Okay, that's actually very interesting. You seem to know a lot of history that I am not familiar with. I would love to know why OEX options have kind of faded away. I remember when they were the hottest thing out there. Maybe all this talk about how "owns" or "sponsors" or "licenses" options is distracting from my real question. Where can I read the formal terms of the option contracts on SPY? For example... umm, suppose there was some sort of lawsuit associated with an account holding SPY options, maybe a joint account in a divorce case, or a probate case involving a contested will or whatever. So someone needs to introduce evidence in court that explains exactly what these assets listed in the account statements are. Where can I find something published by an exchange, or by OCC, or some other agency, that clearly sets forth what you are buying and selling when you trade SPY options? There has to be something out there, but I can't find it. It probably sounds ridiculous, but it's not that hard for me to imagine a judge that doesn't understand puts and calls telling an attorney or a party, "Okay, you're telling me this thing is a contract, that somehow gives your client the right to buy shares of stock. I want to read the contract." I get the fact the contracts are held in an electronic form by the broker. I don't expect to find a contract that has my name on it and signatures at the bottom. But there should be something analogous to "contract specifications" page that I linked to in my earlier post.
Very similar to the link you posted for minis: https://www.cboe.com/tradable_products/sp_500/mini_spx_options/specifications/ There is another one for the parent: https://www.cboe.com/tradable_products/sp_500/spx_options/specifications/
BMK- In general, ajacobson has provided good information. I say in general, because it is 5am in NY and my "ADD" kicked in and I did not read all the posts. IMO, you are confusing marketing material with a required prospectus. The sponsor of each ETF has no control over if there are options and the terms of those options. The CBOE provides a lot of marketing material around their cash settled indexes because they charge an additional fee and they are singly listed. They are promoting all options, as that is how they make money. They are also promoting options in general for the same reason. The OCC is the one that is responsible for all the listed option contracts you can trade on any US option exchange. They determine the contract specs and are the guarantor with its members after your contact clears. The attached Characteristics of Risk and Standardized Options is where you find the specs for all options. When those change, the OCC provides an Information Memo here. https://infomemo.theocc.com/infomemo/search. Otherwise, SPY is a "Standard" Option.
No sure if this helps any in the direction you were looking for, but it has some neat info/stats nonetheless:- https://marketchameleon.com/Overview/SPY/About/
Yes, I get that I'm interested in reading the legal docs There is more to it than that For example, SPY is American-style exercise, and trading in the options continues until 4:15 PM on the day of expiration. The extended trading hours are not "standard." Most equity options do not work that way. And I know this information is available in many places. But I'm surprised that is not a formal legal document published by OCC or someone else that describes all of the terms of the option contracts on SPY. In his post above, Robert explained that the formal document I am seeking is the Options Disclosure Document, also knows as "Characteristics and Risks..." And I am familiar with that document, but I need to take another look to see if it actually contains the details I am looking for. It is a very broad document that applies to options generally, and I'm not sure it addresses the specific features of SPY or other individual options.