[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 3, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31728-31729]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-12315]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. 34-57878; File No. SR-OPRA-2008-01]


Options Price Reporting Authority; Order Approving an Amendment 
to the Plan for Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale Reports and 
Quotation Information To Adopt New Form of Vendor Affiliate Agreement

May 28, 2008.

I. Introduction

    On March 3, 2008, the Options Price Reporting Authority (``OPRA'') 
submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission''), 
pursuant to section 11A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Act'') \1\ and Rule 608 thereunder,\2\ an amendment to the Plan for 
Reporting of Consolidated Options Last Sale Reports and Quotation 
Information (``OPRA Plan'').\3\ The proposed OPRA Plan amendment would 
adopt a new form of ``Vendor Affiliate Agreement'' that may be used by 
an affiliate of an OPRA ``Vendor'' that wants also to become a Vendor. 
OPRA's Fee Schedule would be modified to state that OPRA will waive its 
``Redistribution Fee'' for all affiliates in a corporate family with 
which OPRA agrees to Vendor Affiliate Agreements. The proposed OPRA 
Plan amendment was published for comment in the Federal Register on 
March 26, 2008.\4\ The Commission received no comment letters in 
response to the Notice. On

[[Page 31729]]

May 16, 2008, OPRA submitted a revised version of Exhibit I to its 
proposed Plan Amendment.\5\
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    \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \2\ 17 CFR 242.608.
    \3\ The OPRA Plan is a national market system plan approved by 
the Commission pursuant to Section 11A of the Act and Rule 608 
thereunder. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 17638 (March 18, 
1981), 22 S.E.C. Docket 484 (March 31, 1981). The full text of the 
OPRA Plan is available at http://www.opradata.com.
    The OPRA Plan provides for the collection and dissemination of 
last sale and quotation information on options that are traded on 
the participant exchanges. The seven participants to the OPRA Plan 
are the American Stock Exchange LLC, the Boston Stock Exchange, 
Inc., the Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated, the 
International Securities Exchange, Inc., the NASDAQ Stock Market 
LLC, the NYSE Arca, Inc., and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Inc.
    \4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 57530 (March 19, 
2008), 73 FR 16078 (``Notice'').
    \5\ The revised Exhibit I made merely technical changes to the 
original Exhibit I and therefore need not be published for comment.
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    This order approves the proposed OPRA Plan amendment.

II. Description of the Proposal

    OPRA's current form of Vendor Agreement authorizes only the Vendor 
itself, and not any of its affiliates, to disseminate OPRA Data. As a 
matter of policy, OPRA has permitted Vendors to disseminate OPRA Data 
through wholly-owned subsidiaries. However, OPRA has not permitted 
Vendors to disseminate OPRA Data through other affiliates that have not 
themselves signed Vendor Agreements with OPRA. Many Vendors conduct 
business through corporate families, for a variety of reasons. OPRA 
requires each OPRA Vendor to pay a monthly ``Redistribution Fee,'' \6\ 
and OPRA has from time to time received requests to alleviate the 
financial consequence that OPRA's current policy imposes on some Vendor 
families.
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    \6\ OPRA's Redistribution Fee is currently $650/month for 
``Internet service only'' Vendors, and $1,500/month for all other 
Vendors.
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    Accordingly, OPRA is proposing to amend its Fee Schedule to provide 
that OPRA will waive its Redistribution Fee for Vendor affiliates that 
themselves become Vendors pursuant to ``Vendor Affiliate Agreements,'' 
and is proposing to adopt a new form of ``Vendor Affiliate Agreement.'' 
In effect, the form of Vendor Affiliate Agreement is a ``short form'' 
Vendor Agreement that can be signed by an additional member of a 
Vendor's corporate family. The proposed form would require the 
additional member of a corporate family to acknowledge that it is 
subject to and bound by the terms of the ``lead'' Vendor's Vendor 
Agreement just as if it had signed the Agreement itself. The proposed 
form is designed so that it can be used by affiliates of a current OPRA 
Vendor without any need for the current Vendor to sign a new Vendor 
Agreement.\7\
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    \7\ However, the current Vendor (or a new ``lead'' Vendor) would 
be required to identify its affiliate(s) that will sign Vendor 
Affiliate Agreements in its ``Description of Vendor's Service''--
Exhibit A to its Vendor Agreement--as in effect from time to time. 
The lead Vendor would also be required to describe the dissemination 
of OPRA Data by such affiliate(s) in its Exhibit A.
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III. Discussion

    After careful review, the Commission finds that the proposed OPRA 
Plan amendment is consistent with the requirements of the Act and the 
rules and regulations thereunder.\8\ Specifically, the Commission finds 
that the proposed OPRA Plan amendment is consistent with section 11A of 
the Act \9\ and Rule 608 thereunder \10\ in that it is appropriate in 
the public interest, for the protection of investors and the 
maintenance of fair and orderly markets, and to remove impediments to, 
and perfect the mechanism of, a national market system.
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    \8\ In approving this proposed OPRA Plan Amendment, the 
Commission has considered its impact on efficiency, competition, and 
capital formation. 15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
    \9\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \10\ 17 CFR 242.608.
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    OPRA's Vendor Agreement governs the terms and conditions under 
which vendors redistribute options market data to subscribers and other 
end users of the information. The Commission finds that OPRA's proposal 
to adopt a new form of Vendor Affiliate Agreement and to waive its 
Redistribution Fee for an affiliate of an OPRA Vendor should facilitate 
distribution of OPRA Data through OPRA Vendors who conduct business 
within a corporate family. Therefore, the Commission believes that 
OPRA's proposal is consistent with section 11A of the Act \11\ and the 
Rule 608 thereunder.\12\
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    \11\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \12\ 17 CFR 242.608.
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IV. Conclusion

    It is therefore ordered, pursuant to section 11A of the Act,\13\ 
and Rule 608 thereunder,\14\ that the proposed OPRA Plan amendment (SR-
OPRA-2008-01) be, and it hereby is, approved.
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    \13\ 15 U.S.C. 78k-1.
    \14\ 17 CFR 242.608.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, 
pursuant to delegated authority.\15\
Florence E. Harmon,
Acting Secretary.
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    \15\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(29).
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 [FR Doc. E8-12315 Filed 6-2-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P