ERIC S. WACHSPRESS/ATTORNEY-AT-LAW

I am a Chicago attorney practicing in the areas of trademark, copyright and information technology law as well as general corporate law. Formerly a trademark examining attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, I have been in private practice since 1987 representing clients in a wide variety of industries, including the consumer products, financial services, information technology, restaurant and entertainment industries. I provide experienced legal counseling covering such areas as branding, trademark protection, copyright protection, information technology law, corporate and LLC formation, including advising business entities on ongoing issues involving intellectual property, trade secret protection, and the protection, acquisition and transfer of business assets.

You can contact me by e-mail at markscounsel@gmail.com, phone at 1.773.934.5855, by mail at 417 S. Jefferson Street, #304, Chicago, Illinois 60607 USA or by simply clicking the “Further Information” button at the bottom of this page and then clicking the QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS button in the bottom left-hand corner. I look forward to hearing from you!


Federal Judge Rules Facebook ‘likes’ Not Constitutionally Protected Speech

See http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012/05/04/facebook-like-ruling.html


9th CIRCUIT RULES CALIFORNIA DREAMIN’ ONLINE NOT A FEDERAL CRIME

The 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (18 U.S.C. § 1830) made criminal intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization or exceeding authorized access to that computer and thereby obtaining information it as well as doing so with the intent to defraud, unless the object of the fraud and the thing obtained consists only of


PROTECTING YOUR I.P. WHILE ABROAD

In my prior blog posts I have written about the importance of protecting your intellectual property. In the case of a useful process, machine, article of manufacture or composition of matter, protection might involve obtaining a patent. In the case of computer software, text, a photograph, a book, a motion picture, a musical composition, a


DON’T WAIT TO REGISTER YOUR MARK!

Outside the U.S. and Canada, most countries are “first-to-register” countries. This means that trademark rights are not acquired by using your name on your storefront, website or product package, but by registering that name with that country’s respective trademark registrar. In those countries, that name can be a mere concept or an idea floating in


USING COLOR TO BRAND EFFECTIVELY

A January 19, 2012 Website Magazine blog post (See http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2012/01/19/the-meaning-behind-color.aspx ) discussed the meanings that certain colors evoke to consumers. I summarize that post below: The author of that piece noted that “red” was the “color that eyes are drawn to first” and creates a sense of urgency. She noted that brands associated with red


MORE DOMAIN NAMES

Effective Thursday January 12th, ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, will allow applications for new generic Top Level Domains. In English, this means that you will no longer be limited to .NET, .COM, .EDU, .ORG, .US, .XXX, etc. domain names. Now you will be able to apply for branded Top Level Domains


ILLINOIS BUSINESS-FOREIGN CORPORATION

In my blog post entitled “Tips From A Seasoned Lawyer” I briefly touched on the advantages and disadvantages of forming a corporation or a limited liability company. Frequently, new businesses are advised to incorporate in the state of Delaware. Because so many businesses are incorporated in Delaware, e.g., more than half of the Fortune 500,


WHY DO A TRADEMARK SEARCH?

What do these two well-known tech companies have in common? One saw its earnings drop 71% in the third quarter of this year and its share of the smart phone market in the United States drop from 30% to 18%. To add insult to injury two of its executives were fired when, on a flight


PICKING BRAND NAMES IN CHINA IS A BUSINESS ITSELF

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/12/world/asia/picking-brand-names-in-china-is-a-business-itself.html