i havent seen this posted anywhere else, so apologies if this is old news - but it did bring a wry smile to me!! reported in futures mag, rosenthal collins has filed THREE cases against harris brumfield and his tt company. i was only thumbing through the mag, in a store, and dont have a copy, but the details are pretty accurate from memory (!!!) they are as follows: 1/ a counter case against tt, claiming that it has not infringed upon any patent law held by tt, or that it has copied md trader technology in anyway. this has been filed as rosenthal (the hero) feels that tt's (the evil villain) case claiming it has done so is both damaging to its reputation etc... 2/ an injunction preventing tt from removing x-trader from rosenthals seats as it did with refco, regardless of the outcome of other cases. this is because removing the right to access x-trader could be damaging to their business in the short term, and also is typically used (as in refcos case) as an amateurish bully boy tactic to get the company to buckle under any patent claim. they also claim that their use of x-trader is irrelevant to patent issues. 3/ (and this is the best...) IMPROPER USE OF A PATENT!! YES!!! our heroes are claiming that the patent is invalid anyway, and also, even if it were valid, tt are using it in an unfair and anti competitive manner in order to create a monopoly. they state the case where tt again in their amateur way tried to bully the exchanges pay a flat 2.5 cent fee for each futures contract traded (regardless of whether the contract was traded on/via md technology)! CAN YOU BELIEVE THEIR CHEEK??? brumfield tried to use this desperate tactic in order to get a quick settle, rather than the long drawn out battle he must now go through with every isv providing ladder type order entry. i have long stated that karma will come round on this one. long term success can not come through selfish and evil deeds and unfairness to our fellow man. we reap what we sow. BWWWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! nice try harris, but i think your goose has just been cooked! you really should read et a bit more harris, and listen to what uncle fred tells you.
RCG..... uddaman. I have always liked RCG, anyways..but traders don't hold your breathe deal with it and move on.
Rosenthal is right. You can't patent a concept, although supposedly you can patent a look and feel a software. The only thing you can patent are specific implementations and algorithms. Its like that one British company who claimed to have a patent on all hyperlinks everywhere. Ridiculous. Its an abuse of patents.
The reason Rosenthal doesn't want to switch is because they do massive Autospreading of cash treasuries versus treasury futures. Furthermore, the higher ups like Mr. Collins would stand to make much less money out of this ordeal if their cash group would have to internally develop another order entry concept or make royalty payments to the original developer of the static order entry MD trader concept. I wouldn't underestimate Harris, I'm sure he is already one step ahead and has anticipated this move.
yea - but it seems to me that harris now has 2 BIG HEAVY WEIGHTS confronting him now - refco and rosenthal. i wish i could post a link to the short article in the mag. the thing that struck me about the whole thing was the way the cases have been strategically filed, so if they win the first easy case, then the ruling will give support to the second which will help the third... i used to think harris was pretty smart too, although ive never been a fan of this patent - i still respected his intellectual clout. after reading that he tried to bully the exchanges into a 2.5c fee on ALL futures, regardless of whether they were traded with MD trader technology is just dumb though. no one would buy into that! i really do think harris has been at the proverbial crack pipe though and has developed some sort of delusion that he is more powerful than he actually is. this is often the down fall of the once great. no different from a newbie trader going in to draw down after achieving equity highs. over self confidence that he has the whole gig sussed and starts to think hes invincible (know its happened to me too many times!!!)
ONe thing I haven't seen in print, but have heard from industry insiders, is the notion that Brumfeld actually invented this may not be quite accurate. Let's just say, IF what I've heard is accurate, Mr. Brumfeld may not end up with a smile. Of course, it may be rumor, or even if true, still needs to be proved. Please don't ask specifically what I've heard. The only reason I've put this out here is everybody that comments on this assumes he really invented this. Some adamantly disagree with that.
Can a patent be reversed?..or is it just rendered useless because of court cases? Does the US patent office have a policy of recall as I am sure it has been proven before that they have made a mistake? Honest question(s) I really do not know. Michael B. P.S. Perhaps during the Patent Pending or the application process there was/is a window of time for public comment and or requests to not approve it. Or perhaps there is an appeals process? Does the US patent office just consider the drawings and the uniqueness of an application and grant it if its the first person applying? Sorry for the dumb questions...I have never patented anything..but hey I got some awesome spreadsheets. Alsoooo i saved a ton of money on my auto insurance by switching to....and I got milk too!
well i know for a fact that refco are dismissing the patent as they claim they got the idea from the tokyo stock exchange's propriatory platform. maybe harris saw the same thing??? just like apple and microsoft got their gui ideas (ie windows) from xerox labs. market hacker is more up on this than i am though to be honest....