Lawsuit Aims to Halt Unauthorized Use of Proprietary Electronic Trading Platform Technology

NEW YORK, March 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nasdaq (Nasdaq:NDAQ) filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey today, aiming to protect Nasdaq’s electronic trading technology from unauthorized use by IEX Group, Inc. and Investors Exchange LLC (IEX).

The seven patents asserted in the lawsuit represent millions of dollars in investment over decades, and cover several industry-leading innovations. These patents contribute to the performance of Nasdaq’s trading platforms related to closing auction processes, multi-parallel order processing, matching engine performance, and data feed optimizations. The lawsuit asserts IEX knowingly violated this series of Nasdaq patents in the development of its trading platform.

“In addition to using our technology to power our markets, Nasdaq is a leading technology provider to other market operators across the world,” said Edward S Knight, Nasdaq General Counsel and Chief Regulatory Officer. “These seven patents cover important innovations that we, and our customers, rely on for reliability, scalability, and transparency.”

As described in the lawsuit, IEX employs several former Nasdaq employees familiar with Nasdaq technologies who have been involved in the development of IEX’s trading platform. IEX admitted in public filings that its closing auction process was “designed based on extensive review of” Nasdaq’s patented process and that the information its system is designed to disseminate to the market during closing auctions is “substantially similar” to the “Nasdaq Net Imbalance Order Indicator,” one of the key features of patents asserted in the lawsuit. 

The lawsuit seeks to stop, and obtain fair compensation for, IEX’s unauthorized use of Nasdaq intellectual property.

The patent infringement lawsuit is Nasdaq v. IEX Group, Inc.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq (Nasdaq:NDAQ) is a leading global provider of trading, clearing, exchange technology, listing, information and public company services. Through its diverse portfolio of solutions, Nasdaq enables customers to plan, optimize and execute their business vision with confidence, using proven technologies that provide transparency and insight for navigating today's global capital markets. As the creator of the world's first electronic stock market, its technology powers more than 90 marketplaces in 50 countries, and 1 in 10 of the world's securities transactions. Nasdaq is home to approximately 3,900 total listings with a market value of approximately $13 trillion. To learn more, visit: http://business.nasdaq.com   

For Media Inquiries:

Allan Schoenberg
(212) 231-5534
allan.schoenberg@nasdaq.com

Joe Christinat
(646) 441-5121
joseph.christinat@nasdaq.com

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