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Michael Johnathon of WoodSongs.

“Garden of Silence” album artwork.

WoodSongs episode 1,078 with Rob Block of Alison Krauss and Union Station, award-winning Irish singer Aoife Scott, Michael Johnathon (middle), 15-year-old Ellie Hack and National Hammer Dulcimer champion Ted Yoder.

Michael Johnathon poses with WoodSongs Kids.

SongFarmers of Tellico Plains, TN.

20th Album; Next WoodSongs Season; New WoodSongs Kids Radio & TV Series; National SongFarmers Gathering; & Public TV Broadcast Of Walden: The Ballad Of Thoreau

NASHVILLE, TN, US, September 14, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — Michael Johnathon, the multi-talented banjo-playing folksinger, author, screenwriter and host of WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour is kicking off a busy year with the rollout of several music, community and film projects. In addition to being the creator and host of the national radio and TV series WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, Michael performs concerts across the country and recently released his 20th full length album “Garden of Silence”, published six books, composed an Opera and wrote a play performed in 42 countries. He conceived and organized the community of SongFarmers with over 97 active chapters across America and Ireland. His worldview is shaped from the front porch of his Log Cabin home outside of Lexington, Kentucky.

“Never before in the history of the world has the need to revisit the meaning and spirit of the front porch been so needed,” says Michael.

There is merit in that musical message. Generations ago there was a Slavic saying that went, “if everyone in the whole world simply took care of their own homes you would not have to worry about the world anymore.” In the 1960s, that was rephrased into a bumper sticker, “Think globally. Act locally.”

20th Studio Album “Garden Of Silence”

Michael Johnathon’s 20th studio album, “Garden of Silence” starts with a song about the day Vincent van Gogh passed away and concludes with a tribute to folksingers everywhere. On the journey between those two musical bookends are songs about Henry David Thoreau (“Winter Song”), the spirit of the front porch (“Front Porch Symphony”), the devastating portrayal of Narcissism (“Narcissistic Blues), dancing with your lover (“September Eve”), a tribute to Johnathon’s musical hero Pete Seeger (“Seeger Mashup”), and the banjo-driven instrumental about the fragrant scent of earth following a rain fall (“Petrichor”).

New Season of WoodSongs heads to Public Television and Radio:

The WoodSongs Old-Time Radio Hour, with over 1000 fully produced shows, has an established audience of over two million listeners each week on 500 public radio stations, public television coast-to-coast, American Forces Radio Network in 177 nations and now on the RFD-TV Network nationwide. WoodSongs is a performance and conversation, live audience, multimedia “front porch” and has become the biggest music broadcast in America.

Recipient of the Stephen Foster Broadcasting Award, Telly Award, an extended residency at the historic Lyric Theatre and a recently installed exhibit at the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame, WoodSongs continues to grow its radio affiliate base, enhance its online presence, and expand its large TV audience from the welcoming “front porch” of Kentucky, which is at the crossroads of America’s folk, country and bluegrass music communities.

The newest season of WoodSongs includes artists like the late piano legend George Winston, Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, Dan Tyminski, Michael Martin Murphey, INXS founding member Andrew Farris, Swiss bluegrass power trio The Kruger Brothers, Dukes of Hazzard actor and songwriter Tom Wopat, Paul Overstreet, Hubby Jenkins, a Celebration of Louisiana Cajun music with the Savoy Family Band and more.

New WoodSongs Kids TV & Radio Series:

Michael Johnathon is launching a new public TV and Radio series called WoodSongs Kids, described by programmers as “Mr. Rogers meets the Grand Ole Opry.”

The program features talented kid musicians ages 6-16, from all around the United States. In partnership with the Department of Kentucky Tourism, Martin Guitars and VistLEX the first full season has been completed, all produced on the stage of Lexington’s historic Lyric Theater. The programs are on the air and available for PBS affiliates nationwide through NETA, the radio series is available via PRX.

“We have featured young kids on every WoodSongs broadcast for years, making it a highlight of the show every week,” Johnathon said. “WoodSongs Kids will be devoted exclusively to the kids of America’s front porch.”

