Intellectual Property Law

Mega-Lobbyists and Their PDAs

By Cynthia Brumfield

My dear friend Gary Arlen sent me a photo and note about an event he attended this morning which featured MPAA CEO Dan Glickman, RIAA CEO Mitch Bainwol and CTIA CEO Steve Largent. It seems that at 9:30 in the morning, the Blackberries of the super-lobbyists were buzzing on vibrate so loudly, they drowned out the mics used for their panel discussion.

Glickman and Bainwold had to put their Blackberries on a table away from the mics, while Largent wisely had handed his to an assistant before the panel began. Here's how Gary characterized it:

As they unloaded their hardware, it was reminiscent of an Old West bar, which made cowpokes leave their weapons at the door. All lobbyists grabbed their PDAs as soon as the session ended.

Full post as published by IP Democracy on April 24, 2008 (boomark / email).