Intellectual Property Day, held annually on the 26^th of April by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), is an awareness day that businesses all over the world wholeheartedly support. The idea of intellectual property, which is often shortened to IP, includes the ideas and creations that corporations offer which are very difficult to protect.

The best way to understand the importance of protecting Intellectual Property is to take a closer look at its component parts, and identify the challenges that go along with protecting the ideas and abstract creations of corporations all over the world.

Copyrights

Copyrights are complicated because they attempt to protect an expression and not an idea. Copyrights can work together with trademarks to protect a company’s IP, but there are different laws around the world that can make the process of getting a copyright and trademark extremely difficult and expensive.

Copyrights are primarily used as ways to protect artistic expressions such as music, writings, paintings, sculpture, advertising slogans, computer programs, and dance choreography. The idea behind the creation of these works, if it was possible to protect the idea, would usually fall under a patent.

Copyrights can either be economic or moral. An economic copyright states that the creator can derive an income from their creation, while moral copyrights allow a creator to have final say over any changes to their creations. Most copyrights are economic and are used widely in the corporate world. Read more »

The 26^th of April is World Intellectual Property Day, an opportunity to bring about increased awareness and understanding of intellectual property issues.

From copyrights to patents, intellectual property is all around us. Each day, intellectual property affects businesses operations and the work of employees. Knowing how to create and use intellectual property is an essential skillset, especially in sectors and businesses where innovation is a key determinate of growth and success. Promoting awareness about copyright, patents, trademarks, designs and other intellectual property issues protects your own business as well as the innovation of others. It may also be advisable to get professional advice from a solicitor who specialises in intellectual property and copyright law.

There are a range of activities that help promote intellectual property issues, not only during World Intellectual Property Day. Outreach can be as simple as sharing information with staff, including booklets and guides produced by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The WIPO also produces posters, postcards, bookmarks and other promotional material that can be downloaded and printed. The Intellectual Property Office is another source of information about intellectual property issues in the UK. Read more »

Throughout history, noted people such as Martin Luther King and Kofi Annan have spoken out against racial discrimination and have highlighted the need for people to work together to bring about true equality. There are many ways that people can be categorized and, in some respects, categorizing people is necessary. For example, medical studies are only effective when people are separated based on criteria that serves the study. But when people are separated in the workplace based on the color of their skin, then that is a situation that needs to be addressed.

Elimination of Racial Discrimination Day was created to highlight the advances that have been made in creating racial equality in the workplace and to point out the work that still needs to be done. As more companies and people join together to explore ways to eliminate racial discrimination in the workplace, it becomes possible to develop a sense of equality that is beneficial to everyone.

Statistics On Racial Discrimination In The Workplace

One of the ways to examine how prevalent racial discrimination is in the workplace is to look at some statistics regarding charges of discrimination. According to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, there were 45,395 reported cases of racial discrimination in the United States workplace between 2011 and 2014. That makes racial discrimination the most common type of workplace discrimination reported in the country. Read more »

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is an opportunity for businesses to promote more inclusive workplaces and practices. On the 21st of March employers can play an important role in eliminating racial discrimination, racism and other intolerance in society.

Racism in the UK continues to be a reality for many people. According to NatCen’s 2014 British Social Attitudes (BSA) Survey, the number or people who consider themselves to be prejudiced against other races has generally been on the rise since 2001. Approximately three per cent of survey respondents described themselves as very prejudiced, while 27 per cent said they were a little prejudiced.

Racial discrimination involves the unfair treatment of others because of their race or the race of someone they are connected with, such as a parent or partner. In addition to colour, race includes citizenship or nationality and ethnic or national origin. The Equality Act 2010 outlines when discrimination based on race is against the law and provides protections against discrimination. Racial discrimination is illegal in many aspects in daily life, including in education and housing settings. Discrimination based on race is also illegal when public authorities carry out their activities and when a business provides goods and services. For example, a business cannot refuse to provide someone with goods, services or facilities based on race or provide these things on terms or conditions that are less favourable than what is provided to people of other backgrounds. Read more »

Byte Night UK is less than 2 weeks away and the main chief technical architect behind Bizwiki, Keith Hinde, is taking up the challenge to sleep rough in order to help raise awareness and funds to tackle youth homelessness and give at risk teenagers help and security.

Youth Homelessness Statistics

Although official local council figures are lower (England: 15,000 homeless youth in 2013 / Scotland: 12,000 homeless youth in 2011/12), according to Action for Children many homeless youths do not register, and an estimated 80,000 young people a year experience homelessness in the UK – leaving them vulnerable to violence, mental health problems and addiction. Byte Night raises money for Action for Children services that work with young people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

Why Sleep Rough

In his own words, Keith tells us why he’s willing to brave a chilly October night out in the open:

“Byte Night” has been a fund-raising event I’ve wanted to be involved with for some time and I’m very pleased to be taking part this year. It has always seemed a great event to both help some of the UK’s most vulnerable young people and help get the mission of Action for Children out there to a wider audience.

Growing up I feel I was very fortunate: a loving home and stable family. I never had to worry about violence at home, abuse of any kind, poverty, where I would sleep or indeed where my next meal would come from – these things I could (and did) take for granted. Thousands of young people in the UK are not so fortunate: they find themselves in desperate need and awful situations, often out on the street at one of most crucial times of their lives.

For almost 150 years Action for Children have made it their mission to help these young people in any way they can. My night sleeping out is nothing compared to the hardships they suffer, but I hope the efforts of everyone sleeping out on the 3rd October can go some way to help Action for Children in their mission.”

What is Byte Night

Byte Night started 16 years ago when 30 individuals from the IT industry slept out and raised £35,000. Byte Night is now the leading charity event for individuals and teams from the IT, technology and business sectors and the UK’s largest charity sleep out with more than 1400 sleepers who in 2013 raised over £1 million.

This year Byte Night will take place in 8 locations around the UK on Friday October 3rd and Keith will be one of them.

Get Involved

If you want to help Keith raise funds for this incredibly important cause you can donate to his JustGiving page here.

To find out more about the Byte Night event,  what it’s in aide of and how you can also get involved, have a look at the Byte Night website and Facebook page, or watch this video of Holly, a teenage girl that Action for Children was able to help get off the streets thanks to the support of caring individuals like Keith and you.