(Ed note: WARNING: This Business Week commentary looks like it was written in Redmond by a wannabe troll. Storyline goes IP law good, GPL bad.)
The open-source movement has had a remarkable run of success that has seen software such as the Linux operating system and the Apache Web server emerge as major challenges to Microsoft (MSFT ). However, the movement is now facing a crisis. At its heart is a question that has been around from the very beginning: How does software owned by everyone and by no one survive in a world where copyrights and patents shape the legal landscape? The question is being forced on a number of fronts, and if open source is to play an important role in software’s future, the issue will have to be dealt with decisively.
