Nasdaq takes on rival exchange over patents and trade secrets
Electronic stock exchange Nasdaq has taken on a rival over the alleged misappropriation of trade secrets and patent infringement.
In a claim filed at the US District Court for the District of New Jersey on Friday, September 1, Nasdaq alleged that Miami International ( MIAX) had hired at least 15 ex-Nasdaq employees so that it could “avoid incurring or reduce the risk, time and expense of independently developing its own trading technology”.
MIAX allegedly used the information “stolen” by the former Nasdaq employees to build two options exchanges, MIAX Options and MIAX Pearl, in 2012 and 2017.
“This calculated theft of the fruits of Nasdaq’s long-term investments and IP allowed MIAX to launch both of its exchanges in record time—at Nasdaq’s expense,” said the suit.
According to the claim, in which Nasdaq is seeking an injunction and damages, some of Nasdaq’s ex-employees forwarded documents containing trade secrets to their personal emails.
The trade secrets allegations focus on Nasdaq’s INET, the core software engine behind all of Nasdaq’s trading systems.
Nasdaq disputed MIAX’s claim on its website that its trading platforms were “ developed in-house and designed from the ground up”.
“But rather than build the MIAX trading platform in-house from scratch, on information and belief, MIAX instead relied on or piggybacked off of the Nasdaq trade secrets and other technical know-how acquired by former Nasdaq employees during their tenure at Nasdaq,” said the suit.
Nasdaq also claimed that US patent numbers 6,618,707; 7,246,093; 7,599,875; 7,747,506; 7,921,051; and 7,933,827, which concern trading technology, were infringed by the Miami stock exchange.
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