Recent tapings featured young artists like 12-year-old yodeler Phoebe White, 13-year-old mandolin whiz Wyatt Ellis, who picks with Sam Bush and Billy Strings, 13-year-old yodeler Phoebe White and 10-year-old banjo sensation Owen Brockman.

“WoodSongs has been a staple of our weekend programming for over a decade. Our audience has always given us positive feedback regarding the show and specifically the WoodSongs Kids segment,” says Anthony Craven of WMSV FM-NPR at Mississippi State University. “When I learned a full “WoodSongs Kids” show was being developed, it was an easy decision to make it part of our weekend schedule.”

The program, available as a TV series to PBS stations nationwide, is co-hosted by 8-year-old Makayla Rayne. The radio series has already been picked up by stations from New Zealand to Oregon, Arkansas to Florida and began airing on Public Television in May 2023. Plans for future seasons include taking WoodSongs Kids on the road to theaters across America.

For official show information, artist lineups and production updates on the new WoodSongs Kid series visit www.woodsongs.com/kidstv.

8th Annual National Gathering of SongFarmers:

On May 18 and 19, 2024, the 8th annual National Gathering of SongFarmers will take place at the historic Kentucky Music Hall of Fame & Museum located in Renfro Valley, KY. Michael Johnathon created a worldwide community of passionate artists and musicians the “music industry” left behind. SongFarmers is an international network of “front porch” minded musicians, songwriters and fans who love simple, rural music. This community is about everybody who loves to pick, play and sing.

“A SongFarmer is any artist who wants their music to make families, their hometowns, and their careers better,” says Johnathon. “I started the SongFarmer movement to help musicians find a new, defined direction for their music, to gather the global community of front porch minded folks and help them do good work and enhance communities by redirecting the tremendous energies of local musicians.”

There are over 97 active chapters across America and Ireland and growing. SongFarmers start a hometown chapter and invite their friends, family and neighbors into a big song circle once a month, called a SongFarmers Gathering, all free. They become musical leaders and mentors in their communities.

“The truth about music and art is not being told to the world of struggling songwriters,” says Michael. “There is an illusion that the age of million selling records and world tours are still there, but it is not. The real truth is 99% of musicians will not get a record deal, will not get a booking agent, will not become stars. Being a SongFarmer gives purpose, meaning and viable use to their passion and skills.”

Visit www.songfarmers.org.

“Walden: The Ballad Of Thoreau” heading to Public TV, Radio and Schools:

“Walden: The Ballad of Thoreau” is Michael Johnathon’s original film and theatrical play, set during the final two days Henry David Thoreau spent in his cabin before leaving Walden Pond. The documentary that bookends the film is a look at the life of Thoreau filmed at Walden Pond at the actual cabin site in the woods. Over 9,600 schools, colleges, community theaters, and home schools have performed the play in 42 countries.

Winner of the John Muir Gold Award for Film and produced with the support of the Earth Day Network, American Forests and Kentucky Tourism, the TV broadcast is available for PBS-TV programmers from NETA and PRX for public radio. The four character, two act play script is available free (including lesson plans) to colleges, schools, community theaters and home schools. Many schools perform Walden for Earth Day. You can view the entire film online at www.waldenplay.com.

About Michael Johnathon:

Michael Johnathon is a banjo playing folksinger. He was Pete Seeger’s neighbor growing up along the Hudson River in his hometown of Beacon, NY. These days, his worldview is shaped from the front porch of his log cabin home outside of Lexington, Kentucky. Among the throngs of artists in the music world, few have elevated “dreaming” to such a high art form.

“Never before in the history of the world has the need to revisit the meaning and spirit of the front porch been so needed,” Johnathon says. “Indeed, war, pandemic and economic uncertainty, civil unrest and gun violence, the shattering of accepted norms and the incessant social media noise have caused many to look back to re-examine where we are heading.”

He has tapped into a global need for friends, community and the genuine comfort that organic art can give in a world of incessant stress.

“We are living among the first generation in human history that gets its music and art as a flatscreen, cell phone, digital tsunami of ones and zeros,” he says. “The real, front porch, organic world of music and art is fading away.”

