Interactive Brokers Issues Statement on Patent Trial Verdict
GREENWICH, CT, September 7, 2021 – Interactive Brokers Group (Nasdaq: IBKR) today announces that a jury has returned a verdict in a patent trial in which Trading Technologies International, Inc. ("Trading Technologies") had accused IBG LLC and its wholly-owned subsidiary Interactive Brokers LLC (together “IBG”) of willfully infringing its patents. Although the jury found that IBG infringed two patents owned by Trading Technologies, the jury recognized that any infringement by Interactive Brokers was not willful, and therefore not subject to enhanced damages. The jury awarded $6,610,985 to Trading Technologies, an amount far less than it had sought in damages.
This trial was part of a long-running patent dispute which has been pending since February 2010 in federal court in the Northern District of Illinois. Trading Technologies originally claimed that IBG had infringed a total of twelve of its U.S. patents. After the conclusion of Covered Business Method Review proceedings in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and subsequent appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, eight of the twelve patents were held invalid. The district court subsequently held in a summary judgment ruling that two of the remaining four patents were invalid. Trial was held on the remaining two patents beginning on August 6.
This lawsuit targeted IBG’s BookTrader module of its Trader Workstation platform, which is used by some customers of IBG. There are no claims of continuing infringement by IBG of any patents held by Trading Technologies, and IBG is not required to make any systems, software or other technology changes as a result of today’s verdict. The two patents that were at issue in the trial have expired.
IBG continues to believe that Trading Technologies’ patents are invalid, and even if valid, that IBG’s BookTrader module did not infringe the patents.
IBG and its founder Thomas Peterffy have been at the cutting edge of electronic trading for four decades. IBG is proud of its industry-leading technology, and its reputation for innovation in the financial services field.
About Interactive Brokers Group, Inc.:
Interactive Brokers Group affiliates provide automated trade execution and custody of securities, commodities, and foreign exchange around the clock on over 135 markets in numerous countries and currencies, from a single IBKR Integrated Investment Account to clients worldwide. We service individual investors, hedge funds, proprietary trading groups, financial advisors and introducing brokers. Our four decades of focus on technology and automation has enabled us to equip our clients with a uniquely sophisticated platform to manage their investment portfolios. We strive to provide our clients with advantageous execution prices and trading, risk and portfolio management tools, research facilities and investment products, all at low or no cost, positioning them to achieve superior returns on investments. Barron’s ranked Interactive Brokers #1 with 5 out of 5 stars in its February 26, 2021, Best Online Broker Review.
Contacts for Interactive Brokers Group, Inc.
Media: Kat Ewert, media@ibkr.com
