Both PASSIM PI Eva Hemmungs Wirtén and Doctoral candidate Isabelle Strömstedt will be presenting papers at the forthcoming ISHTIP workshop in Australia, between July 4-6, 2019. Hosted this year by Isabella Alexander at University of Technology, Sydney, ISHTIP has become an important interdisciplinary venue for scholars whose work engages with intellectual property, both historically and in the present. This year’s theme, “IP and the visual,” promises to be a very stimulating one. On May 22, 2019, PASSIM organizes a “pre-ISHTIP” seminar where our two ISHTIP participants will discuss their papers and talk about their current research. Eva Hemmungs Wirtén’s paper is entitled “Evidence, Envelopped: Something on Proof, Priority and Patents (but not necessarily in that order)” och Isabelle Strömstedt’s “Celebrating Patents: the Swedish Patent Office’s Jubilee Exhibition of 1941.” The seminar will take place at Tema Q, Tvärsnittet, Norrköping, between 13.15-15.00. What do envelopes and exhibitions have to do with patents? That’s what we’ll talk about at the seminar.

Eva ISHTIP abstract

Isabelle ISHTIP abstract

Matts Lindström

Last week, on May 7th 2019, we had our first PASSIM seminar. This was a first for us, at least in the sense of doing a seminar and webinar at the same time. José Bellido and Matts Lindström’s discussion on microfilm was an excellent illustration of how rich the intersection between technologies of law and technologies of media can be, an intersection that PASSIM explores in different ways and different historical periods. Matts opened the seminar with a sweeping and informative overview of the microfilm’s relationship to the fragility of paper and to the industrialization of information, aspects that are crucial in trying to understand the past but also the present of a media technology that appears almost extinct. José’s more PASSIM-oriented talk showed how microfilm intervenes in a particular practice and institution – the patent office and in the work of patent examiners. Fascinating stuff! You can enjoy the dialogue between our two presenters and also the questions and discussion that followed on our website: http://www.passim.se

Getting ready to broadcast. In socks.

José Bellido