FT:Reuters sues Bloomberg over patents

[Jozef Halbersztadt <halber@idea.net.pl>]

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1057562343171&p=1012571727092

> Reuters, the electronic information group, on Friday night launched a 
> multi-million dollar lawsuit against Bloomberg, its US arch rival, 
> over alleged patent infringement.
> The UK group is seeking "injunctive relief and damages" from 
> Bloomberg, the privately-owned company controlled by New York mayor 
> Michael Bloomberg.
> It accuses Bloomberg of infringing patents covering trading technology 
> - the heart of its business offering to the world's banking and 
> brokerage industry.
>
> "We're confident we have not infringed on the patents and in our 
> judgement, the suit has no merit," said Chris Taylor,  a spokesperson 
> for Bloomberg, late on Friday.
>
> The lawsuit, filed in a US court in the southern district of New York, 
> claims that Bloomberg infringed three Reuters patents. The 17-year 
> patents, issued in 1999 and 2001, cover so-called matching systems, 
> which are used by traders in the $1,200bn foreign exchange market and 
> for equity trading. 
>
> "Reuters has invested millions in research and development to deliver 
> the best automated trading technology to the market," the company said 
> in a statement. "Although Reuters had preferred not to resort to 
> litigation, it cannot allow the unauthorised use of its intellectual 
> property."

Probably the numbers of US patents are 5924082 and 6260025, though they 
have a dozen more similar ones. US5924082 has European brother EP776505B1.

Claims
1. A negotiated matching system comprising a computer for executing 
transactions between counterparties; a plurality of remote terminals 
corresponding to plurality of users, said remote terminals enabling said 
users to enter fixed trading parameter s into system; and a 
communication network for enabling communication between said terminals 
and said matching computer;
wherein said matching computer comprises:
a detection system for identifying potential couterparties to a 
potential transaction based upon fixed parameters,
a notification system for notifying the potential couterparties 
identified by said detection system of the potential transaction
a communications enabled system for enabling communication between the 
potential counterparties detected by said detection system in order to 
negotiate variable trading parameters for the potential transaction, and
a trade execution system for executing said potential transactions when 
said variable trading parameters are received from the potential 
counterparties for canceling said potential transaction when the 
potential counterparties do not agree on said variable trading parameters.

The American version is even more general