Fish & Richardson’s attempt to work around a conflict failed this week when a New Jersey federal judge disqualified the firm from defending a family of companies in a patent suit brought by Nasdaq Inc.
Judge Brian Martinotti of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey handed down a disqualification ruling on Monday that stops Fish from continuing its representation of Miami International Holdings Inc., operator of the MIAX options exchange, and several affiliated companies. The decision stems from a suit dating back to September 2017, in which MIAX faces allegations that it infringed several electronic trading patents owned by Nasdaq and subsidiaries Nasdaq ISE LLC and FTEN Inc. In addition, Nasdaq accuses MIAX of misappropriating trade secrets.
