World Intellectual Property Day

Today is World Intellectual Property Day. And, in honor of that, I'd like to send out a hello to my fellow strategy guru Sallie, active in the World Intellectual Property Organization and in battles on behalf of actors and producers whose films are exploited worldwide. She was travelling overseas once (I think to Moscow), and kicking back in a hotel room bed watching a recent film on the TV when, lo and behold, the telltale warning message flashed across the bottom of the screen: "Property of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences" -- the people who put on the Oscars(tm). Clearly someone had swiped one of the preview videos sent out to AMPAS members (all entertainment industry insiders) during the Oscar voting season.

When she told me the story, we laughed. We were aghast. And I totally forgot to ask Sallie if she liked the movie.