It is an unlikely career trajectory that hasn’t been seen since folksinger Pete Seeger decided to build the Clearwater sloop to help clean up the Hudson River. While musicians and songwriters reach out for a golden ring that no longer exists in a record industry that has essentially collapsed, Michael Johnathon reaches instead to a global fan base made up of neighbors, families and fellow musicians. He believes in the passion and energy of those artists, the greatest stage in the world is the emotional front porch, the brightest spotlight shines on the figurative living room couch. His belief in the front porch spirit has resulted in powerful partnerships. In fact, the WoodSongs broadcast is described on-air as a multimedia front porch.

The Governor of Kentucky presented him the highest award the Commonwealth can give any artist, the prestigious Milner Award of the Arts, reserved for the likes of Wendell Berry, James Still, Jean Ritchie and others.

Visit his website www.michaeljohnathon.com.

Becky Parsons
PLA Media
+1 615-327-0100
becky.parsons@plamedia.com

By Girish Linganna Home to around 520,000 people and famous for its sun-kissed atolls, the Maldives is said to be dizzyingly beautiful with underwater marine life that has complex kingdoms of corals scattered across its thousand-odd isles. The tourism website of this archipelagic country in South Asia proudly announces: ‘Swim with Whale Sharks During Your […]

The post Maldives’s Presidential Poll On September 9 Has Geo-Political Consequence first appeared on Latest India news, analysis and reports on IPA Newspack.

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PowerPatent to Showcase Game-Changing Generative AI Invention Disclosure to Patent Solution at SaaStr Annual 2023

SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA, US, September 1, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — PowerPatent, a leader in innovative intellectual property (IP) solutions, is thrilled to announce its participation in the 9th SaaStr Annual, the world’s premier gathering for Cloud and SaaS founders, VCs, and executives. Taking place from September 6th to 8th in the vibrant San Francisco Bay Area, this outdoor festival-style event is expected to draw over 12,500 industry leaders.

SaaStr Annual 2023 promises to be an unforgettable experience, featuring three full days of insightful workshops, engaging presentations, and thousands of mentoring sessions aimed at helping businesses scale faster in the cloud and SaaS space. With a focus on knowledge-sharing and networking, the event has earned its reputation as the “world’s #1 cloud gathering.”

PowerPatent is proud to be a part of this dynamic event, where it will showcase its cutting-edge generative AI invention disclosure to patent solution. As startups continue to drive innovation in the Cloud and SaaS sectors, protecting intellectual property is of paramount importance. PowerPatent offers a revolutionary approach, enabling startups to safeguard their inventions quickly and cost-effectively.

Key Features of PowerPatent’s Generative AI Invention Disclosure to Patent Solution:

Speed: PowerPatent leverages the power of artificial intelligence to streamline the patent disclosure process, allowing startups to protect their IP rapidly.

Cost-Efficiency: By automating much of the patent application process, PowerPatent significantly reduces legal and administrative costs associated with intellectual property protection.

Accuracy: With advanced AI algorithms, PowerPatent ensures that patent disclosures are comprehensive and in compliance with legal requirements.

Accessibility: This innovative solution is designed to be user-friendly, making it accessible to startups and innovators without extensive legal expertise.

Competitive Advantage: By securing patents efficiently, startups can gain a competitive edge, attract investors, and establish a solid foundation for growth.

SaaStr Annual 2023 attendees are encouraged to visit PowerPatent’s booth to learn more about how this groundbreaking technology can empower their businesses.

“We are excited to be a part of SaaStr Annual 2023 and share our AI-driven invention disclosure to patent solution with the Cloud and SaaS community,” said Mary Kimani, Director of Communication at PowerPatent. “Innovation is at the heart of the Cloud and SaaS industries, and we believe that our technology can help startups protect their valuable intellectual property, allowing them to thrive and grow in today’s competitive landscape.”

Don’t miss the opportunity to discover how PowerPatent is revolutionizing the way startups protect their intellectual property. Join us at SaaStr Annual 2023 in the San Francisco Bay Area from September 6th to 8th. For more information about PowerPatent and its innovative solutions, visit www.PowerPatent.com

A startup’s IP strategy can also significantly impact its attractiveness to potential strategic partners and acquisition suitors. Companies seeking to expand their product portfolio or technology capabilities often seek startups with complementary patents and trade secrets. A robust IP strategy can open doors to partnerships, licensing deals, and even lucrative acquisition opportunities, offering an attractive exit strategy for investors.

