Overheard in Brussels
February 19 2013: 27 EU ministers gather in Brussels for a long-planned and largely ceremonial meeting to sign the Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement. What could possibly go wrong?
The signing itself was over in a few minutes, as 24 of the ministers made their marks on the document (Spain, Poland and Bulgaria did not sign on the day for various reasons). But what went before was not quite so well orchestrated.
The meeting started late, but no one seems to have told the technicians that. For nearly an hour, viewers and listeners to the live web feed could see empty chairs and hear the small talk as the politicians chatted. Irish minister Richard Bruton, who was chairing the meeting on behalf of the Irish presidency, was most clearly audible (the Irish pronounce "patent" as "paytent", always a giveaway).
Discussions included how to address other ministers, what meetings were planned for later in the day and the relative merits of Madonna and Lady Gaga. Admittedly, Utynam may have misheard some of the exchanges amid the hubbub.
One thing to note, though, as the EU embarks on this complex legal and linguistic project: all the conversations, as well as the speeches, were in English.
China’s copyright conundrum
Are the copyright industries ever going to get digital, Utynam wonders? In an interview with Business Week, Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes claimed last month that the company is "probably not getting paid for 95 percent of [its] movies". He also revealed a surprising strategy in China: "I spoke to the president about piracy. We even tried a little thing: 'How about you can give all our stuff to your people for free, but how about you don't reship it to every country around the region?' That didn't work. It's a concern." Bewkes's "we" is understood to refer to a group of content providers. Who would ever have predicted that the entertainment industry considered offering up its most valuable properties to the world's biggest country with a note saying "please do not upload this onto BitTorrent"? Utynam certainly lives in interesting times for copyright.
ASIPI Gala Dinner |
ASIPI's Gala Dinner during the XVIII ASIPI Congress in Punta del Este featured approximately 500 attendees and entertainment by Iza Papusa (above, top), a Uruguayan band whose members donned some rather groovy attire. After the new members of ASIPI's executive committee 2012-2015 welcomed attendees with a toast on stage (above). ASIPI president Juan Vanrell, along with members Martín Pittaluga, Jorge Allende, Luis Henriquez, Juan Berton Moreno, Rafael Covarrubias and Francisco Espinosa sang Tira para arriba for the crowd. Utynam hears a DJ kept the party going until 4:00am. |
