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Demystifying “Intellectual Property”

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According to World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions, literary and artistic works, designs, and symbols, names and images used in commerce. IP is an intangible asset to a company. It gives business partners and financial institutions the confidence to invest in or collaborate with the organisation. Non-lawyers often think that a same law applies/governs to patent, trademark, copyright etc. Well the truth is although all fall under a common umbrella called IP however these laws originated separately, evolved differently and covers different aspects. In Richard M. Stallman's article "Did You Say “Intellectual Property? It's a Seductive Mirage" he mentions that for instance, Copyright law was designed to promote authorship and art, and covers the details of expression of a work. Patent law was intended to promote the publication of useful ideas, at the price of giving t...

HR - Shared Service Center - An Introduction

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Shared Services is a way of organizing administrative functions to optimize the delivery of cost‐effective, flexible, reliable services to all “customers”. According to Wikipedia: Shared Services refers to provision of a service by one part of an organization or group where that service had previously been found in more than one part of the organization or group.  Thus the funding and resourcing of the service is shared and the providing department effectively becomes an internal service provider. The key is the idea of 'sharing' within an organization or group. When transitioning to a HR shared services model, organizations should structure the shared services center (SSC) to most effectively meet business objectives. Multinational organizations should determine whether shared services are most effectively delivered through a number of centers based on business groups and regions, or through one global center. Further, while implementing SSCs, organizations s...