Luke Hampton MacDonald

I'll research this attorney before drafting.

Let me verify the Qualcomm/FedEx matters and search for education and bar details.

Let me gather a few more details on his notable cases and IPR practice.

Luke H. MacDonald, Ph.D. — Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP (Reston, VA office)

Focus areas. MacDonald's practice is a mix of district court patent litigation, PTAB work, Federal Circuit appeals, and patent prosecution. Finnegan's own practice description places his technology experience across the electrical sciences, communications, financial services, automotive, biomedical, environmental, and retail sectors, and notes he handles both infringement/invalidity positions for product-launch counseling and portfolio prosecution (Finnegan attorney bio, finnegan.com). His tracked matters are consistent with that: the FedEx/Roambee and FedEx/Qualcomm disputes involve RFID/sensor-based shipment-tracking and "SenseAware" logistics technology; the Scramoge matter involved wireless charging; Bell Northern Research/MediaTek involved standard-essential-patent and FRAND issues. His technical background is in biomedical physics, computer programming, mathematics, microbiology, and environmental engineering — not Wi-Fi or pharma specifically. Note that five of the seven tracked appearances are listed as untitled and cannot be characterized from the data provided.

Side preference. The tracked counts are close to even — 3 plaintiff-side and 4 defendant-side — and the substance points to a defense-leaning practice that nonetheless brings affirmative suits. The recurring pattern is representing operating companies (Volkswagen, MediaTek, FedEx) against patent assertions by NPEs/PAEs and competitors, combined with offensive countermeasures: in Scramoge v. Volkswagen he obtained a stay pending IPR and a full settlement and dismissal with prejudice with no payment; in Bell Northern Research v. MediaTek he secured pre-trial settlement at the ITC after an indefiniteness finding on one asserted patent, IPR institution on another, and an affirmative FRAND/fee-shifting case against the plaintiff. He does not appear to prosecute for NPEs.

Firm context. Entire tracked career is at Finnegan, where he has practiced since law school; Finnegan materials currently list him as an associate in the firm's Reston office (Finnegan bio; Lexology profile). Before law practice he was a faculty scientist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and deputy director of the Johns Hopkins Water Institute — a technical, not legal, prior career.

Notable matters and outcomes. The most prominent tracked case is the FedEx–Qualcomm dispute. Finnegan's bio confirms representation of FedEx Corporate Services in FedEx Corporate Services, Inc. v. Roambee Corp. (D. Del., six patents). The related appeals, Federal Express Corp. v. Qualcomm Inc. (Fed. Cir. Nos. 2024-1235/-1236/-1237, decided April 29, 2026), arose from Qualcomm's IPRs against FedEx patents covering shipment-sensor systems. The Federal Circuit held precedentially that a patent owner's § 312(a)(2) real-party-in-interest challenge is unreviewable under § 314(d), but vacated the Board's obviousness determination on the '797 patent and vacated-in-part for an APA violation on the '231 patent — partial wins for the patent-owner side (Justia; IPWatchdog, Apr. 30, 2026; Patterson + Sheridan Fed. Cir. summary, May 2026). FedEx has petitioned for cert on the RPI question (No. 26-170), and Qualcomm filed its opposition brief in late September 2026 (Mealey's; Patently-O). The tracked docket lists MacDonald as Counsel and of counsel on these FedEx–Qualcomm matters; the public dockets confirm the cases but I could not independently verify his specific signature role from the sources retrieved.

PTAB / IPR experience. Yes — this is a regular part of his practice, on both sides of the table. He has appeared in IPR proceedings as petitioner's counsel (e.g., IPR2022-01309/-01354/-01543/-01559 in the Scramoge/Volkswagen matter; IPR2023-01414 in Bell Northern Research/MediaTek) and on the patent-owner side in the FedEx/Qualcomm appeals from final written decisions. Finnegan's bio lists "petitions for inter partes review (IPRs), appeals" among his core litigation activities.

Bar / education. Registered to practice before the USPTO (Reg. No. 79,064); admitted in Virginia and before several district courts, including E.D. Mich., E.D. Tex., and E.D./W.D. Va. J.D., Georgetown University Law Center, 2019; Ph.D. and M.A., Civil & Environmental Engineering, Princeton University (2010, 2006); B.S., Biomedical Physics, Northeastern University (2003) (Finnegan bio PDF).

Caveat: several details above (associate-level status, the precise scope of his role in the FedEx–Qualcomm appeals) rest on firm-published biography material and secondary coverage rather than primary docket filings, and should be confirmed against the dockets before reliance.