01 Richard Owens W I P O

This document summarizes the history and current issues around intellectual property rights (IPRs) and software. It discusses copyright and patent protection for software, challenges around open source software licenses, the debate around software patents, and efforts by organizations like WIPO to promote awareness and study of these topics. The conclusion emphasizes that both open source and proprietary models have roles to play, and that choices should be made based on business and technical needs.