thecited document is instantly retrievable by a user whoactivates the link. This immediate accessibility creates(20) a problem, since current copyright laws give owners ofintellectual property the right to sue a distributor ofunauthorized copies of their material even if thatdistributor did not personally make the copies. Ifperson A, the author of a document, puts the document(25) on a Web page, and person B, the creator of anotherWeb page, creates a link to A’s document, is Bcommitting copyright infringement?
To answer this question, it must first bedetermined who controls distribution of a document on(30) the Web. When A places a document on a Web page,this is comparable to recording an outgoing messageon one’s telephone answering machine for others tohear. When B creates a link to A’s document, this isakin to B’s giving out A’s telephone number, thereby(35) allowing third parties to hear the outgoing message forthemselves. Anyone who calls can listen to themessage; that is its purpose. While B’s link mayindeed facilitate access to A’s document, the crucialpoint is that A, simply by placing that document on the(40) Web, is thereby offering it for distribution. Therefore,even if B leads others to the document, it is A whoactually controls access to it. Hence creating a link to adocument is not the same as making or distributing acopy of that document. Moreover, techniques are(45) already available by which A can restrict access to adocument. For example, A may require a password togain entry to A’s Web page, just as a telephone ownercan request an unlisted number and disclose it only toselected parties. Such a solution would compromise(50) the openness of the Web somewhat, but not as much asthe threat of copyright infringement litigation.Changing copyright law to benefit owners ofintellectual property is thus ill-advised because itwould impede the development of the Web as a public(55) forum dedicated to the free exchange of ideas.
The debate arises from the Web’s ability to link(15) one document to another. Links between sites areanalogous to the inclusion in a printed text ofreferences to other works, but with one difference: thecited document is instantly retrievable by a user whoactivates the link. This immediate accessibility creates(20) a problem, since current copyright laws give owners ofintellectual property the right to sue a distributor ofunauthorized copies of their material even if thatdistributor did not personally make the copies. Ifperson A, the author of a document, puts the document(25) on a Web page, and person B, the creator of anotherWeb page, creates a link to A’s document, is Bcommitting copyright infringement?
To answer this question, it must first bedetermined who controls distribution of a document on(30) the Web. When A places a document on a Web page,this is comparable to recording an outgoing messageon one’s telephone answering machine for others tohear. When B creates a link to A’s document, this isakin to B’s giving out A’s telephone number, thereby(35) allowing third parties to hear the outgoing message forthemselves. Anyone who calls can listen to themessage; that is its purpose. While B’s link mayindeed facilitate access to A’s document, the crucialpoint is that A, simply by placing that document on the(40) Web, is thereby offering it for distribution. Therefore,even if B leads others to the document, it is A whoactually controls access to it. Hence creating a link to adocument is not the same as making or distributing acopy of that document. Moreover, techniques are(45) already available by which A can restrict access to adocument. For example, A may require a password togain entry to A’s Web page, just as a telephone ownercan request an unlisted number and disclose it only toselected parties. Such a solution would compromise(50) the openness of the Web somewhat, but not as much asthe threat of copyright infringement litigation.Changing copyright law to benefit owners ofintellectual property is thus ill-advised because itwould impede the development of the Web as a public(55) forum dedicated to the free exchange of ideas.
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