Matthew C. Gaudet

Partner

  • Matthew C. Gaudet
  • Phone: +1 404 253 6902

    Matthew C. Gaudet - LinkedIn Import to Address Book

  • Duane Morris LLP
    1075 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 1700
    Atlanta, GA 30309-3929
    USA

Matthew C. Gaudet is a trial lawyer who focuses on patent cases, and he is Vice Chair of the firm's Intellectual Property Practice Group. Over the last 25+ years, he has defeated many dozens of patents through trials, summary judgment rulings and IPRs, and he regularly appears before the Federal Circuit. In 2023 alone, he won:

  • A complete defense verdict for Cisco Systems, Inc. in the re-trial of the $2.7 billion claim brought by plaintiff Centripetal Networks against Cisco in the Eastern District of Virginia, resulting in a total victory against all 11 patents asserted in the case;
  • An affirmance by the Federal Circuit of a complete defense victory for SonicWall, Inc. against plaintiff Finjan, Inc., after he led the team that defeated all 10 asserted patents in the Northern District of California through a combination of summary judgment and Daubert rulings (Finjan had collected approximately $300 million in prior litigation against other defendants); and
  • A complete victory through summary judgment for Fortinet, Inc. in the Northern District of California in a case brought by plaintiff 1440 Sports Management against Fortinet and the PGA TOUR, relating to Fortinet’s sponsorship of a PGA tournament event. 

Mr. Gaudet is also serving as lead counsel for other major technology companies, including Verizon, Microsoft, Comcast, and Cox Communications.  On the plaintiff’s side, he has collected over $100 million for patent holders.

Mr. Gaudet was previously recognized as one of the top five IP lawyers under 40 in the country by Law360 (in which he was described as a “deadly cross-examiner”). The honor followed a year when two different district courts―one in East Texas, one in Delaware―cited his cross-examinations of opposing experts in rulings that sustained winning jury verdicts, with one judge describing his cross-examination as "brilliant."  For each of the last three years, he has been listed amongst the top 500 litigators in the country in Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America.  Every year since 2009, he has been included in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business in its listing of leading IP lawyers in Georgia. Mr. Gaudet is also listed in Best Lawyers in America and the "Top 100" of Georgia Super Lawyers. Before entering private practice, Mr. Gaudet served a judicial clerkship for the Honorable Susan H. Black of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Duke University School of Law.

In addition to trial victories, other examples of patent cases Mr. Gaudet won through summary judgment for the defense include the following:

  • Oyster Optics, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc., Case No. 2:16-cv-01301 (E.D. Tex.): Lead counsel for Cisco; won summary judgment from the bench of release and exhaustion against plaintiff’s claims accusing Cisco’s fiber optics products. The win was affirmed by the Federal Circuit.
  • United Access Technologies v. CenturyTel Broadband Services LLC et al, Case No. 1:2011- cv-00339 (D. Del.): Lead counsel for CenturyLink; won summary judgment of noninfringement against the plaintiff’s claims accusing CenturyLink’s ADSL services.  The win was affirmed by the Federal Circuit.
  • Mobile Telecommunications Technologies, LLC v. Time Warner Cable Inc. et al, No. 2:16- cv-7 (E.D. Tex.) and No. 1:16-cv-00692 (D. Del.): Lead counsel for Time Warner, Charter, Verizon, Cox and ARRIS in these litigations. Won case dispositive claim construction and indefiniteness rulings against the plaintiff’s claims accusing 802.11-compliant products, resulting in stipulated dismissals by the end of 2017. The plaintiff had collected almost $100 million in prior litigation against other defendants.
  • Garnet Digital, LLC v. Seagate Technology LLC, 6:13-cv-00655 (E.D. Tex.): Lead counsel for Seagate; won summary judgment of noninfringement against the plaintiff’s claims accusing Seagate’s memory devices.

