[Upd-discuss] Proposal for World Public Domain Month

Dean Anderson dean@av8.com
Sat, 30 Apr 2005 02:02:27 -0400 (EDT)


A day is good. Its just a reason to make a press release, and a reason for 
the press to cover it. 

I'm all for it.

		--Dean

On Wed, 27 Apr 2005, robert weissman wrote:

> It just so happens that Monday, April 25 was "World Intellectual 
> Property Day." (See releases below from WIPO and Business Software 
> Alliance.)
> 
> Would it be worth the effort to ask WIPO to create a World Public Domain 
> Month? Or, more modestly, a day?
> 
> ---------
> 
> 	
> Press Release PR/405/2005
> 
> Geneva, April 25, 2005
> WIPO URGES YOUTH TO "THINK, IMAGINE, CREATE" ON OCCASION OF WORLD 
> INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DAY
> 
> Marking the fifth World Intellectual Property Day on April 26, the 
> Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), 
> Dr. Kamil Idris, urged better understanding of the link between human 
> creativity and intellectual property in daily life. The Director General 
> released the following statement on the occasion of World Intellectual 
> Property Day:
> 
> World Intellectual Property Day is an occasion to reflect on how human 
> creativity and innovation help provide a better world for everyone.
> 
> Our message this year, Think, Imagine, Create, is directed particularly 
> towards young people.
> 
> Mankind’s capacity to create and to innovate is limitless. It is a 
> fundamental, human resource with endless potential. Nowhere is this more 
> apparent than in young people. No matter what country or community they 
> are born into, the young share certain striking characteristics: Their 
> curiosity about whatever is new, different, or novel. Their unfettered 
> imagination. Their readiness to play and experiment – with everyday 
> objects, with ideas, with technology. Their talent for finding 
> unconventional solutions.
> 
> Our goal for World Intellectual Property Day and beyond should be to 
> encourage young people everywhere to recognize the creator, the 
> problem-solver, the artist within themselves. For innovation and 
> creativity are the natural resources on which future prosperity depends. 
>  From the classrooms of today will come the entrepreneurs, the 
> scientists, the designers, the artists of tomorrow.
> 
> WIPO is committed to promoting a culture in which young people can 
> realize this potential. Through well-balanced IP systems and structures, 
> WIPO seeks to help creators across the globe to generate economic value 
> from their creations, and so to contribute to the social, cultural and 
> economic advancement of their own societies and of the wider world.
> 
> Think, imagine, create. These are words to inspire young people to 
> follow their dreams to the fullest.
> 
> In 2000, WIPO member states decided to designate a World Intellectual 
> Property Day to raise awareness of the role of intellectual property in 
> our daily lives, and to celebrate the contribution made by innovators 
> and artists to the development of societies across the globe. They chose 
> April 26 as this was the date on which the Convention establishing WIPO 
> originally entered into force in 1970. WIPO and its member states have 
> celebrated World Intellectual Property Day on April 26 each year since 
> its inception in 2001.
> 
> The purpose of this year’s World Intellectual Property Day is to 
> encourage young people to recognize their own ability to create; to 
> increase understanding of how protecting IP rights helps to foster 
> creativity and innovation; and to raise awareness of the importance in 
> daily life of patents, copyright, trademarks and designs.
> 
> A list of activities organized by WIPO member states on the occasion of 
> World Intellectual Property Day is available at 
> http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/world_ip/2005/activities.html.
> 
> WIPO has also organized an exhibition on intellectual property and 
> sports. The exhibition entitled "Striving for Excellence: an exhibition 
> on intellectual property and sport" will open at WIPO's Information 
> Center in Geneva on World Intellectual Property Day. The exhibition 
> offers a glimpse of the technological advances that have enhanced sport 
> both on and off the track: by enhancing the performance and natural 
> ability of athletes and in creating opportunities for us all to share in 
> the spectacle, capture the images and savor the glory and wonder that 
> comes when ordinary people achieve extraordinary feats. The exhibition 
> is open to the public and will run through August 2005.
> 
> For further information please contact the Media Relations and Public 
> Affairs Section at (+ 41 22) 338 81 61, Fax: (+41 22) 338 88 10, E-mail: 
> publicinf@wipo.int.
> 
> 
> -----
> 
> 	Business Software Alliance Logo <http://www.bsa.org/>
> 
> 
> BSA Commemorates 2005 World Intellectual Property Day
> */Organization Joins International Community in Call for IP Awareness
> and Action/*
> 
> *Washington, D.C. (April 26, 2005)* – The Business Software Alliance
> (BSA) today joined the global community in commemorating 2005 World
> Intellectual Property Day, an initiative to educate young people about
