Man, I wish I had never said anything about being a
lawyer. Now its the "Clark is a lame lawyer" flame
fest.
In the interests of full disclosure so no one thinks I
am trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes: I am a
criminal trial attorney--a prosecutor. I work in the
specialty sexual assault and child abuse unit (one of
two specialty units in our office). I have been an
attorney for almost 7 years. I was an editor on Law
Review in law school. I have prosecuted people for
everything from bad checks to first degree murder. I
am one of the only attorneys in my office (75
attorneys) to have never lost a felony jury trial. I
am licensed in both California and Nevada (only took
the bar once for each--I didnt fail it 27 times). I am
a member of the Federal Bar in the regions in which I
practice. I have argued before the California
Appellate Courts and the Nevada Supreme Court on
numerous occasions.
But I have never handled an IP case.
I have handled other non-criminal areas in a limited
way. I wrote and published an article on a
Constitutional Law issue (dont ask) in the Loyola Law
Review.
Of course my interest in gaming (particularly once the
OGL came about) led me to a review of the areas of
IP/trademark law for two reasons: first, I think the
concept as a legal matter is novel and interesting.
Second, since I was starting a business was concerned
about the legal ramifications of this new device.
I have never pretended to be an expert in the area.
Here is the only reason I chimed in with the "lawyer"
thing: I saw people were pulling quotes out of context
from opinions that addressed different issues. I just
wanted to warn people that it dangerous.
I never intended to imply my opinion is better than
anyone elses.
It is my experience that gamers possess an above
average intelligence. I am certain anyone on the list
with the desire to do so could go to law school and
pass the bar.
All I wanted to do was say be careful about making
business decisions based on a lay interpretation of
the law in this area. It is overlapping and difficult.
I knew I shouldnt have said "I'm a lawyer."
People--righfully--interpret that as some "I'm better
than you" statement. Thats not what I was trying for.
Clark "no longer admitting to be a lawyer" Peterson
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