Open source appears to be very successful, but as of 2011, there are some challenges that threaten to undermine it. While it is not probable that open-source software will completely die as a result, these challenges should nonetheless be taken into consideration. This section aims to list them.
Software patents are patents that cover algorithms used inside a computer program, and prevent a competitor from implementing it as well. Software patents can often be very generic, can be trivial to think about, can have some prior art upon acceptance, and their cost of issuing and cost of patent litigation are beyond the reach of most small-time open-source developers.
There have been many cases of patent litigation in the past by large companies, and there are some companies which consist entirely of lawyers who get hold of some patents and sue large companies for infringement, hoping to make some money. The English Wikipedia has coverage of the software patent debate