Doc, I know we wuz discussing Canucker ole musik on annudda bored, butt I thought I'd brang dat hear to the DD Frazzled Bird for DaWeakened ramblings.
On el subjecto de musica de las providencias de Canuckistaniland, at the time (early '90s) the local office managing partner ("MP") in DaFirm was an electrical engineer patent attorney, butt he was also personal frenns with Canucker Neil Young, who lived in the grater or lessur Bay Area on a ranch. So, even though the MP din't really do copyright and TM law (all of our copyright and TM work was handled by dedicated CR/TM lawyers who were nott patent attorneys and who (at the time) were all females). So one day I head down a floor to the main reception desk and as I gett off DaElevator I look to the right and see what appears to be Neil Young in a plaid flannel shirt and blue jeans (and running shoes) sitting in the main CONference room all by hisseff. I mention this to the receptionist as DaDesk and axe her who he is here to see - and she tells me he's waiting for the MP who is tied up on a CONference call.
So's I mosey into the CONference room to entertain him whilst he waits for the MP to become available. Nobuddy had offered him coffee, pop, or cookies/pastry, so I rang office services and tole the person to bring a set-up (this was about 9:30 or 10:00 AM and he was evidently the first user of the main CONference room that day and he was a 'drop in' so nobuddy ordered a setup for DaRoom).
Anyways(TM-Nasfan), in chatting to entertain him whilst we waited for the MP to show up, I axed him what kind of electrical gizmo he was seeing the MP about, assuming that he was trying to patent some electrical musical gizmo. He said he was here for some trademark matters and that MP was a friend of his, so he trusseded the MP to give him the straight skinny on stuph and nott shine him on. I thought this was odd since the MP wasn't all that well-versed (altho he may have been on Versed at times) in TM or music/copyright matters - butt of course I din't express this to Neil Young. I simply axed him how he came to know the MP and choose him for some IP counseling. Turned ~OUTT that MP was a huge concertgoer (unbeknownst to me at the time) and he had backstage access via a promoter friend of his, and thus he met Neil Young backstage after a concert and Young liked him and in chatting wiff him came to learn he was an IP lawyer and Young was having some issues wiff his existing TM/CR legal counsel. Young axed the MP for his offhand thoughts on advice and prollems Young was having with his existing counsel and based on the MP's observations and comments, Young decided later (some undefined period later) that he wanted to retain the MP for CR/TM advice even knowing it was nott the principal area of this EE engineer patent counsel. They became frenns and that is how a dude who has little experience in CR/TM law became Neil Young's trusted advisor (albeit nott exclusively).
So evidently it pays (literally) to wheedle your way backstage at CONcerts as a means to drum up binniss. Who knew rainmaking could be fun?
The MP was a pretty hilarious guy with a really funny sense of humour that, today, would prolly gett him axed to leave and/or sued for his non-politically correct stunts. One was to make up a phony firm brochure for the local and SF office showing all the peoples' headshot photos and making up humourous name variations and experience/background descriptions for them - some brutally funny and belittling. Back then, everybuddy laffed about it and took their ribbing (which were brutal because they were mostly true) in the spirit of humour it was intended. The MP was especially brutal on himself, and the 'firm brochure' was so funny, that nobody complained, even in private, about their personal ridicule in the publication. In fact it had the effect I suspeck the MP intended it to have - it made people closer (particularly between the two offices that were included in the joke brochure - a subset of the entire firm), as we'd use the various 'nicknames' or description features from the joke brochure when IM'ing, emailing, calling, or meeting a person we didn't know all that well - it was an ice-breaker for about 6 months or so until memories of the joke brochure had faded.
Today, nobuddy would even think of doing such a thing. We've all had hours and hours of periodic sensitivity training and such. And guys like the then-MP would never be considered to be made an MP now.
And I find that very sad.
