Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 249 / Wednesday, December 29, 2010 / Notices 81977 

1 7 U.S.C. 7a–1. 

2 15 U.S.C. 78q–l. 

3 7 U.S.C. 7a–2(c), 17 CFR 39.4(a), 40.5. 

4See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 62094 

(May 13, 2010), 75 FR 28085 (May 19, 2010) (File 

No. SR–OCC–2010–07 filed with both the CFTC and 

the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘SEC’’)) 

and the SEC’s approval in Securities Exchange Act 

Release No. 62290 (June 14, 2010), 75 FR 35861 

(June 23, 2010). See also Securities Exchange Act 

Release No. 62139 (May 19, 2010), 75 FR 29597 

(May 26, 2010) (SEC approval of the CBOE’s listing 

and trading of Options on the GVZ Index). 

5See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 50603 

(Oct. 28, 2004), 69 FR 64614 (Nov. 5, 2004) (original 

Continued 

Title: Global Intellectual Property 

Academy (GIPA) Surveys. 

Form Number(s): None. 

Agency Approval Number: 0651– 

00xx. 

Type of Request: New information 

collection. 

Burden: 375 hours annually. 

Number of Respondents: 1,500 

responses per year. 

Avg. Hours per Response: The USPTO 

estimates that it will take participants of 

the GIPA training programs 15 minutes 

(0.25 hours) to complete the surveys. 

This includes the time to gather the 

necessary information, complete the 

survey, and submit the completed 

survey to the USPTO. 

Needs and Uses: The pre-program, 

post-program, and alumni surveys will 

be used to obtain feedback from the 

participants of the various GIPA training 

classes. The pre-program surveys allow 

participants to provide feedback on the 

program expectations and training 

needs immediately prior to participating 

in the GIPA training programs. The 

post-program surveys allow participants 

to provide feedback on program 

effectiveness, service, facilities, teaching 

practices, and processes immediately 

after completing the GIPA training 

programs. The alumni surveys allow 

participants to provide feedback on 

program effectiveness approximately 

one year after completing the GIPA 

training programs. 

The USPTO will use the data 

collected from the surveys to evaluate 

the percentage of foreign officials 

trained by GIPA who have initiated or 

implemented a positive intellectual 

property change in their organization 

and to evaluate the percentage of foreign 

officials trained by GIPA who increased 

their expertise in intellectual property. 

The data will also be used to evaluate 

the satisfaction of the participants with 

the intellectual property program and 

the value of the experience as it relates 

to future job performance. The USPTO 

also uses the survey data to meet 

organizational performance and 

accountability goals. 

Affected Public: Individuals. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

OMB Desk Officer: Nicholas A. Fraser, 

e-mail: Nicholas_A_Fraser@

omb.eop.gov. 

Once submitted, the request will be 

publicly available in electronic format 

through the Information Collection 

Review page at http://www.reginfo.gov. 

Paper copies can be obtained by: 

• E-mail: InformationCollection@

uspto.gov. Include ‘‘0651–00xx Global 

Intellectual Property Academy (GIPA) 

Surveys copy request’’ in the subject line 

of the message. 

• Fax: 571–273–0112, marked to the 

attention of Susan K. Fawcett. 

• Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records 

Officer, Office of the Chief Information 

Officer, United States Patent and 

Trademark Office, P.O. Box 1450, 

Alexandria, VA 22313–1450. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent on 

or before January 28, 2011 to Nicholas 

A. Fraser, OMB Desk Officer, via e-mail 

to Nicholas_A_Fraser@omb.eop.gov or 

by fax to 202–395–5167, marked to the 

attention of Nicholas A. Fraser. 

Dated: December 23, 2010. 

Susan K. Fawcett, 

Records Officer, USPTO, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2010–32738 Filed 12–28–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–16–P 

COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING 

COMMISSION 

Order Exempting the Trading and 

Clearing of Certain Products Related to 

the CBOE Gold ETF Volatility Index 

and Similar Products 

AGENCY: Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final Order. 

