Dow Jones & Co. v. International Securities Exchange, Inc.

451 F.3d 295, 79 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1225, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 14942
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedJune 16, 2006
DocketDocket Nos. 05-4812-CV, 05-4972-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 451 F.3d 295 (Dow Jones & Co. v. International Securities Exchange, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dow Jones & Co. v. International Securities Exchange, Inc., 451 F.3d 295, 79 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1225, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 14942 (2d Cir. 2006).

Opinion

LEVAL, Circuit Judge.

This appeal raises a narrow and highly specific question — whether an options exchange, by creating, listing, and facilitating the trading of options on shares in an exchange traded fund (“ETF”) designed to track a proprietary market index, misappropriates intellectual-property rights of the creator of the index. The district court found no such infringement, and we agree.

Plaintiffs Dow Jones & Company, Inc. (“Dow Jones”) and The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“McGraw-Hill”) appeal from the rulings of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Harold Baer, /.), which dismissed their complaints against defendants International Securities Exchange, Inc. [298]*298(“ISE”), an options exchange, and Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”), an options clearing agency. Dow Jones appeals also from the denial of its motion for a preliminary injunction.2

Each plaintiff is the originator of a widely known index, which reflects an average of the stock market value of the shares in major United States companies. Dow Jones is the creator of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (“DJIA”), which reflects the averages of the stock market value of the shares of thirty leading United States companies. McGraw-Hill, through its Standard & Poor division (“S & P”), is the creator of the S & P 500 Index (“S & P 500”), which reflects the average of the stock market value of the shares of 500 leading United States companies. Dow Jones and McGraw-Hill have each licensed the creation of an ETF, designed to track the performance of its index, and to provide a vehicle for public investment in a pool of securities which reflects the performance of the index. The ETF in each case consists of a basket of securities, being shares of the companies used to calculate the market average, weighted in the same proportions as in the average. Dow Jones licensed the creation of the DIAMONDS ETF, which tracks the performance of the DJIA, and McGraw-Hill licensed the creation of an ETF under the name Standard & Poor Depositary Receipts, or SPDR (pronounced “spider”), which tracks the performance of the S & P 500. By purchasing shares in the DIAMONDS and SPDR funds, members of the public are able to buy and sell shares that are backed by the securities which make up the DJIA and the S & P 500, and therefore rise and fall with those indexes.3

Defendant ISE, an options trading exchange, which creates and markets its own indexes, announced in 2005 its intention to offer options trading on shares of DIAMONDS and SPDRs. Defendant OCC, a clearing organization for options trading, announced that it would clear trades in those options on the ISE. Options are contracts which give the purchaser of the option the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a security at a specified price (the “strike price”), on or before a specified date. The buyer of a call option has the right to buy the optioned security at a specified price at or before a specified date. The buyer of a put option has the right to sell the optioned security at a specified price at or before a specified date. Although in theory an option contract is to be settled by the purchase or sale of the optioned security in accordance with the rights created by the option contract, in practice settlement is generally effectuated by a cash payment representing the difference between the market price and the strike price.

Following ISE’s announcements of its intention to institute trading in options for DIAMONDS and SPDRs, the plaintiffs brought this suit. The complaints allege that by issuing and trading options on [299]*299DIAMONDS and SPDRs the defendants will misappropriate plaintiffs’ intellectual-property interest in the underlying indexes and engage in unfair competition. They allege as well that through the marketing of these options, the defendants will infringe on, and dilute, plaintiffs’ trademarks. We conclude that the defendants’ intended actions alleged in the complaints do not infringe on any intellectual-property interest or trademark of the plaintiffs.

Background

A. Factual Background

The facts asserted in the complaints, viewed in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, are recited below in greater detail.

1. McGraw-Hill & SPDRs

McGraw-Hill is a company engaged in educational publishing, financial services, business information, and media services. One of its divisions is S & P, which develops and publishes financial indexes, investment analysis, debt ratings, and other financial services. S & P has been calculating and maintaining the S & P 500 Index since 1957. The S & P 500 Index includes a representative sampling of leading companies in major industries and is regarded as a leading benchmark for measuring the stock performance of large United States companies. The composition of the S & P 500 is regularly reviewed and revised by the S & P 500 Index Committee, which from time to time eliminates the stock of a company from the index, replacing it with another. The committee regularly adjusts its calculation of the S & P 500 to reflect changes affecting the capitalization of the component companies.

S & P licenses the use of the S & P 500 to financial institutions as a benchmark against which to measure the performance of publicly traded stocks. It also licenses the use of the S & P 500 as the basis for financial products that utilize the index. These licenses include grants of the right to use the S & P marks in the names of such products and in connection with a licensee’s marketing and promotional efforts.

In 1993, by licensing the American Stock Exchange LLC (“Amex”), S & P authorized the creation of the SPDR fund, an ETF designed to track the performance of the S & P 500. The SPDR fund holds a basket of securities that reflects the components of the S & P 500 and their relative weighting within the index. Shares in the SPDR fund, known as SPDRs, thus constitute ownership interests in a unit investment trust holding a portfolio of securities virtually identical to the makeup of the S & P 500. Shares of the SPDR fund are traded on the Amex, just as if they were shares of common stock in a listed company. “SPDR” is a registered trademark of McGraw-Hill.

In early January 2005, ISE announced its intention to institute trading in options on SPDR shares. OCC, which clears options trades on ISE and other exchanges, announced that it would clear SPDR option trades on ISE.

On January 6, 2005, McGraw-Hill filed its complaint in the Southern District of New York to enjoin the defendants from instituting trading in SPDRs options.4 Its complaint alleges that by creating, listing, and trading SPDR options, the defendants will misappropriate McGraw-Hill’s intellectual property and engage in unfair competition under New York law. The complaint also claims that in marketing and [300]*300promoting SPDR options, ISE will infringe and dilute McGraw-Hill’s trademark rights under federal and state law.5

McGraw-Hill moved for a preliminary injunction, and the district court granted a Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) pending a ruling on the motion.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
451 F.3d 295, 79 U.S.P.Q. 2d (BNA) 1225, 2006 U.S. App. LEXIS 14942, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dow-jones-co-v-international-securities-exchange-inc-ca2-2006.