Max Shaftal is a partner in the Intellectual Property Practice Group. Mr. Shaftal's practice encompasses a wide array of patent, trademark, copyright and other intellectual property law matters. His experience includes: performing and analyzing patent searches; advising clients regarding product designs; preparing and prosecuting patent applications in a wide variety of technologies (including mechanical devices, medical devices, lenses and surgical instruments, computer software and technologies, fiber optics, gaming devices, GPS devices, and business methods); providing patent validity and/or invalidity opinions; analyzing and counseling regarding trademark and trade dress availability and protection; acquisition of rights during the transfer and/or development of websites and software; maintaining and managing patent, trademark and copyright portfolios; licensing of patents, trademarks and copyrights; resolving domain name disputes; due diligence analyses in connection with business acquisitions, dispositions and lending transactions; litigation in state and federal courts and administrative agencies as well as Trademark Opposition and Cancellation proceedings (including claims of patent, trademark, and/or copyright infringement, trade secret misappropriation, and/or unfair competition litigation); performing intellectual property audits; and preparing trade secret protection plans.

Mr. Shaftal is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (B.S.C.E., 1978) and the DePaul University College of Law (J.D., 1982). He was admitted to the Illinois State Bar in 1982. He is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and a member of the Trial Bar for the Northern District of Illinois. Mr. Shaftal was admitted to Bars of the U.S. District Court for Northern District of Illinois in 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit in 1984, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in 1986, and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in 1987. Mr. Shaftal has been an active member of the Chicago Bar Association. In addition, he has served as Secretary (1997-1999) and as a Board Member (2002-2003) of the Intellectual Property Law Association of Chicago. He has also served on the DePaul University College of Law, Intellectual Property Advisory Board (2001-2003). Mr. Shaftal was born in Havana, Cuba, and is fluent in Spanish.


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