Nasdaq wins high-profile court case against the Swedish Competition Authority

The Patent and Market Court of Appeal on 28 June 2019 handed down judgment in a case which originates in a dawn raid carried out in 2011 and has been one of the most high-profile competition cases in recent years and the most extensive case concerning abuse of dominance in Sweden ever.

The Swedish Competition Authority alleged that Nasdaq, which among other things runs the Nordic exchanges in Stockholm, Copenhagen and Helsinki, had abused a dominant position by denying a competitor the possibility of locating its computer systems in the same data centre outside of Stockholm where Nasdaq’s exchange systems were located. The Patent and Market Court of Appeal has found, however, affirming a judgment of the Patent and Market Court, that measures taken by Nasdaq did not restrict competition. The Swedish Competition Authority’s request for a fine was consequently rejected and Nasdaq awarded full compensation for its legal costs. The judgment cannot be appealed.

Nasdaq was represented by Mannheimer Swartling.