The TRADE 59 - Q1 2019 | Page 55

[ M A R K E T R E V I E W | E X C H A N G E S ] Patents pending The long-running legal battle between IEX and Nasdaq over technology patents took another turn at the end of February, as IEX filed a claim that two patents held by its rival were invalid. IEX has also petitioned patent authori- ties to have the Nasdaq patents declared invalid and while two of the claims have been rejected at the time of writing, one is to move forward and four are still pending. Nasdaq initially filed suit against IEX in March 2018, accusing IEX of copying seven of its patents related to four exchange processes representing millions of dollars of investment. IEX responded that the lawsuit was “baseless” and sought a dismissal of the infringement claims, on the basis that it failed to identify where or how key elements of its alleged inventions appear on IEX’s exchange. Sophia Lee, General Counsel at IEX, said at the time: “This lawsuit is just the latest in a series of baseless attempts by Nas- daq to stop the march of progress toward a fairer and more transparent market for companies, investors, and brokers.” Issue 59 // TheTradeNews.com // 55