Tom Schaumberg

Tom M. Schaumberg is a principal at Levi Snotherly & Schaumberg, PLLC. Tom has litigated Section 337 unfair competition cases for over 40 years before the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. He uses his experience as well as his international, antitrust, business, and administrative law background to counsel domestic and foreign clients on litigation strategy, licensing, trade policy, intellectual property, and international arbitration.

Tom has long been involved in shaping policies that have an impact on Section 337. Currently, he is focusing on issues that have arisen under Section 337 with respect to non-practicing entities and standard-setting organizations. Previously, he developed ideas with an ad hoc committee of interested corporations and organizations to address the 1988 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade Panel Report finding certain aspects of Section 337 discriminatory. These efforts contributed to the 1995 amendments to Section 337 by establishing target dates, providing for district court stays, removing counterclaims to district court, and codifying ITC practice with respect to general exclusion orders.

Tom is a pioneer in creating opportunities at various trade bar groups and associations for attorneys interested in promoting Section 337 as an effective border enforcement mechanism against unfair import competition. Tom helped found the ITC Trial Lawyers Association, was its first President, and remains on its Executive Committee. He was appointed to serve as the first chair of the ITC Committee of the American Intellectual Property Law Association. He also served as the first vice-chair of the International Trade Commission Committee of the Intellectual Property Owners Association.

He was selected by the U.S. Trade Representative to serve on the bi-national panels convened under the United States-Canada Free Trade Agreement to provide review of antidumping and countervailing duty decisions. Earlier in his career, Tom served as an attorney in the Merger Division, Bureau of Restraint of Trade, at the Federal Trade Commission.

Tom is the editor of the first, second, third, and fourth editions of the book published by the American Bar Association entitled “A Lawyer’s Guide to Section 337 Investigations Before the U.S. International Trade Commission.” The book was also translated for distribution in China.