Jonathan Downing has been playing video games since the days of blowing dust out of NES cartridges (he’s also wise enough now to know that this didn’t actually fix anything; don’t @ him), and he brings this lifelong enthusiasm to his work at Tyz Law Group. He couples this passion with years of games and entertainment industry expertise, including experience with both console and mobile game platforms. Jonathan is an Intellectual Property counselor with an emphasis on copyright and privacy issues in gaming and possesses a keen understanding of the realities of game development and publication.

Before joining Tyz Law Group, Jonathan worked for several years as a Legal Specialist at Electronic Arts, Inc., where he worked alongside attorneys and game developers to ensure compliance with both applicable law and internal guidelines, consulting on a range of issues from trademark clearances and copyright applications to review of advertising and promotional materials for numerous game titles. He has also had prior roles at Lucasfilm in San Francisco, and at the law firm of Gibney Anthony & Flaherty LLP in New York City.

Jonathan Downing graduated summa cum laude from the University of San Francisco School of Law, from which he also received an Intellectual Property and Technology Law Certificate with Honors and served as Technical Editor on the Board of the USF Law Review. Prior to seeking his J.D., Jonathan earned his M.A. in the Humanities from the University of Chicago’s Master of Arts Program in the Humanities (MAPH), and his B.A. in English with a specialty in film theory and criticism from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina.

EDUCATION

• J.D., summa cum laude, University of San Francisco School of Law, 2021

• M.A., Humanities, University of Chicago, 2009

• B.A., English, Appalachian State University, 2008

BAR ADMISSION

• Member of the State Bar of California