Thomas Harry Shunk

     Tom brings a corporate trial lawyer’s perspective to patent, trade secret and other technology-focused intellectual property litigation. He has tried more than 40 civil commercial cases throughout the country as first chair counsel, dozens of those cases to juries. He has also argued many of the cases he has tried on appeal, including more than ten appearances before the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit—the exclusive appellate court for patent infringement disputes.

     Tom's experience in patent litigation began in 1988 with an action concerning liquid crystal display computer monitors. That trial spanned six weeks of testimony and ended with a jury verdict in Tom's client's favor, finding willful infringement against the defendant and awarding $5 million before trebling. Since that time Tom has been in the courtroom trying both jury and bench patent infringement cases as well as other intellectual property matters as first chair trial counsel. Recent successes include a judgment for his client, defendant in a patent infringement action tried to the bench in Toledo regarding building devices, which judgment included a finding of fraud on the Patent Office by the opposing party, and a 2006 judgment following trial to a jury on behalf of his client, the plaintiff, relating to a materials shipment method patent.

     Tom has tried a number of trade secret cases in fields as diverse as water treatment chemical formulae and computerized client list databases, and has litigated copyright, trademark, trade dress and Lanham Act issues on numerous occasions, as well as typical corporate disputes.

     Tom is a member of the Mediation Panel for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio with emphasis on intellectual property disputes. Immediately following law school, he served as law clerk to the former Chief Judge of the Northern Ohio Federal District Court.

patent litigation, trade secret litigation, technology-related litigation