Congressmen Wear Sunglasses Inside

On Thursday, July 25, I attended a House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, the Courts, and the Internet hearing on copyright reforms. Subcommittee Chairman Howard Coble (R-NC) recently had a hernia operation, so full committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) chaired the committee. I've watched a lot of the IP hearings during my time at Normandy, but this was the first IP hearing I attended in person. I waited an hour to get into the hearing, and there was not an empty seat in the room, when everyone had been seated. It wasn't a particularly colorful hearing. No partisan bombs thrown, as copyright issues don’t tend to cut across the ideological center.

It’s always interesting to watch how members act in the committee room. For example, Rep. Farenthold (R-TX) had no idea where he was supposed to sit and moseyed about until a young staffer politely guided him to his seat. Rep. Judy Chu milled about the room prior to the hearing, greeting several of the Patent and Trademark Office officials she knew—she is clearly very dedicated to her post on House Judiciary—and during the hearing, she demonstrated a remarkable knowledge of the copyright system, even being proactive and anticipating responses from the witnesses.

Full IP subcommittee wearing 3-D shades.

By far, the best moment of the hearing came early, when Mr. William Sherak, the President of Stereo D, LLC, a 3-D imaging firm, was describing his business. During his testimony, he casually remarked, “Now, if everyone would put on their 3-D glasses, I can show you what I mean.” I thought it was simply a rhetorical flourish. Nope. Every member of Congress in the room and some of his or her staff put on a pair of 3-D glasses, the lights in the room dimmed, and they all turned their attention to a large television set with a 3-D film. Rep. Mel Watt (D-NC), always ready with something witty remarked, “The Chairman is responsible for the popcorn.” At the conclusion, Chairman Goodlatte remarked, “Thank you for that, Mr. Sherak, now everyone in the room has a photo of all the members of the subcommittee wearing 3-D glasses, I’m sure we’ll be seeing those pop up soon.” Yes, Congressman, yes, you will.

Rep. Judy Chu being a boss.

Ranking Member Watt to Chairman Goodlatte:
"The Chairman is responsible for the popcorn."

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Travis Madden