GAIN Capital Seeks Sorokin Deposition in OANDA Patent Lawsuit

NEW JERSEY – The ongoing GAIN Capital OANDA patent lawsuit has seen a significant development: GAIN Capital is moving to depose Ilya Sorokin, former CEO of ActForex. Documents filed June 24, 2025, at the New Jersey District Court reveal GAIN Capital's intent to strengthen its defense against OANDA's claims of Forex patent infringement GAIN Capital is accused of. The request for the Ilya Sorokin deposition OANDA case is pivotal to GAIN's argument that OANDA's asserted patents are invalid due to prior art.

GAIN Capital seeks court permission to subpoena Mr. Sorokin, a non-party witness, believing he holds crucial information regarding ActForex, a prior art system. ActForex white-labeled its online FX trading system to Tamb International and Forex Capital Markets (FXCM), both cited in GAINs invalidity contentions. This move highlights the strategic maneuvers in the intense OANDA vs GAIN Capital legal battle.

Obtaining detailed information about the early 2000s operations of Tamb International and FXCM's online FX trading platforms has been challenging for GAIN. These companies published only sparse details, and GAIN has struggled to identify individuals from over two decades ago with the technical expertise to describe their backend components and interactions.

A recent, critical discovery for GAIN Capital is that Tamb International and FXCM's platforms, though branded as their own, were licensed from ActForex, not proprietary. Information on a product's technical operation typically resides with its developer. Thus, GAIN seeks insights into the ActForex platform's functionality directly from Mr. Sorokin, given his involvement. This development underscores the importance of the OANDA lawsuit Ilya Sorokin subpoena efforts.

The underlying dispute began on May 11, 2020, when OANDA Corporation sued GAIN Capital Holdings, Inc. and GAIN Capital Group, LLC for alleged infringement of two U.S. Patents related to trading currencies over a computer network. GAIN asserts these patents are invalid due to prior art. OANDA's suit was filed almost 20 years after the earliest claimed priority date (March 8, 2001) and over 13 years after the first patent was issued (December 5, 2006).

GAIN Capital's initial research into pre-2001 online FX trading websites did not uncover the ActForex white-label arrangement. ActForex's software, publicly offered under various brands, is now contended by GAIN to be a prior art system publicly known and in use over 24 years ago – well before OANDA's asserted patents' earliest claimed priority date. This forms a cornerstone of GAIN's invalidity defense in the ongoing OANDA vs GAIN Capital legal battle.

The patents in question describe “backend systems” and servers, rarely detailed in public documentation for older products. Asserted claims address foreign currency exchange trading systems, including limitations involving server connections and data processes. Licensees are typically unaware of these backend operations, making Mr. Sorokin's testimony critical.

GAIN recently discovered Mr. Ilya Sorokin, ActForex CEO from 2000 to 2015, is alive and in Florida. Given his role, GAIN believes he possesses highly relevant information on the ActForex software platform's operation. The white-label aspect was not evident on licensees' websites and was only recently uncovered by GAIN, making Sorokin's potential testimony invaluable to GAIN's invalidity position. GAIN asserts diligence in identifying Sorokin's relevance and informing the court.

GAIN communicated with OANDA on June 20, 2025, regarding the proposed subpoena, given the approaching discovery deadline and OANDA's history of opposing similar requests. During a June 23, 2025, meeting, OANDA formally opposed GAIN's request to serve a subpoena on Mr. Sorokin, confirming an impasse. This opposition further highlights the contentious nature of the GAIN Capital OANDA patent lawsuit.

In summary, GAIN Capital argues compelling reasons for the proposed subpoena, asserting Mr. Sorokin likely holds pertinent knowledge about the ActForex product supplied to Tamb International and FXCM. This information is directly relevant to GAINs invalidity defenses. As the Forex patent infringement GAIN Capital faces continues, the outcome of this motion for Sorokin's deposition could significantly influence the trajectory of the entire legal proceeding, potentially shedding new light on the prior art landscape of online FX trading.