SUMMARY: On November 10, 2010, the 

Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission (‘‘CFTC’’ or the 

‘‘Commission’’) published for public 

comment in the Federal Register a 

proposal to exempt the trading and 

clearing of certain options (‘‘Options’’) 

on the CBOE Gold ETF Volatility Index 

(‘‘GVZ Index’’), which would be traded 

on the Chicago Board Options Exchange 

(‘‘CBOE’’), a national securities 

exchange, and cleared through the 

Options Clearing Corporation (‘‘OCC’’) in 

its capacity as a registered securities 

clearing agency, from the provisions of 

the Commodity Exchange Act (‘‘CEA’’) 

and the regulations thereunder, to the 

extent necessary to permit such Options 

to be so traded and cleared. The 

Commission also requested comment 

regarding whether it should provide a 

categorical exemption that would 

permit the trading and clearing of 

options on indexes that measure the 

volatility of shares of gold exchangetraded funds (‘‘ETFs’’) generally, 

regardless of issuer, including options 

on any index that measures the 

magnitude of changes in, and is 

composed of the price(s) of shares of 

one or more gold ETFs and the price(s) 

of any other instrument(s), which other 

instruments are securities as defined in 

the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 

(‘‘the ’34 Act’’). The Commission has 

determined to issue this Order 

essentially as proposed. Authority for 

these exemptions is found in § 4(c) of 

the CEA. 

DATES: Effective Date: December 23, 

2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Robert B. Wasserman, Associate 

Director, 202–418–5092, 

rwasserman@cftc.gov, Division of 

Clearing and Intermediary Oversight, 

Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission, Three Lafayette Centre, 

1151 21st Street, NW., Washington, DC 

20581, or Anne C. Polaski, Special 

Counsel, 312–596–0575, 

apolaski@cftc.gov, Division of Clearing 

and Intermediary Oversight, Commodity 

Futures Trading Commission, 525 W. 

Monroe Street, Suite 1100, Chicago, 

Illinois 60661. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction 

The OCC is both a Derivatives 

Clearing Organization (‘‘DCO’’) 

registered pursuant to § 5b of the CEA,1

and a securities clearing agency 

registered pursuant to § 17A of the ’34 

Act.2

OCC has filed with the CFTC, 

pursuant to § 5c(c) of the CEA and 

§§ 39.4(a) and 40.5 of the Commission’s 

regulations thereunder,3 a request for 

approval of a rule that would enable 

OCC to clear and settle options on the 

GVZ Index traded on the CBOE, a 

national securities exchange, in its 

capacity as a registered securities 

clearing agency (and not in its capacity 

as a DCO).4 Section 5c(c)(3) of the CEA 

provides that the CFTC must approve 

such a rule submitted for approval 

unless it finds that the rule would 

violate the CEA. 

The GVZ Index is an index that 

measures the implied volatility of 

options on shares of the SPDR® Gold 

Trust (‘‘SPDR® Gold Trust Shares’’), an 

ETF designed to reflect the performance 

of the price of gold bullion.5


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
81978 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 249 / Wednesday, December 29, 2010 / Notices 

Approval Order for listing and trading shares of the 

streetTRACKs® Gold Trust (renamed the SPDR® 

Gold Trust on May 20, 2008) on the New York 

Stock Exchange, Inc.). 

6Section 4(c)(1) of the CEA, 7 U.S.C. 6(c)(1), 

provides in full that: 

In order to promote responsible economic or 

financial innovation and fair competition, the 

Commission by rule, regulation, or order, after 

notice and opportunity for hearing, may (on its own 

initiative or on application of any person, including 

any board of trade designated or registered as a 

contract market or derivatives transaction execution 

facility for transactions for future delivery in any 

commodity under section 7 of this title) exempt any 

agreement, contract, or transaction (or class thereof) 

that is otherwise subject to subsection (a) of this 

section (including any person or class of persons 

offering, entering into, rendering advice or 

rendering other services with respect to, the 

agreement, contract, or transaction), either 

unconditionally or on stated terms or conditions or 

for stated periods and either retroactively or 

prospectively, or both, from any of the requirements 

of subsection (a) of this section, or from any other 

provision of this chapter (except subparagraphs 

(c)(ii) and (D) of section 2(a)(1) of this title, except 

that the Commission and the Securities and 

Exchange Commission may by rule, regulation, or 

order jointly exclude any agreement, contract, or 

transaction from section 2(a)(1)(D) of this title), if 

the Commission determines that the exemption 

would be consistent with the public interest. 