Patents and trade secrets play a significant role in attracting strategic partnerships and acquisitions for companies. The robust protection of intellectual property through patents and trade secrets demonstrates a company’s potential for growth, innovation, and competitive advantage, making it an attractive target for potential partners and acquirers. Let’s explore how patents and trade secrets contribute to attracting strategic partnerships and acquisitions:

Patent Licensing Opportunities
Companies with patented technologies can explore licensing opportunities with potential partners or acquirers. Licensing allows the company to generate additional revenue by granting others the right to use their patented technology in exchange for licensing fees or royalties. Strategic partners may be interested in licensing the technology to complement their existing offerings or enter new markets, while potential acquirers may see the opportunity to integrate the patented technology into their product portfolio.

Protection against Competitors
Having a robust intellectual property strategy, including trade secrets, creates barriers to entry for potential competitors. Companies with well-protected intellectual property are less vulnerable to infringement and copycat products, making them more attractive to potential partners or acquirers seeking to avoid legal disputes and market saturation.

Strengthening Market Position
Strategic partnerships and acquisitions are often pursued to strengthen a company’s market position. Companies with strong patents and trade secrets are better positioned to collaborate or merge with other players in the industry. By joining forces, partners can leverage each other’s strengths and fill gaps in their portfolios, allowing them to collectively gain a competitive advantage.

Potential for Market Disruption:
Companies with groundbreaking patented technologies or unique trade secrets have the potential to disrupt markets. Disruptive innovations can attract interest from strategic partners or acquirers seeking to capitalize on emerging trends or technologies. Such partnerships or acquisitions can enable the acquirer to expand its market reach, diversify its product offerings, and capitalize on the disruptive potential of the target company.

Intellectual Property Due Diligence
During the process of forming strategic partnerships or conducting acquisitions, potential partners or acquirers perform intellectual property due diligence. Companies with well-documented and protected intellectual property are more likely to pass this due diligence process successfully, giving potential partners or acquirers greater confidence in the company’s value and long-term potential.

Intellectual property (IP) plays a crucial role in modern business environments, providing companies with a competitive advantage that goes beyond conventional assets and capabilities. In this section, we will explore how intellectual property serves as a significant differentiator and strategic asset for businesses, enabling them to stay ahead in the competitive landscape.

Protection and Exclusivity
One of the primary benefits of intellectual property is its ability to protect innovative ideas and technologies from imitation and replication. For instance, patents offer inventors exclusive rights to their inventions, preventing others from producing, selling, or using the patented technology without permission. This protection ensures that the company has a head start in the market, without facing immediate competition from copycats.

Trademarks, on the other hand, safeguard a company’s brand identity, including its name, logo, and slogans. This exclusive protection helps companies build brand recognition and customer loyalty, enabling them to establish a unique market position.

Market Differentiation and Value Proposition
Intellectual property allows companies to differentiate their products or services from competitors. By offering patented technology, proprietary processes, or copyrighted content, companies can present distinctive value propositions that attract customers and create a loyal customer base. This differentiation also helps companies charge premium prices, leading to increased profitability.

Attracting Investment and Collaboration
Investors and partners are more likely to be attracted to businesses that possess a strong intellectual property portfolio. IP protection provides assurance that a company’s innovations and technology are safeguarded, reducing risks associated with competitors copying or infringing upon valuable assets. Consequently, companies with robust IP strategies often find it easier to secure investment and form strategic partnerships, fostering growth and expansion opportunities.

Barriers to Entry
Intellectual property can create significant barriers to entry for potential competitors. Startups or small businesses that possess groundbreaking technology protected by patents may dissuade larger players from entering the market due to the risks associated with potential infringement lawsuits. These barriers can help smaller companies carve out a niche and grow without immediate threats from well-established competitors.

