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Bernard W. Gerdelman

St. Louis, Missouri Attorney

Phone:  314-244-3624


Location:  Clayton, Missouri
Fax:  314-727-2101

Over more than 40 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 1969 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.

Recent Posts by Bernard Gerdelman

October 15, 2013 in Articles, Bernard Gerdelman Featured

Title Insurance — Does Your Lawyer Have You Covered?

Maximizing Title Insurance Coverage in Real Estate Transactions When you retain a lawyer to represent you in connection with your…
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October 15, 2013 in Articles, Bernard Gerdelman Featured

Legal Issues in Photographing People

Many articles attempt to establish general rules pertaining to the circumstances under which people may be photographed without liability to…
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January 20, 2012 in Bernard Gerdelman Featured, Intellectual Property

Property Division in Missouri Divorce: Don’t Forget the IP

By Bernard W. Gerdelman One of the elemental issues in any divorce is the division of "marital property," that is, property…
Read More

Legal Certifications

  • Taxation, Wash U Law School, 1979

Bar Admissions

  • Missouri, 1975
  • Illinois, 1980

Education

  • Washington University School of Law, St. Louis, Missouri
    • LL.M. – 1979
    • Major: Taxation
  • Washington University School of Law, St. Louis, Missouri
    • J.D. – 1975
    • Law Journal: Washington University Law Quarterly, Staff and Notes Editor, 1973 – 1975
  • Illinois State University , Normal, Illinois
    • Graduate work towards M.A. – 1972
  • Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington, Illinois
    • B.A. – 1969
    • Major: History/Sociology

Published Works

  • “A Brief Case for the Software Lawyer”, St. Louis Computing, March, 1993
  • “Missouri Provides Tax Credit for Investment in Small Business” , St. Louis Small Business Monthly, February, 1993
  • “‘Drop that Mouse and Come Out With Your Hands Up’: Preventing Software Piracy”, St. Louis Computing, May, 1993
  • “Independent Service Organizations Suffer a Fit of Peak”, St. Louis Computing, August, 1993
  • “Whose Program is it, Anyway? The Work for Hire Doctrine”, Tabloid, August, 1993
  • “Third Circuit Decision Nullifies Warranty Limitations” , The Network News, Summer, 1993
  • “New Wine in Old Bottles: Liability for Damages Resulting from the Conveyance of Virus-laden Software” , St. Louis Computing, November, 1993
  • “Technology Transfer and Investment – Structuring for Positive Income Tax Consequences”, St. Louis Computing, February, 1994
  • “Contracting for the Construction of Software: Understanding Your Interests”, St. Louis Small Business Monthly, April, 1994
  • “Reverse Engineering: When You Can and When You Can’t”, St. Louis Computing, March, 1995
  • “Reverse Engineering: When You Can and When You Can’t”, The Independent, November/December, 1995
  • “Copyright Liability of the BBS Operator: Shooting the Messenger”, St. Louis Computing, May, 1995
  • “Joint Authorship of a Computer Program: Napoli v. Sears, Roebuck & Co.”, St. Louis Computing, July, 1995
  • “Copyright: Getting it Right!”, St. Louis Computer User, November, 1995
  • “Copyright Crime on the Internet” , St. Louis Computer User, January, 1996
  • “Trademarks on the Internet”, St. Louis Computer User, April, 1996
  • “Software Publishers Dodge a Bullet; ProCD v. Zeidenberg is Reversed”, St. Louis Computer User, August, 1996
  • “The Internet Extends the Long Arm of the Law; Web Presence and Personal Jurisdiction”, St. Louis Computer User, January, 1997
  • “I’ve Got A Secret; Giving Trade Secrets the Treatment They Deserve”, St. Louis Computer User, May, 1997
  • “All Systems Go? – Liquidated Damages Provisions in Software Development Contracts”, Purchasing Today, August, 1999
  • “How Software Escrow Accounts Can Protect Against Infringement”, (Contributing Editor), Multimedia Strategist, September, 1996
  • “Computer Consulting and Copyright”, April, 1999