7House Conf. Report No. 102–978, 1992 

U.S.C.C.A.N. 3179, 3213 (‘‘4(c) Conf. Report’’). 8See Order Exempting the Trading and Clearing 

of Certain Products Related to SPDR® Gold Trust 

Shares, 73 FR 31981 (June 5, 2008), Order 

Exempting the Trading and Clearing of Certain 

Products Related to iShares® COMEX Gold Trust 

Shares and iShares® Silver Trust Shares, 73 FR 

79830 (Dec. 30, 2008), and Order Exempting the 

Trading and Clearing of Certain Products Related to 

ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares and ETFS 

Physical Silver Shares, 75 FR 37406 (June 29, 2010) 

(collectively, the ‘‘Previous Orders’’). 

9Section 4(c)(2) of the CEA, 7 U.S.C. 6(c)(2), 

provides in full that: 

The Commission shall not grant any exemption 

under paragraph (1) from any of the requirements 

of subsection (a) of this section unless the 

Commission determines that— 

(A) the requirement should not be applied to the 

agreement, contract, or transaction for which the 

exemption is sought and that the exemption would 

be consistent with the public interest and the 

purposes of this Act; and 

(B) the agreement, contract, or transaction— 

(i) will be entered into solely between appropriate 

persons; and 

(ii) will not have a material adverse effect on the 

ability of the Commission or any contract market or 

derivatives transaction execution facility to 

discharge its regulatory or self-regulatory duties 

under this Act. 

10 75 FR 69058 (Nov. 10, 2010). 

11OCC and CBOE express the belief that the 

exemption, while somewhat helpful, does not go far 

enough, because, in the opinion of each of them, all 

options on ETFs are securities. 

12None of the comments from private citizens 

discussed the GVZ index, gold ETFs, the volatility 

of shares of gold ETFs, or otherwise addressed the 

merits of this exemption. Each of the seven 

comments is available on the Commission’s Web 

site at http://comments.cftc.gov/PublicComments/ 

CommentList.aspx?id=896. 

13 7 U.S.C. 5(b). See also 7 U.S.C. 6(c)(1) (purpose 

of exemptions is ‘‘to promote responsible economic 

or financial innovation and fair competition.’’). 

14 7 U.S.C. 6(c)(3). 

The Commission has proposed to 

permit OCC to clear and settle options 

on indexes that measure the volatility of 

shares of gold ETFs generally, regardless 

of issuer, that are traded on national 

securities exchanges, in OCC’s capacity 

as a registered securities clearing agency 

(and not in its capacity as a DCO). Such 

options could include options on any 

index that measures the magnitude of 

changes in, and is composed of the 

price(s) of shares of one or more gold 

ETFs and the price(s) of any other 

instrument(s), which other instruments 

are securities as defined in the ’34 Act. 

II. Section 4(c) of the Commodity 

Exchange Act 

Section 4(c)(1) of the CEA empowers 

the CFTC to ‘‘promote responsible 

economic or financial innovation and 

fair competition’’ by exempting any 

transaction or class of transactions from 

any of the provisions of the CEA 

(subject to exceptions not relevant here) 

where the Commission determines that 

the exemption would be consistent with 

the public interest.6 The Commission 

may grant such an exemption by rule, 

regulation or order, after notice and 

opportunity for hearing, and may do so 

on application of any person or on its 

own initiative. 

Section 4(c) does not require the 

Commission to determine the 

jurisdictional status of the Options on 

the GVZ Index or other options on 

indexes that measure the volatility of 

shares of gold ETFs. In enacting § 4(c), 

Congress noted that the goal of the 

provision ‘‘is to give the Commission a 

means of providing certainty and 

stability to existing and emerging 

markets so that financial innovation and 

market development can proceed in an 

effective and competitive manner.’’ 7

The Commission believes that 

permitting Options on the GVZ Index 

and other options on indexes that 

measure the volatility of shares of gold 

ETFs to be traded on a national 

securities exchange, and to be cleared 

by OCC in its capacity as a securities 

clearing agency, as discussed above, 

may foster both financial innovation 

and competition. 

The Options on the GVZ Index and 

other options on indexes that measure 

the volatility of shares of gold ETFs, 

described above, are novel instruments. 

Given, among other things, the fact that 

the Commission has provided 

exemptions for options on shares of gold 

ETFs on prior occasions,8 the 

Commission believes that this is an 

appropriate case for issuing an 

exemption without issuing a finding as 

to the nature of these particular 

instruments. 

