In his findings, the judge stated that the Exchange "has a legitimate business interest in preventing its competitor, ICE, from free–riding on NYMEX's settlement prices. NYMEX's settlement prices have value because they are viewed as proxies for market prices, and NYMEX has a legitimate interest in preventing rivals from free–riding on this reputation."
The amended counterclaims by ICE were filed after the judge dismissed similar counterclaims last August. The counterclaims were made in response to a copyright infringement suit filed by the New York Mercantile Exchange on November 20, 2002, stemming from the use by ICE of the Exchange's settlement prices.
New York Mercantile Exchange Chairman Mitchell Steinhause, said, "We are gratified that the court supported our position that these claims were without merit and look forward to vindication on the issue of copyright infringement. The effort and judgment that has gone into establishing our settlement procedures and continues to go into settling our markets each day should not be used by exchange–like organizations to take advantage of our efforts to compete with us."
