Matthew A. Macdonald

Matthew A. Macdonald is a patent litigator at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, where he focuses on high-stakes disputes across various technology sectors, including artificial intelligence, voice assistant technology, consumer electronics, and foodtech. He handles litigation in both federal and state courts. Macdonald began his legal career with clerkships for Judge Carlos T. Bea of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Justice Nathan L. Hecht of the Texas Supreme Court, and previously practiced at Munger, Tolles & Olson.

Macdonald primarily represents plaintiffs in patent infringement matters, as evidenced by his appearances in four plaintiff-side cases compared to one defendant-side case. A significant portion of his plaintiff-side work involves representing VB Assets, LLC, a patent assertion entity focused on intellectual property related to voice assistants and conversational AI. Notable cases include VB Assets, LLC v. Amazon.com Services LLC, where a jury awarded $46.7 million in damages for willful infringement of voice technology patents, a verdict recognized among Law.com's “Top 100 Verdicts for 2023.” The court subsequently set ongoing royalty rates for continued infringement. He also represented VB Assets, LLC against Samsung Electronics Co., LTD. et al. and Apple Inc. in similar patent disputes.

While demonstrating a strong plaintiff-side record, Macdonald also has experience defending clients. He secured a 92% reduction in a patent damages verdict for Lutron Electronics in a retrial. Additionally, he successfully represented Impossible Foods in a "groundbreaking foodtech patent fight" and obtained a summary judgment win for OpenAI in a defamation case related to ChatGPT, showcasing his broader technology litigation capabilities. Information regarding his regular appearance in PTAB or IPR proceedings is not reliably sourced.

Macdonald earned his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 2007, an M.A. with distinction from Lancaster University, and a B.A. with high distinction from the University of California, Berkeley. He is admitted to the State Bar of California.