Bernard W. Gerdelman | Attorney

Over his 35 years as a lawyer Bernard Gerdelman has been involved in many areas of practice, including litigation, taxation, bond financing, general corporate, real estate, intellectual property, privately traded securities, computer law and cyber/internet law. This broad range of experience enables Mr. Gerdelman to approach the analysis of legal problems with a global perspective, identifying and resolving issues that may not be apparent to those with a narrower legal background.

Mr. Gerdelman graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 1975 with a B.A. in History and Sociology. Mr. Gerdelman then did post-graduate work in Sociology at Illinois State University and served two years in the United States Army Security Agency before commencing law school at Washington University. Mr. Gerdelman graduated from Washington University School of Law in 1975 receiving a J.D. degree and thereafter continued his legal education, receiving an L.L.M. in taxation from Washington University in 1980. Mr. Gerdelman is licensed to practice in both Missouri and Illinois.

Mr. Gerdelman takes pride in applying a practical, common sense approach to the practice of law. Through his involvement in hundreds of transactions, including purchases, sales and financings of businesses and commercial real estate and the licensing of copyrights and trademarks, he has learned what works and what doesn't in structuring and documenting deals of all types. He has worked with companies both large and small in raising capital through stock and debenture offerings, structuring debt financing, and selling and purchasing company assets and stock. He has qualified with both state and federal regulatory agencies over $200 million in private securities offerings.

Mr. Gerdelman has also worked extensively with real estate developers in structuring, documenting, and financing residential subdivisions and condominiums, shopping centers, office buildings, and industrial building projects, preparing and negotiating construction contracts for those projects, and leasing and selling property in those projects. He also has experience in creating and structuring community improvement districts and transportation development districts under Missouri law. He has worked with owners of multi-family housing projects to obtain tax benefits through federally subsidized housing programs and other incentive programs available through state and federal governments.

Intellectual property is another area of the law to which Mr. Gerdelman devotes a significant amount of his practice. Mr. Gerdelman applies his knowledge and experience to intellectual property issues both inside and outside the Internet context. He provides advice regarding the availability for adoption, use, and registration of trademarks, registers trademarks with both federal and state trademark offices, and provides advice on the proper use and protection of those marks. He also provides advice regarding protection of creative works (including literary works, works of art, and software) through copyright, and registers with the United States Copyright Office, on behalf of clients, copyrights in those works. He also negotiates and structures trademark and copyright licenses on behalf of both licensors and licensees. Much of Mr. Gerdelman's intellectual property work involves computers, software and the Internet. He negotiates and drafts software licenses, web development and design agreements, application service provider agreements, website user licenses, and other agreements affecting Internet use and commerce.

Overall, through his broad base of experience developed during more than three decades of practice and his practical approach to the resolution of legal issues, Mr. Gerdelman has assisted thousands of clients, both large and small, in achieving their business goals in a timely and economical manner.

Mr. Gerdelman practices in the areas of Corporate & Business, Real Estate, Intellectual Property/Trademark & Copyright and Computer/e-Commerce Law.

• Copyright Fundamentals

• Trademark Fundamentals

• Trade Secrets in Missouri