Q6

[rbolden]

I would like some help analyzing answer choices B and D.

First, based on my understanding, the publisher's position is the copy shop owner violated copyright law because other copy-shop owners would stop stop paying fees which would cause the value of the copyrighted works to diminish. (lines 27-31)

My task is to look for answer choices that strengthens this position.

Initially I chose B because that was the last one left after I eliminated the other answer choices. I eliminated D because the reference to "many area bookstores" made me think this answer choice was out of scope. But, looking back at D, I think I see how this strengthens the position. If many bookstores reported a decrease in the sales of books used for course packs, then this could be an indication of a decrease in the value of copyrighted works. Is my thought process correct?

Can you also explain what type of incorrect answer choice B is?

[giladedelman]

Yes! Your explanation of the publishers' positions is excellent, and your thinking is right on the money.

We're looking for an answer choice that strengthens the argument that unlicensed copying leads to diminished value for the copyright holders. Well, if sales of books used in the coursepacks are down, that would suggest that the coursepacks are siphoning business away from the publishers without remuneration. So (D) would indeed strengthen the publishers' position.

(A) is irrelevant; it neither strengthens nor weakens the position. The issue isn't the copier's profits, it's whether the value of the copyrighted work is affected.

(B) is similarly irrelevant. We don't care whether the copy-shop owner solicited orders for coursepacks; we care whether the coursepacks hurt the value of the copyrighted work.

(C) is barking up the same wrong tree. The copy-shop's revenue trends don't affect the publishers' argument.

(E) is kind of like a premise booster from an LR question. We already know that the copy-shop owner didn't obtain permission to use the copyrighted work, so verifying that claim would be superfluous.

Does that help? Let me know if you have any more questions.