2. Defensibility and Market Positioning
An extensive patent portfolio can serve as a defensive measure against competitors. Startups with well-protected intellectual property can safeguard their innovations, technology, or product design, preventing rivals from copying or stealing their ideas. This defensibility establishes a strong market positioning, which can attract potential investors seeking startups with a clear path to market dominance.

Defensibility and market positioning are critical aspects of a business’s long-term success and competitive advantage. In this section, we will explore how defensibility and market positioning are interconnected and how they are influenced by various factors, including intellectual property, differentiation, and customer perception.

As discussed earlier, intellectual property, such as patents and trademarks, can be essential components of a company’s defensibility strategy. Patents protect unique inventions and technologies, preventing competitors from using or selling similar products without permission. Trademarks safeguard a company’s brand identity, making it challenging for others to use similar names or logos that may confuse consumers.

By securing intellectual property rights, companies create legal barriers that deter potential competitors, safeguarding their innovations, brand recognition, and market position. This defensibility allows businesses to focus on growth and innovation, rather than continuously defending against copycats or infringement.

Differentiation: Standing Out from the Crowd
Market positioning, on the other hand, involves how a company presents itself and its offerings to the target audience. Differentiation is a fundamental aspect of market positioning, where a company establishes its unique value proposition to distinguish itself from competitors.

Effective differentiation allows a company to address customer needs and desires better than competitors, creating a perception of superiority. By offering unique features, superior quality, exceptional customer service, or innovative solutions, a company can build a strong market position and customer loyalty.

Intellectual property can be a crucial enabler of differentiation. Patented technology, for instance, may offer unique features or functionalities that competitors cannot replicate without infringing on the patent. This technological differentiation can drive customer preference and loyalty, giving the company a competitive edge.

Trademarks play a significant role in brand differentiation. A well-recognized and trusted brand name or logo can evoke positive emotions and associations among customers, leading to brand loyalty and repeat business.

Customer Perception: The Key to Market Positioning
Market positioning relies heavily on how customers perceive a company and its products or services. A positive brand image, reputation for quality, and a strong value proposition all contribute to shaping customer perception. Companies that successfully align their offerings with customer needs and preferences are more likely to secure a favorable market position.

Patents and Trade Secrets are Proof of Innovation and Technical Expertise
3. Proof of Innovation and Technical Expertise
The patent application process is rigorous and requires extensive documentation of the innovation’s novelty, usefulness, and non-obviousness. A granted patent is, therefore, a compelling proof of a startup’s innovative capabilities and technical expertise. Investors can interpret a strong patent portfolio as an indication of the company’s potential to develop groundbreaking solutions, leading to market disruption and sustainable growth. Let’s explore how patents and trade secrets act as proof of innovation and technical expertise for businesses:

Patents: Demonstrating Novelty and Inventiveness
Patents are official grants of exclusive rights given to inventors or companies for their novel and non-obvious inventions or innovations. When a company successfully obtains a patent, it demonstrates that its technology or product is unique, inventive, and provides a practical solution to a specific problem.

The process of obtaining a patent involves a thorough examination by the patent office, where the company must demonstrate that its invention is different from existing technologies and that it meets the criteria of novelty, non-obviousness, and industrial applicability. The patent application process requires detailed technical documentation and legal arguments to prove the uniqueness of the invention.

The granting of a patent is, therefore, a clear validation of the company’s technical expertise and innovation capabilities. It provides tangible evidence of the company’s ability to develop groundbreaking solutions that advance the state of the art in its industry.

Startups with patents in their key technologies or core products can enjoy market exclusivity during the patent term, usually 20 years from the filing date. This exclusivity allows them to establish a dominant position in the market and generate substantial revenue without direct competition. Investors can look for startups that have strategically aligned their patent strategy with their revenue generation plans.

Patents and trade secrets are instrumental in enhancing market exclusivity and revenue generation for businesses. These forms of intellectual property protection provide companies with the legal and strategic tools to maximize their market position, drive revenue growth, and maintain a competitive advantage. Let’s explore how patents and trade secrets contribute to market exclusivity and revenue generation:

Market Exclusivity through Patents
When a company holds a patent for its innovative product, technology, or process, it gains exclusive rights to use, manufacture, and sell the patented invention for a specific period, typically 20 years from the filing date. This market exclusivity allows the company to operate without direct competition from others for the duration of the patent term.

