problem with if construct

I put the following code in, but the first condition is never met! Why?

function verification()
{
/* VERIFY THAT COMPANY NAME IS ENTERED */
if ((document.newcompfrm.compname.value=='')| |(document.newcompfrm.compname.value==' '))
{
alert('You must enter a company name!')
document.newcompfrm.compname.focus()
return false
}

/* VERIFY THAT A COMPANY CLASSIFICATION CODE WAS SELECTED */
if (document.newcompfrm.cccsel.options[document.newcompfrm.cccsel.selectedIndex].value=='')
{
alert('You must select a Company Classification Code!')
document.newcompfrm.cccsel.focus()
return false
}

document.newcompfrm.submit()
return true
}

What I spot right off the bat that could be preventing the condition from being met, is your OR operand "| |" should not contain a space, making it "| |".

excuse me, i ment "| |"