[Commons-Law] Fwd: [Upd-discuss] Proposal for World Public Domain Month

Thu Apr 28 06:44:49 IST 2005

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [Upd-discuss] Proposal for World Public Domain Month
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2005 11:42:12 -0400
From: robert weissman <rob at essential.org>
To: upd-discuss at lists.essential.org

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 at 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 at 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 at 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 at 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 at 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 at 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 at bsa.org
Phone: 202-530-5127

Sean Donahue, Dittus Communications
E-mail: sean.donahue at dittus.com
Phone: 202-715-1562

   © 2000-2005 Business Software Alliance

BSA

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Anivar Aravind