From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Alec A.
Burkhardt
Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2000 10:21 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [Open_Gaming] Some license updates
<< I'm fairly certain I've identified myself as holding a law degree in
early
topics on this listserv, but perhaps not. In any case, I don't think
anyone should put excessive stock in the fact that anyone on the list
holds a law degree. Lawyers can be wrong about the law just like anyone
else >>
Thank you for the straight talk in that regard. I take pains to make clear
that I Am Not A Lawyer because I want no one acting on my legal opinion; yet
I always get just a mite rankled when some lawyers (none around here) act as
if no layman can have an informed opinion on the law. Why does that rankle
me? Well, because the job of almost all lawyers and judges is to take and
defend positions and render decisions relating to areas OUTSIDE the law. In
other words, no judge says, "I Am Not A Programmer" before rendering a
decision on a software intellectual property case, or "I Am Not An Auto
Maker" before rendering a decision on product liability for automobiles,
or...
Yes, law is a complex field. So are nuclear physics, computer programming,
medicine, screen writing, animal husbandry, military startegy, psychology,
criminology, etc., etc., ad nauseum. The very practice of law is predicated
upon the idea that an intelligent outside observer can study the facts in a
complex situation and render an opinion or a decision on what those facts
really mean (at least from a legal perspective). Having met many very bright
people in all sorts of fields (and at least one really stupid lawyer), I
cannot accept the idea that somehow law is complex beyond the ability for
non-lawyers to comprehend. If an intelligent, motivated layman studies a
field of law or a set of cases, he or she ought to be at least as capable of
understanding the facts as a judge is capable of understanding software
design.
(Of course, I am told that a lawyer who is also trained in another field can
command a LOT for that expertise. In particular, I notice that a lot of IP
lawyers have undergraduate and even graduate training in engineering and
computer science.)
Martin L. Shoemaker
Emerald Software, Inc. -- Custom Software and UML Training
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.EmeraldSoftwareInc.com
www.UMLBootCamp.com
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