The document discusses the history and challenges of patent systems. It describes how patent systems originated in the Renaissance with early examples in Florence and Venice. Key developments include the English Statute of Monopolies in 1624, the US Constitution in 1787, and the Paris Convention of 1883. More recently, the World Trade Organization established rules on intellectual property through the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement in 1994. The presentation questions whether new industrial revolutions driven by open source hardware and digital fabrication will change society's understanding and use of intellectual property.