β Scribed by Robert I. Webb
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
American exchanges own the price quotations they generate. Access to realβtime price information is
highly valued by most market participants. This enables exchanges to exact royalties from the sale of such
market information. In this sense, an exchange's ownership of its price quotations is akin to owning a
property right in a perishable commodity (i.e., fresh market price quotations) that
is most valuable for only a transitory or limited period of time. The implications of exchange
ownership of price data extend beyond financial markets. Recently, Woodard (2000) has noted that some
internet auction operators have asserted ownership over the prices they generate. This study reviews the legal
origin and nature of the property right to price quotations generated on U.S. futures exchanges and assesses
whether exchange ownership should be transitory. The legal basis for transitory realβtime (real and
personal) property rights is discussed and the economic implications are considered. Β© 2003 Wiley
Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 23:891β913, 2003
π SIMILAR VOLUMES
Many issues relating to the protection of intellectual property are economic in nature. This article applies economic analysis to several of those issues that arise in an international context. The first model concerns how one nation's choice of a particular form of protection will affect the econom