A US judge has ruled that Investment Technology Group (ITG) did not infringe the patent of rival outfit Liquidnet.
In 2006, institutional trading platform Liquidnet claimed ITG had infringed a patent relating to indications-based trading systems.
Now, Judge Shira Scheindlin of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York has ruled that ITG's Channel, Posit Alert and Macgregor XIP products do not infringe, adding that Liquidnet's proposed construction of its patent was "simply not reasonable."
In addition, Scheindlin has denied Liquidnet's motion for summary judgment seeking to dismiss a portion of an ITG counterclaim introduced in 2008 which claimed tortious interference with prospective business relations, and sought damages in excess of $200 million.
ITG argues that the patent is actually invalid and was "obtained by inequitable conduct due to, among other reasons, Liquidnet's failure to disclose the @Harborside system and a related patent application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office".
Bob Gasser, president and CEO, ITG, says: "This decision vindicates our long-held position that ITG has not in any way infringed Liquidnet's '834 patent."