Classes/Seminars

  • “Protecting Software-related Intellectual Property”, United Inventors’ Association National Innovation Workshop, 1993
  • “Surveyor Liability and the Implications of Computer Assisted Design” , Missouri Association of Registered Land Surveyors Annual Meeting, 1993
  • “Copyright: The Work for Hire Doctrine” , Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, 1993
  • “Choice of Entity Considerations – Partnership, Corporation or Limited Liability Company?”, Southern Illinois University Entrepreneurship Seminar, 1994
  • “Protecting Small Businesses in Lending Transactions” , Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, 1994
  • “JAWS! Those Killer Issues that Lurk Beneath the Surface of the Consulting Contract” , Independent Computer Consultants’ Association, St. Louis Chapter, 1995
  • “Legal Issues of the Internet: A Survey”, St. Louis Internet Users’ Group, 1995
  • “Intellectual Property and Liability Issues for the Technical Writer” , Society for Technical Communications/St. Louis Chapter, 1996
  • “Copyright, Educational Fair Use, Computer Technology and the Internet” , Technology Committee for the School District of Clayton, Missouri, 1997
  • “Legal Ethics and the Internet”, Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, 1997
  • “Trade Secret Protection for Software”, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, 1997
  • “Principal Legal Issues Presented by the Year 2000 Crisis” , PARTEC, Inc. and Paule Camazine & Blumenthal, 1997
  • “Legal Issues in the Leasing of Computers and other Equipment” , Saint Louis Metropolitan Bar Association, 1998
  • “The Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act and Other Recent Year 2000 Legal Developments” , Humes & Barrington and Paule, Camazine & Blumenthal, 1998
  • “Survey of Current Legal Issues Relating to the Internet”, Society for Technical Communication, 1998
  • “Intellectual Property Law Issues for Computer Consultants” , Computer Consultants of St. Louis, 1999
  • “Year 2000 Legal Issues,”, AAIM Management Association Roundtable, 1999
  • “Law of the Internet” , National Business Institute, 1999
  • “Intellectual Property Issues and the Internet”, National Center for State Courts, Eighth Annual National Conference of Court Public Information Officers, 1999
  • “Searching Intellectual Property on the Internet”, Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, 1999
  • “Internet Basics for the Missouri Attorney”, National Business Institute, 1999
  • “Practical Internet Use for the Missouri Law Office”, National Business Institute, 2000
  • “Music and Copyright”, St. Louis Musician’s Union, 2000
  • “The Law of the Internet in Missouri”, National Business Institute, 2000
  • “Choosing the Best Business Entity for Your Client’s New Business” , Sterling Educational Services, January 23, 2001
  • “Internet Research and Internet Legal Issues in Missouri”, Lorman Education Service, February 20, 2001
  • “Internet Basics for the Missouri Attorney”, National Business Institute, March 20, 2001
  • “Implications of the Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act” , Black Data Processing Associates, Town Hall Meeting, May 15, 2002
  • “Intellectual Property and the Internet” , St. Louis Unix Users Group, St. Louis itec Technology Event, May 22, 2002

Honors and Awards

  • Leadership St. Louis Graduate, 1989

Professional Associations and Memberships

  • Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis, 1975 – 2009
  • American Bar Association, 1990 – 2009

Past Employment Positions

  • United States Army Security Agency, 1970 – 1972

Pro Bono Activities

  • Past President and Board Member, Saint Louis Crisis Nursery
  • Past Member of Advisory Board, Saint Louis Crisis Nursery
  • Past Board Member, Theater Factory St. Louis
  • Past Board Member, The Nursery Foundation of St. Louis
  • Past Member, Educational Advisory Committee of the Saint Louis Zoo
  • Past Board Member and General Counsel, Saint Louis Zoo Friends Association
  • Past Board Member, Giant Steps of St. Louis
  • Past Member, Physical Education Curriculum Committee, Clayton School District
  • Past President, Clayton Recreation, Sports and Wellness Commission

Languages

  • Spanish