Craig S. Fochler is a partner with Foley & Lardner LLP and a member of the IP Litigation Practice and the Food & Beverage Industry Team. He is also a member and former chair of the firm’s Trademark, Copyright & Advertising Practice and former chair of the Chicago Intellectual Property Department.
Mr. Fochler is experienced in all aspects of domestic and international trademark, copyright and unfair competition law. He has represented a wide variety of clients in these areas, including: cable television companies; computer hardware and software companies; financial institutions; food and candy processors; machinery and automotive manufacturers; personal care product manufacturers; retail chain stores; sports card manufacturers; and various nonprofit organizations. His experience includes litigating trademark and advertising issues throughout the United States and supervising such litigation worldwide. He also has extensive experience in intellectual property and transactional matters, including mergers; acquisitions; domestic and foreign trademark and copyright registration; and licensing programs.
From 1986 through 1992 Mr. Fochler was the Illinois law editor of the United States Trademark Association’s treatise State Trademark And Unfair Competition Law (1987), and principal contributor to the analytic text for the law school casebooks Trademarks, Trade Identity And Unfair Competition Practices: Cases and Materials (1974), Unfair Competition and Unfair Trade Practices (1985) and Trademarks (1987).
Mr. Fochler’s teaching experience includes acting adjunct professor for trademarks and unfair competition at Northwestern University School of Law and guest lecturer of deceptive advertising and expert evidence in trade identity and deceptive advertising actions for the master of law program at John Marshall School of Law. Mr. Fochler also has lectured and spoken at numerous bar and professional association legal education programs.
In 2010, Mr. Fochler was named a BTI Client Service All-Star, an elite group of attorneys nominated solely and exclusively by clients in BTI’s independent study as delivering the absolute best in client service. He was also recognized in 2010 - 2012 by the Legal 500 and was selected for inclusion in the 2005, 2007, 2009–2013 Illinois Super Lawyers® lists.*
Mr. Fochler received his law degree from Northwestern University School of Law in 1971 and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Knox College in 1968.
Mr. Fochler has been admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the state of Illinois, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth, Seventh, Tenth and Federal Circuits; the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois; the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin; the United States District Court for District of Arizona; and the United States District Court for the Central District of California.
He is a member of the American Bar Association and the Promotional Marketing Association. Mr. Fochler has been commissioner of the Lighthouse Park District in Evanston, Illinois since 1982, and was a captain in the U.S. Army where he served from 1968 to 1976.
*The Illinois Supreme Court does not recognize certifications of specialties in the practice of law and no award or recognition is a requirement to practice law in Illinois.