ESpeed says patent decision in its favor
By Al Yoon
NEW YORK, Nov 6 (Reuters) - ESpeed Inc. (ESPD.O: Quote, Profile, Research), the electronic bond trading unit of Cantor Fitzgerald, on Monday said a federal court has "squarely rejected" a competitor's interpretation of a patent that has hindered ESpeed's futures trading business.
ESpeed, based in New York, said the decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois supports its assertions that its futures trading products do not infringe patents held by Trading Technologies International Inc. The judge's interpretation removes uncertainty that has hampered its product sales, it said in a statement.
But Trading Technologies said the court's decision didn't relate to whether ESpeed or other defendants are infringing patents. Trading Technologies, based in Chicago, said in a statement it "remains very confident" that the court will find that ESpeed's products do infringe its patents.
The patent covers how prices are displayed, said Paul Saltzman, ESpeed's chief operating officer. The judge defined the term "static display of prices" in Trading Technologies' systems differently than ESpeed's features, he said.
"It was very difficult to sell our products in the face of this even though we consistently indicated that our products fell outside the scope of the Trading Technologies patent," Saltzman said.
ESpeed in August said it expected operating revenues for 2006 of more than $154 million, compared with $150.2 million in 2005. It doesn't disclose how much was from futures trading.
Shares of ESpeed reached a 21-month high of $9.97 on Monday before closing down 17 cents at $9.41 on the Nasdaq.
Trading Technologies has sued at least 16 other trading and software firms since 2004. Several companies settled with closely held Trading Technologies by licensing the patent.
ESpeed suffered a legal defeat last year when a judge invalidated an electronic bond trading technology patent it had said was infringed by a unit of its main competitor, ICAP Plc. |
