Highlight the author’s conclusions:

p2:
software algorithms…should not be considered patentable.

p3: 
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.

Map the wording of the answers to the reference in the prompt, or to the author’s conclusions:

23. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main point of the passage?

Map the answers to the author’s conclusions.

(A) Although patent protection is needed…

This directly contradicts the author’s first conclusion.

(B) Legal protection for software programs beyond…is unwarranted.

This maps beautifully to the author’s conclusions. “Unwarranted” is the same as saying “there is really no compelling justification”.

(C) …developers will have little financial incentive to innovate.

This doesn’t map to the author’s conclusions well at all. And it directly contradicts the last sentence of the passage, which says the “financial incentive” could “be preserved” without patents.

(D) …would give software developers more protection…

This also doesn’t map to the author’s conclusions. And it’s the opposite of the author’s argument, which favored sticking with copyright and not giving patents to software.

(E) Copyright protects only…

This is an accurate detail, but it’s definitely not the “main point”. You know the difference since the author’s conclusions don’t say anything like this.

(B) is the correct answer.

24. On the basis of the passage, which one of the following is most likely to be a view held by the author?

Map the answers to the author’s conclusions.

(A) An algorithm is analogous to a law…

It might be unclear whether the author would agree with this just from looking back at their conclusions. Make sure you check the other answers for what you can eliminate easily first before you do any searching or re-reading.

Two references in the text can prove this is correct though. The author mentions “a law of nature or a logical axiom” in the 2nd paragraph as examples of stuff that’s non-patentable, just like an algorithm. Then in the last sentence of that paragraph the author says algorithms “represent generic principles”.

(B) …usually requires genuine inventive effort.

This doesn’t map to the author’s conclusions well at all. But the details might make that tougher to catch right away. In the 2nd paragraph, it says “patentable” things “must be genuinely a product of invention”. But the author argues that algorithms are not patentable. So they would actually disagree with this.

(C) Sequences of computer code should not be copyrightable…

The author only argues against patents. They’re clearly in favor copyrights for software, so they’re not going to agree with this.

(D) …underestimate the severity of the problem of copycat programming.

There is no mention of how severe the copycat thing is, nor any mention of anyone’s estimate of how bad it is.

(E) …not analogous to the composition of a literary work.

The passage never makes a comparison between algorithms and “literary work”, which wasn’t even mentioned.

(A) is the correct answer.

25. In the final paragraph, the assertion that software programs constitute…

Map the answers to the reference in the prompt. The “assertion” the prompt refers to starts with “Because”, so you know it’s support for the author’s conclusion.

(A) an example…

Nope, examples are specific cases. This is just a bit of reasoning.

(B) a rationale for the author’s position.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. A “rationale” is support, and “the author’s position” means their conclusion. Boom.

(C) a causal explanation…

Definitely not, the author’s argument doesn’t make any claims about cause-and-effect.

(D) a layperson’s definition of a technical legal term

This might sound good to uninitiated test-takers going only on intuition. But you’re a lawyer. What “technical legal term” would this be talking about? That’s right, there isn’t one.

(E) a point of consensus between opposing viewpoints

This would map to background info, something like “although both sides agree that crunchy peanut butter is better than creamy…” That’s not what the reference in the passage sounds like at all.

(B) is the correct answer.

26. Based on the passage, it can be inferred that proponents of software patents…

Map the answers to the author’s conclusions. These are the people the author disagreed with, so the right answer will disagree with the highlighted conclusions.

(A) …more genuinely a product of the programmer’s inventiveness…

This brings in a “programmer”. Be careful, that group of people never gets mentioned in the passage. It might be fair to say that “proponents” of patents would agree that the code “must be genuinely a product of invention”. That’s all it says in the passage. Whether or not that’s “the programmer’s inventiveness” is a total mystery to us.

(B) Software algorithms are generic principles…

Nope, this is the author’s take. They said exactly that near the end of the second paragraph.

(C) …as the sole legal means…

A sucker bet for those who read it too fast. The first part sounds good, but as far as we know, they don’t think patents should be the only protection against copycats.

(D) Both the algorithms and the specific way…should receive legal protection…

This maps nicely, since the author wants to limit “legal protection” to copyrights only. Don’t spend time verifying all the details unless there’s another answer you can’t eliminate with careful mapping.

(E) …copycat programming will become less common.

There’s no speculation in the passage about whether there will be more or less “copycat programming” in the future.

(D) is the correct answer.

27. Which one of the following is most strongly supported by the passage?

Map the answers to the author’s conclusions. The prompt doesn’t tell you where to look for the right answer, so start by eliminating answers that clearly don’t align with the author’s conclusions.

(A) …qualify for neither patent nor copyright protection.

The author focused on the limits of legal protection, so this should sound like it could work. Don’t try verifying the details until you’ve checked the other answers though.

In the second paragraph, the author definitely implies that “a law of nature” is not patentable. In the middle of paragraph three, they said “copyright protects only the particular way in which the underlying ideas are expressed”. So a “scientific principle” wouldn’t be protected, but a poem you write about it might be. This is the right answer.

(B) The value of patents lies primarily in…

The author never compared different values of patents, and definitely never said what their primary value is. If you kept reading, you know the author disagrees about “generic principles” being patentable anyway, so this actually contradicts the passage.

(C) …usually also qualify for copyright protection.

The passage is only about legal protection for software. We don’t have nearly enough info to support what “usually” qualifies.

(D) …may not legally be used…without permission…

The author never mentions getting “permission”, so even though this sounds reasonable in a real world sense, we have no support for this in the passage.

(E) The majority of commercially available software applications…

…are never mentioned or referenced in the passage. No way we have support for such a specific statement about them.

(E) is the correct answer.