Having a patent prevents competitors from legally replicating or exploiting the patented technology without obtaining proper licenses from the patent holder. This exclusivity enables the company to establish a dominant market position, command premium pricing, and capture a significant market share.

Market exclusivity also creates barriers to entry for potential competitors. New entrants will find it challenging to introduce similar products or technologies without infringing on existing patents, dissuading them from entering the market or making it more difficult for them to gain a foothold.

Revenue Generation through Patents
Patents play a pivotal role in revenue generation for companies. By holding exclusive rights to their inventions, companies can commercialize their innovations and generate revenue through various avenues:

a. Product Sales: Companies can manufacture and sell products based on patented technologies, benefiting from higher profit margins due to limited competition and increased customer willingness to pay for unique features.

b. Licensing: Patent holders can license their technology to other companies, allowing them to use the patented technology for a fee or royalty. Licensing deals provide a lucrative revenue stream without the need for extensive production or marketing efforts.

c. Cross-Licensing: In some cases, companies engage in cross-licensing agreements with other patent holders. This allows each party to use the other’s patented technology, fostering innovation and expanding product capabilities while generating additional revenue.

d. Litigation: In the event of patent infringement, companies can enforce their rights through legal action, seeking damages or licensing fees from infringing parties, thus further contributing to revenue generation.

About PowerPatent:
PowerPatent is a leading provider of AI-driven intellectual property solutions that empower startups and businesses to protect their innovations quickly, cost-effectively, and accurately. With a commitment to simplifying the patent process, PowerPatent is revolutionizing the way intellectual property is safeguarded in the modern era.

Mary Kimani
PowerPatent
+1 800-234-3032
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Barcelona studio to open in early 2024 and work is underway on a new third-person action-adventure title.

AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA, August 31, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ — Arctic7, which provides a robust suite of full-scale and co-development services in game development and virtual production services for the movie and TV industry, has today announced it will open a new facility in Barcelona, bolstering overall European presence alongside its existing studio in Montenegro.

The studio is scheduled to open in early 2024. Kedhrin Gonzalez will continue in his role as Studio Head of Arctic7 Montenegro and will add the Barcelona studio to his remit with the new studio significantly increasing development capacity available for full game and co-development work with partner projects and internal IP Arctic7 is developing, the first of which is also teased for the first time this week and presented to potential partners.

The as-yet unnamed title is a post-civilisation, third-person action-adventure title built using Unreal Engine 5. Humans thrive in the ruins of a world that fights off a new dark age thanks to the vestiges of technology but are faced with a growing challenge from the reawakening of ancient spiritual forces. Gameplay is built around deep exploration, emotional narrative and a sophisticated and evolving combat system.

Kedhrin Gonzalez, Arctic7 Europe Studio Head, said: “At Arctic7 Europe, while we continue to focus on building strong partnerships for our co-development work, we’re always trying to think of ways to push forward our skills and fuel our passion for making great games for partners. This project is a direct result of that passion and draws on the teams’ experience working on some of the world’s leading games such as Halo, Rainbow Six series and more.”

Arctic7 Chief Executive Officer Igor Efremov said: “Over the past year, we have significantly grown our full game, co-development and virtual production capabilities as we look to establish a leadership position in the space and all focused on delivering great entertainment experiences for our partners and players. We are proud to announce that we are continuing to grow Arctic7 in Barcelona, which will be an additional hub for both full game development and co-development projects. I believe the historic city of Barcelona will be a great steppingstone forwards, giving us access to a rich talent pool so that we can turn out even more entertainment experiences.’’

The news follows a recent announcement that Arctic7 had appointed a new commercial team, featuring a variety of seasoned industry leaders to build exceptional partnerships and pursue an array of new business opportunities.

Established in 2022, Arctic7 is a fully independent collection of four studios, strategically situated in the US, Canada and Europe with capabilities across gaming and media industries. Each studio is an integral part of Arctic7’s collective strength with more than 150 dedicated professionals working across internally developed IP, co-development projects and virtual production.

Ross Baillie
Five in a Boat
ross@fiveinaboat.com
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