Section 4(c)(2) of the CEA provides 

that the Commission may grant 

exemptions only when it determines 

that the requirements for which an 

exemption is being provided should not 

be applied to the agreements, contracts 

or transactions at issue, and the 

exemption is consistent with the public 

interest and the purposes of the CEA; 

that the agreements, contracts or 

transactions will be entered into solely 

between appropriate persons; and that 

the exemption will not have a material 

adverse effect on the ability of the 

Commission or Commission-regulated 

markets to discharge their regulatory or 

self-regulatory responsibilities under the 

CEA.9

In the November 10, 2010 Federal 

Register release,10 the CFTC requested 

comment as to whether this exemption 

from the requirements of the CEA and 

regulations thereunder should be 

granted in the context of these 

transactions. Seven comments were 

received, including comments from 

OCC and CBOE, which supported the 

exemption 11 and five from private 

citizens.12

III. Findings and Conclusions 

After considering the complete record 

in this matter, the Commission has 

determined that the requirements of 

§ 4(c) have been met. First, the 

exemption is consistent with the public 

interest and with the purposes of the 

CEA, including ‘‘promot[ing] 

responsible innovation and fair 

competition among boards of trade, 

other markets and market 

participants.’’ 13 It appears consistent 

with these and the other purposes of the 

CEA, and with the public interest, for 

the mode of trading and clearing 

Options on the GVZ Index, as well as 

other options on indexes that measure 

the volatility of shares of gold ETFs, 

whether the mode applicable to options 

on securities indexes or on commodities 

indexes, to be determined by 

competitive market forces. 

Second, Options on the GVZ Index 

and other options on indexes that 

measure the volatility of shares of gold 

ETFs will be entered into solely 

between appropriate persons. Section 

4(c)(3) of the CEA includes within the 

term ‘‘appropriate persons’’ a number of 

specified categories of persons, and also 

in subparagraph (K) thereof ‘‘such other 

persons that the Commission 

determines to be appropriate in light of 

* * * the applicability of appropriate 

regulatory protections.’’ 14 National 

securities exchanges and OCC, as well 

as their members who will intermediate 

Options on the GVZ Index and other 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 249 / Wednesday, December 29, 2010 / Notices 81979 

15As noted in the proposing release, 75 FR at 

69059, on September 24, 2010, the Commission has 

also issued a Request for Comment on Options for 

a Proposed Exemptive Order Relating to the Trading 

and Clearing of Precious Metal Commodity-Based 

ETFs and a Concept Release, 75 FR 60411 

(September 30, 2010) (‘‘Precious Metal ETF 

Release’’). In the Precious Metal ETF Release, the 

Commission requested comment, in part, regarding 

whether it should issue a categorical Section 4(c) 

exemption to permit options and futures on shares 

of all or some precious metal commodity-based 

ETFs to be traded and cleared as options on 

securities and security futures, respectively. The 

comment period for the Precious Metal ETF Release 

expired on November 1, 2010; eight comments were 

received. 

The Commission will use its authority under 

Section 4(c) of the CEA to exempt options on 

indexes that measure the volatility of shares of gold 

ETFs at this time while it continues to consider the 

appropriateness of a categorical exemption with 

respect to options and futures on shares of precious 

metal commodity-based ETFs. The Commission 

concludes that options on an index that measures 

commodity price volatility based on shares of such 

an ETF do not raise the same regulatory concerns 

that may be associated with options and futures on 

shares of an ETF that is based on the underlying 

commodity. In this regard, trading in options and 

futures on shares of a gold ETF could have a 

potential impact on the deliverable supply by 

removing physical gold from physical marketing 

channels, and thus may impact the gold futures 

price. An index based on volatility measures does 

not raise these concerns in that such an index does 

not involve ownership of the commodity, either 

directly or indirectly, by traders in options on such 

an index, and thus options on such index would 

not have a direct impact on deliverable supplies or 

the pricing of gold in the cash market. 

16 15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(10). 

17 44 U.S.C. 3507(d). 

18 7 U.S.C. 19(a). 

options on indexes that measure the 

volatility of shares of gold ETFs are 

subject to extensive and detailed 

regulation by the SEC under the ‘34 Act. 

Given such regulatory protections, the 

Commission has determined that all 

persons trading Options on the GVZ 

Index and other options on indexes that 

measure the volatility of shares of gold 

ETFs on a national securities exchange, 

and clearing such products through 

OCC in its capacity as a securities 

clearing agency, are appropriate 

persons. 

