The initiative, a joint action spearheaded by the representative associations of data consumers (COSSIOM) and data vendors (FDVA) in collaboration with other market participants (TickerScope) is being carried out within the M2F (MiFID Forum France) - Market and Reference Data working group. Contributors to the initiative are working on a document called the "Market Data Contract Best Practices Guide". The goal of that guide is to clarify and promote the adoption of a set of harmonized definitions and provisions commonly used in market data distribution contracts proposed by data producers. Those definitions and provisions cover the dissemination and usage reporting of market data by data vendors as well as the use of market data by data consumers. Contributors are currently working on transcribing recommendations in legal wording and in English in order to facilitate the adoption of those recommendations by data producers in their market data policies and contracts.

Galaad Baudry President of FDVA, comments: "With the advent of MiFID, new execution venues are going to blossom and we expect a number of them will want to leverage their production of prices. Given the heterogeneity of market data policies and contracts produced by stock exchanges at present, FDVA and its members believe there is a great opportunity for data consumers and data vendors to clarify their position in a set of simple yet effective definitions and provisions detailing how market data is distributed, used and how therefore it should be reported."

Participants to the Market Data Contract Best Practices Guide initiative have liaised and will continue to closely liaise with their European counterparts (including the MiFID Joint-Working Group in the UK and other industry bodies and banking associations) in the coming days to gather their comments and suggestions in order for the Market Data Contract Best Practices Guide to get the widest possible support.