Recent examples of patent cases in which Mr. Gaudet won orders staying the litigation and then worked with Duane Morris’s IPR team to invalidate all asserted claims through the Patent Office include the following:

  • Patent Asset Licensing, LLC v. WideOpenWest Finance, LLC and Knology of Florida, Inc., Case No. 3:15-cv-743-J-32MCR (M.D. Fla.): Lead counsel for Metaswitch, WideOpenWest and Knology. Invalidated all asserted claims of all three patents-in-suit in IPRs, and the Federal Circuit affirmed.
  • Crossroads Systems, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc., Case No. 1:14-cv-00148 (W.D. Tex.); Crossroads Systems, Inc. v. NetApp, Inc., Case No. 1:14-cv-00149 (W.D. Tex.): Lead counsel for Cisco and NetApp. Invalidated all claims of all four patents in IPRs, and the Federal Circuit affirmed. Cases dismissed, and clients received royalty-free license in 2018.
  • Cirrex Systems LLC v. Verizon Services Corp et al, Case No. 1:13-cv-00921 (D. Del.): Lead counsel for Verizon, ARRIS and Tellabs/Coriant. Invalidated all asserted claims of all three patents in IPRs. Case dismissed, and clients received royalty-free licenses in 2018.
  • SSL Services, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc., Case No. 2:15-cv-00433-JRG-RSP (E.D. Tex.): Invalidated all asserted claims in IPR, and the Federal Circuit affirmed. Case dismissed, and client received royalty-free license in 2019.
  • Graywire LLC v. Ciena Corp. et al, Case No. 1:2008-cv-02993 (N.D. Ga): Lead counsel for Cisco and Ciena. Invalidated all asserted claims of all three asserted patents in inter partes re-examinations, and the Federal Circuit affirmed. Case dismissed, and clients received royalty-free licenses in 2018.

Recent examples of patent cases Mr. Gaudet won for the defendant by forcing voluntary dismissals in return for no payment by his clients include the following:

  • SLS Manager Technologies v. Microsoft Corp., Case No. 6:23-CV-00519-AM (W.D. Tex.)
  • Implicit, LLC v. SonicWall Inc., Case No. 1:23-cv-01001-MN (D. Del.)
  • Implicit LLC v. Fortinet, Inc., Case No. 5:17-CV-04467-BLF (D. Del; following transfer from E.D. Tex.)
  • Vir2us, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc., et al., Case No. 3:16-cv-06988 (N.D. Cal.)
  • Parallel Networks LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc., Case No. 1:13-cv-02051 (D. Del.)
  • Novocrypt LLC v. Seagate Technology LLC, No. 2:15-cv-227 (E.D. Tex.)
  • Anza Technology, Inc. v. ARRIS Group, Inc., No. 3:16-cv-1261-BEN-AGS (S.D. Cal.)

Representative Matters

  • Won a complete non-infringement jury verdict in Waco, Texas before Judge Alan Albright, on behalf of Roku. Plaintiff IOENGINE, LLC was backed by litigation financiers. Plaintiff had won two previous jury verdicts against other defendants (represented by other law firms), and Plaintiff sought $318 million in this trial. Instead, the jury found that Roku did not infringe any claim of any asserted patent. IOENGINE, LLC v. Roku, Inc., Case No. 6:21-cv-01296-ADA.

  • Represented Yahoo, Inc. in a suit brought by Droplets Inc., for alleged patent infringement, seeking $260 million and a finding of willful infringement. An Oakland federal jury found no infringement with respect to four Yahoo products and, on the one remaining product, awarded less than 7% of Droplets’ damages demand. The jury also did not find any willful infringement.

  • Won summary judgment on a release defense for Cisco Systems in the Eastern District of Texas in an 8-patent case regarding optical technology.

  • Won summary judgment of non-infringement for Seagate Technology LLC in the Eastern District of Texas in a patent dispute brought over a telecommunications patent.

  • Won case dispositive claim construction and indefiniteness rulings in the District of Delaware for Time Warner, Charter, Verizon, Cox and ARRIS against four patents allegedly covering 802.11-compliant product.

  • Won jury verdict of infringement in the Eastern District of Texas for a patent holder against two major automobile manufacturers, resulting in an 8-figure judgment and a multimillion-dollar annual ongoing royalty.

  • Won jury verdict in the District of Delaware for EarthLink on three patents relating to ADSL technology, in which the jury found the patents not infringed and invalid on numerous grounds.

  • Won a complete defense verdict on all four patents-at-issue for a major manufacturer of cable set-top boxes in the largest Section 337 proceeding ever tried before the International Trade Commission.

  • Won summary judgment in the District of Delaware against all claims in patent and trade secret litigation between major military contractors relating to technology to protect low-flying aircraft from heat-seeking missiles.

  • Won summary judgment in the District of New Jersey for a medical device manufacturer that a key competitor's patent relating to prosthetic knees is invalid, and did so after taking the case over from prior counsel.

  • Won judgment on the pleadings in the District of Delaware summary judgment of non-infringement for CenturyLink in patent litigation relating to ADSL technology.

  • Won summary judgment of non-infringement in the Eastern District of Texas for a major Internet Service Provider in a complex, multi-party patent infringement matter involving an alleged invention relating to Internet access.

  • Won an order shifting $300,000 of e-discovery costs to a plaintiff patent holding company and a corresponding $87,000 attorneys' fee award against that plaintiff on behalf of a major supplier of hardware for routing e-mail, then won summary judgment of non-infringement and/or invalidity against all patents asserted in the case in the Northern District of Georgia.

  • Won summary judgment of non-infringement of all eight patents-at-issue for a major manufacturer of cable set-top boxes in complex, multi-district patent and antitrust litigation relating to interactive program guides in the Northern District of Georgia.

  • Secured an 8-figure royalty arrangement in favor of a well-known research foundation in patent litigation against two major, global healthcare companies relating to the cell line used to manufacture the protein in a vaccine for HPV.

Areas of Practice

  • Intellectual Property Litigation
  • Antitrust and Complex Commercial Litigation
  • Technology Litigation

Admissions

  • Georgia
  • New York
Resident in Atlanta Office (Not admitted in California)

Education

  • Duke University School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 1997
  • Louisiana State University, B.A., magna cum laude, 1993

Experience

  • Duane Morris LLP
    - Partner, 2005-present
    - Associate, 2002-2004
  • King & Spalding, Atlanta, Georgia
    - Associate, 1998-2002
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
    - Law Clerk, Honorable Susan H. Black, 1997-1998

Professional Activities

  • New York State Bar Association
  • State Bar of Georgia

Honors and Awards

  • Named a "Distinguished Leaders Honoree" by the Daily Report's Southeastern Legal Awards, 2024

  • Listed in Best Lawyers in America, 2017-2024

  • Lawdragon 500 Leading Litigators in America, 2022-2024

  • Listed in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, 2009-2023

  • Listed as a "Patent Star" in Managing Intellectual Property's IP Stars, 2013, 2015-2023

  • Listed in Georgia Super Lawyers

  • Outstanding Georgia IP Litigator Award, Managing Intellectual Property, 2020

  • Listed in IAM Patent 1000: The World's Leading Patent Professionals, 2019-2023

  • Member, 2014 Managing Intellectual Property North America Awards: Top Patent Litigation Practice in the Southern United States
  • Top 100 Georgia Super Lawyers, 2013
  • Listed in Georgia Super Lawyers Rising Stars
  • Listed in Georgia's Best Lawyers, 2012
  • Named one of Law360's Five IP Lawyers Under 40 to Watch, 2011

Civic and Charitable Activities

  • Represented numerous individuals pro bono in appointed federal habeas corpus proceedings and in Section 1983 inmate litigation, including multiple appearances before the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and a jury trial in the Middle District of Georgia.

Selected Publications

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • Speaker, "25th Annual Advanced Patent Law Institute," University of Texas School of Law, Webinar, November 5-6, 2020
  • Speaker, "Follow the Money: NPEs and Pre-Litigation Considerations," Practising Law Institute's Patent Litigation 2010, Atlanta, November 8, 2010
  • Speaker, "Willfulness and Opinions of Counsel After Seagate," Practising Law Institute's Patent Litigation 2009, Atlanta, November 10, 2009
  • Moderated a panel of IP practitioners in a one-hour discussion regarding trends and developments in patent litigation, Georgia Entertainment Law and Intellectual Property conference, November 12, 2008
  • Speaker, "Claim Construction and Proving Infringement," Practising Law Institute's Patent Litigation 2008, Atlanta, November 10, 2008
  • Speaker, "Appellate Issues in Patent Litigation," Patent Claim Construction 2008: The Advanced Legal Forum, February 27, 2008
  • Panelist, "KSR v. Teleflex Supreme Court Decision," State Bar of Georgia IP Section, June 2007
  • Panelist, "Major Upcoming Supreme Court Cases on Patent Issues," State Bar of Georgia IP Section, October 2006