By Wayne Bowman
Pan Trinbago president Keith Diaz believes the steelband fraternity and the nation at large should be thankful it was Prof Brian Copeland who developed the G-Pan and not someone in some foreign university.
Diaz also told the Express on Tuesday that Pan Trinbago will not get involved in the legal action being taken by Attorney General Anand Ramlogan against Cope-land and his associates over the rights to the Genesis Pan, popularly known as the G-Pan.
"The matter between the Attorney General and Brian Copeland over the G-Pan is not my or Pan Trinbago's affairs. I am not the AG and I don't want to get caught up in what he does.
"My concern is over the research and development of the steelpan. I have been making statements about the G-Pan a long time now, and no one has taken me on.
"As a Trinidadian, Mr Copeland did do some research on the steelpan towards developing the G-Pan and we have to respect that.
"Whatever he did will benefit Trinidad and Tobago, and we as a people must be proud of what our own people do.
"Were it a foreigner who did this, people would have been saying all sorts of things. We must be proud it's a Trinidadian who did it," Diaz said.
Diaz said the G-Pan is patented to the people of Trinidad and Tobago and therefore the people do have the rights to the instrument.
He said one of the issues he had with Copeland is the little recognition given to Anthony Williams, the person who developed the concept of fourths and fifths on the steelpan in the first place, decades ago.
Diaz also took exception that Pan Trinbago was not consulted when the project was being done.
"No one ever came to Pan Trinbago when Copeland and his associates were working on the G-Pan project. And after it was unveiled, I am the one who asked the Prime Minister what was happening with the instrument after we were hearing nothing about where it has gone and how successful it is or is not. Then the AG took up on the rights and did whatever he has.
"Whatever aspects of the G-Pan that Copeland developed and the benefits of these, I am happy over and I am not challenging that. Tony Williams is, however, the person who came up with the concept of fourths and fifths used on the G-Pan, and Copeland should acknowledge this and praise Williams for his work.
"When the Wright Brothers invented the airplane and Boeing began to build those large aircraft, did they condemn what the Wrights created? Anthony Williams started it and Copeland came in later to build on it. He must praise Tony.
"There are a lot of people right here doing research on the steelpan, developing it, and they get no recognition; but let some foreigner say they did something and look what happens," Diaz said.
click for article http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Let_us_be_proud_Copeland_s_a_Trini-132759158.html
Replies
Well said Bro!!! Many still gloss to gloss over the "controversial" issues involved with the non-protection of IP rights where the steelpan is concerned. I still insist the steelpan should and can still be researched and patented to recognize all the innovators who contributed to it's development. The rights would be assigned to the people of T&T. Meantime the beat goes on...
"Who Is Copeland?"
An Interview with Steelpan Innovator & G-Pan Inventor Brian Cop...
An Interview with E-Pan Inventor Salmon Cupid
Trinidad BP Renegades & E-Pan at the T&T International Steelpan & Jazz Festival 2011 where Challenge was met head on in competition...
Respect!!!
Well said Valentine! You have spoken wisely. I need not say more. We are fighting among ourselves and no progress is achieved in this way. Professor Copeland did what he had to do and it was on instructions from one of our former Prime Minister. He has always been working with a distinguished Team t achieve the desired results. He and his Teams performed with distinction as of any 1st World Country and we are fighting him for that.
That is all we do , we are famous for in this Pan World, fight one another. Clearly it can be deduced that the President and other associates was never for THE G_PAN PROJECT and other Pan initiatives project because as he said, he asked the current Prime Minister, about an update on the G-Pan Project. He could have asked the Former Prime Minister, He had until May Last Year. Why are we fighting down one another. A Prophet is truely not welcomed in his own Country.
We are supposed to be the custodian of the National Instrument and still we go about it blindly.
The P.H.I., the G-Pan are our own. Let us use it and improve it if we can. Pan has evolved so let's keep up with the progress. Pan Trinbago should be suporting Professor Copeland and not bring him down. He is a distinguished Son of the soil. Why fight him down? Stand behind him don't just wait and see what will happen. Why not a Parliamentry committee investigation. Why can't the Professor and his Team answer to the Parliament. Why the Court? Why?
The issues here is not whether Copeland is a Trini or from Mars. The issue is very simple the State funded UWI with $34million dollars to develop the G-Pan. Copeland and his team were either employees or students of UWI. The State came acros some shaddy documents about WHO OWN THE RIGHTS FOR THE G-PAN & PHI.
As a tax paying nationals of Trinidad and Tobago this project belongs to State AND GET IT RIGHT......LEGALLY.
Masai, what you mean by the pan culture in Trinidad has chosen to promote the East as the spearhead of pan development. there is an anti west bias that continues to prevail in the pan community regarding the history and evolution of steelband.
Masai the boundries of St. James to Belmont to Laventile, east and central Port of Spain is where the history, the belly and evolution of the STEELPAN......
Blending those pans to get that piano sound was an incredible feat, Randi.
I agree with you.
That bit of pan tuning magic was never properly acknowledged, then or even today.
And if you want to know how musicians got robbed by record companies back then, talk to people like Clarence Curvan, who was making popular records inthose days.
It was "robbery with V".
This reply address the article posted by Pan times on Oct 29, 2011 title, "Let be Proud of Copeland a Trini". Mr. Bowman i honestly say that you've strike the right cord addressing an issue that should've taken upon by PanTrinBago President himself. Mr. Keith Daiz has no sence of the term, "When Steels Talks Everyones Listens". A cord is being strike for or against the culture in this - "Developing of The Gpan", between two high profile representives, and a third who appointed to represent and defend has no relevant history, or touch of the finger research, to address the core issue of the Gpan. Certainly the interest of defending and developeing the culture, when external notes and cords are strike, has no relevant to "When Steels Talks Everyones Listens. Priorities have traditionally inbedded in the self presavation and the relucantancy in taking hold of responsiblities, even if at full retirement our representative, can lay back and retrospect - not what i've done for my country but what i've done to my country.
Messiah Shaw.
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