Third, the grant of this exemption 

would not have a material adverse effect 

on the ability of the Commission or any 

Commission-regulated market to carry 

out their regulatory responsibilities 

under the CEA.15

Therefore, upon due consideration, 

pursuant to its authority under § 4(c) of 

the CEA, the Commission hereby issues 

this Order and exempts the trading of 

the following products on national 

securities exchanges, and the clearing of 

all such products through the Options 

Clearing Corporation (‘‘OCC’’) in its 

capacity as a registered securities 

clearing agency, from the provisions of 

the CEA and the regulations thereunder, 

to the extent necessary to permit such 

products to be so traded and cleared: 

(a) Options on the GVZ Index; 

(b) Options on any index that 

measures the volatility (historical or 

expected) of the price(s) of shares of one 

or more gold ETFs; and 

(c) Options on any index that 

measures the volatility (historical or 

expected) of price(s) of shares of one or 

more gold ETFs and the price(s) of any 

other instrument(s), which other 

instruments are securities as defined in 

§ 3(a)(10) of the ’34 Act.16

This Order is subject to termination or 

revision, on a prospective basis, if the 

Commission determines upon further 

information that this exemption is not 

consistent with the public interest. If the 

Commission believes such exemption 

becomes detrimental to the public 

interest, the Commission may revoke 

this Order on its own motion. 

IV. Related Matters 

A. Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(‘‘PRA’’) 17 imposes certain requirements 

on Federal agencies in connection with 

their conducting or sponsoring any 

collection of information as defined by 

the PRA. The proposed exemptive order 

would not, if approved, require a new 

collection of information from any 

entities that would be subject to the 

proposed order. 

B. Cost-Benefit Analysis 

Section 15(a) of the CEA 18 requires 

the Commission to consider the costs 

and benefits of its action before issuing 

an order under the CEA. By its terms, 

§ 15(a) does not require the Commission 

to quantify the costs and benefits of an 

order or to determine whether the 

benefits of the order outweigh its costs; 

rather, it requires that the Commission 

‘‘consider’’ the costs and benefits of its 

action. 

Section 15(a) of the CEA further 

specifies that the costs and benefits 

shall be evaluated in light of five broad 

areas of market and public concern: (1) 

Protection of market participants and 

the public; (2) efficiency, 

competitiveness, and financial integrity 

of futures markets; (3) price discovery; 

(4) sound risk management practices; 

and (5) other public interest 

considerations. The Commission may in 

its discretion give greater weight to any 

one of the five enumerated areas and 

could in its discretion determine that, 

notwithstanding its costs, a particular 

order is necessary or appropriate to 

protect the public interest or to 

effectuate any of the provisions or to 

accomplish any of the purposes of the 

CEA. 

The Commission has considered the 

costs and benefits of the order in light 

of the specific provisions of § 15(a) of 

the CEA. The Commission has 

determined that the costs of this order 

are not significant. Although the order 

exempts the subject options from 

regulation under the CEA, market 

participants and the public will 

nonetheless be protected because the 

national securities exchanges on which 

they trade, and the intermediaries 

through which they will be traded will 

be subject to comprehensive regulation 

by the SEC. The Commission has 

determined that the benefits of the order 

are substantial. The order will promote 

efficiency in the markets, as it will 

provide certainty that the subject 

options will not be subject to 

duplicative regulation. 

The Commission requested comment 

on its application of these factors in the 

proposing release. No such comments 

were received. 

After considering the costs and 

benefits, the Commission has 

determined to issue this order. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on December 

23, 2010 by the Commission. 

David A. Stawick, 

Secretary of the Commission. 

[FR Doc. 2010–32812 Filed 12–28–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

CORPORATION FOR NATIONAL AND 

COMMUNITY SERVICE 

Proposed Notice of Funding 

Opportunity (NOFO) for Social 

Innovation Fund 2011 Awards; 

Request for Feedback 

AGENCY: Corporation for National and 

Community Service (the Corporation). 

ACTION: Request for Feedback on the 

Corporation’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) 

for Social Innovation Fund Awards. 

SUMMARY: The Corporation for National 

and Community Service (CNCS) is 

releasing a draft of the Notice of 

Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the 

2011 Social Innovation Fund 

competition. This release will initiate a 

public input period that will extend 

until January 21, 2011. 

The Social Innovation Fund is an 

innovative program that awards grants 

to and works with existing grantmaking 

institutions, referred to in the Notice as 

‘‘intermediaries,’’ to direct resources to 

innovative community-based nonprofit 

organizations that will identify and 

grow promising programs with 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES