Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Florida

Public Record information protected?

Greetings,

Is information submitted to the State for occupational licensing protected by copyright or privacy laws if the information is accessible to the public both on-line on a state's web site and from the State over the telephone?

Would publication of the information require permission or a release from those who had submitted the information to the State, or a release or acknowledgement from the State for use of the material?

Thanks.

RK


Asked on 7/06/02, 1:07 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lawrence Graves Coolidge & Graves PLLC

Re: Public Record information protected?

You raise a very interesting issue that I recently had to consider on another matter. The fact that you have to provide a copy to a governmental entity does not affect either your copyright in the underlying work or your legal right to prohibit further copying. However, if you are compelled to disclose information that otherwise would not have been published, and which would have been your own proprietary information (e.g., trade secrets), then the disclosure may nullify your rights to prevent further dissemination to the extent that the substance can be articulated without infringing your copyright.

This is a bit on the complicated side, and without knowing the particulars of your situation I cannot explain it better. Follow up if you like. Best wishes,

LDWG

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Answered on 7/06/02, 1:42 pm


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