> how intellectual property rights foster innovation, creativity and
> economic opportunity.
> 
> “Copyright infringement threatens the promise and potential of so many
> young entrepreneurs, inventors and technologists,” said BSA President
> and CEO Robert Holleyman. “We must continue our shared public-private
> efforts to deter piracy and promote intellectual property rights in
> every corner of the globe. Our children’s ability to learn, create and
> innovate must be protected now and in the decades ahead.”
> 
> In an effort to promote a safe and responsible digital world, BSA has
> developed global educational programs for elementary and higher
> education students that emphasize the importance of being good cyber
> citizens and respecting the intellectual property of copyrighted works.
> These programs also encourage students to use only legal software and to
> understand the impact of software theft.
> 
> “Play It Safe in Cyber Space,” BSA’s youth education program for
> elementary students, includes curricula available in English, French and
> Spanish and other free tools and resources for parents, educators and
> children which can be downloaded free at www.playitcybersafe.com
> <javascript:HandleLink('cpe_1089_0','CPNEWWIN:child^toolbar=1,location=1,directory=0,status=1,menubar=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1@http://www.playitcybersafe.com');>. 
> 
> BSA’s higher education program, “Define the Line,” provides fact sheets,
> research and other information that emphasizes the importance of using
> software legally and being good cyber citizens. The free resources are
> available at www.definetheline.com
> <javascript:HandleLink('cpe_1089_0','CPNEWWIN:child^toolbar=1,location=1,directory=0,status=1,menubar=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1@http://www.definetheline.com');>. 
> 
> In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, BSA’s education efforts for young
> people include an initiative to encourage responsible Internet behavior
> in Ireland at www.netrespect.ie
> <javascript:HandleLink('cpe_1089_0','CPNEWWIN:child^toolbar=1,location=1,directory=0,status=1,menubar=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1@http://www.netrespect.ie');>, 
> 
> a joint schools program with other industry groups in Italy at
> www.controlapirateria.org and the recently launched ‘Research Awards’
> for German university students. In Asia, BSA launched “Right Click”
> campaigns in the Philippines (www.bsa.org/philippines
> <javascript:HandleLink('cpe_1089_0','CPNEWWIN:child^toolbar=1,location=1,directory=0,status=1,menubar=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1@http://www.bsa.org/philippines');>) 
> 
> and Taiwan (www.bsa.org.tw
> <javascript:HandleLink('cpe_1089_0','CPNEWWIN:child^toolbar=1,location=1,directory=0,status=1,menubar=1,scrollbars=1,resizable=1@http://www.bsa.org.tw');>) 
> 
> to educate computer users, especially students, on how to use the
> internet responsibly and safely. The “Right Click” campaign will roll
> out to other parts of Asia through the year.
> 
> BSA is also participating in a number of events celebrating WIPO’s IP
> Day in Egypt, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kuwait, Latvia, Peoples Republic
> of China, South Africa and Turkey.
> 
> “Software piracy directly affects consumers and the economy as a whole.
> An IDC study released last year showed that thirty-six percent of the
> software installed on computers worldwide is pirated, representing a
> loss of nearly $29 billion for the global economy. Today we applaud the
> efforts of our colleagues around the globe and join with them to protect
> our future ability to innovate, grow and achieve. With the help of
> governments worldwide, we will lead the next generation of inventors and
> entrepreneurs into a digital world with respect for strong intellectual
> property rights and limitless possibilities to innovate,” added Holleyman.
> 
> # # #
> 
> *About BSA*
> The Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) is the foremost
> organization dedicated to promoting a safe and legal digital world. BSA
> is the voice of the world's commercial software industry and its
> hardware partners before governments and in the international
> marketplace. Its members represent one of the fastest growing industries
> in the world. BSA programs foster technology innovation through
> education and policy initiatives that promote copyright protection,
> cyber security, trade and e-commerce. BSA members include Adobe, Apple,
> Autodesk, Avid, Bentley Systems, Borland, Cadence Design Systems, Cisco
> Systems, CNC Software/Mastercam, Dell, Entrust, HP, IBM, Intel, Internet
> Security Systems, Macromedia, McAfee, Microsoft, PTC, RSA Security, SAP,
> SolidWorks, Sybase, Symantec, UGS and VERITAS Software.
> 
> *Contact Information*
> 
> Wendy Rosen, Business Software Alliance
> E-mail: wendyr@bsa.org
> Phone: 202-530-5127
> 
> Sean Donahue, Dittus Communications
> E-mail: sean.donahue@dittus.com
> Phone: 202-715-1562
> 
>     © 2000-2005 Business Software Alliance
> 
> BSA
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 

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