Is the Future of Software Development in Open Source? Proprietary vs. Open Source Software: A Cross Country Analysis

Abstract:     
Many of them argue that the open source software is free and free from intellectual property protection clutches. This paper argues that this notion is a myth when taking into account the percentage of proprietary software usage all over the world. The governmental policies and decision to support or adopt one model or the other will have a large impact on the software industry. This study substantiates that the neutrality of government promotes innovation and development rather than supporting a particular model through a cross-country analysis of Europe, Brazil, China and India. The analysis shows that more governments are making laws and policies in support of open source softwares.

Keywords: Open Source Software (OSS), proprietary software, intellectual property rights, India, China, Brazil, and Europe

Accepted Paper Series