County of Santa Clara v. California First Amendment Coalition
Encyclopedia
County of Santa Clara v. California First Amendment Coalition (No. H031658, 2009) was a case before the California Courts of Appeal dealing with the ability of a local California agency to limit the disclosure of, or require license
agreements for, public records and data requested under the California Public Records Act
(CPRA).
The court found that as public records, "no statutory basis either for copyrighting [it] or for conditioning its release on a licensing agreement" under United States copyright law
because state freedom of information laws preclude a state agency’s reliance on federal copyright unless state law specifically permits it.
(CFAC) for GIS "basemap" data held by Santa Clara County, California
. The trial court concluded that the county must release the records and could not place any restrictions on their use. The county then appealed to the California Courts of Appeal, which upheld the lower court's decision, and published its opinion. The county also unsuccessfully attempted to have the opinion depublished
by the Supreme Court of California
.
The county made three arguments. The county claimed the records were "protected critical infrastructure information" and exempted from release by the federal Critical Infrastructure Information Act of 2002, that disclosure was exempted under the CPRA under the "catch all" exemption, and that it had a federal copyright in the basemap, arguing that copyright protection authorized the county to condition release of records, under freedom of information laws like California’s Public Records Act, with restrictions on the requester’s use of the records or sharing of the records with others.
License
The verb license or grant licence means to give permission. The noun license or licence refers to that permission as well as to the document recording that permission.A license may be granted by a party to another party as an element of an agreement...
agreements for, public records and data requested under the California Public Records Act
California Public Records Act
The California Public Records Act was a law passed by the California State Legislature and signed by the Governor in 1968 requiring inpection and/or disclosure of governmental records to the public upon request, unless exempted by law.The law is similar to the Freedom of Information Act,...
(CPRA).
The court found that as public records, "no statutory basis either for copyrighting [it] or for conditioning its release on a licensing agreement" under United States copyright law
United States copyright law
The copyright law of the United States governs the legally enforceable rights of creative and artistic works under the laws of the United States.Copyright law in the United States is part of federal law, and is authorized by the U.S. Constitution...
because state freedom of information laws preclude a state agency’s reliance on federal copyright unless state law specifically permits it.
History
The case dealt with a public records request by the California First Amendment CoalitionCalifornia First Amendment Coalition
The First Amendment Coalition is a nonprofit public interest organization committed to freedom of speech, more open and accountable government, and public participation in civic affairs...
(CFAC) for GIS "basemap" data held by Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County, California
Santa Clara County is a county located at the southern end of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2010 it had a population of 1,781,642. The county seat is San Jose. The highly urbanized Santa Clara Valley within Santa Clara County is also known as Silicon Valley...
. The trial court concluded that the county must release the records and could not place any restrictions on their use. The county then appealed to the California Courts of Appeal, which upheld the lower court's decision, and published its opinion. The county also unsuccessfully attempted to have the opinion depublished
Non-publication
Non-publication of opinions, or Unpublished opinions, are those decisions of courts that are not available for citation as precedent because the judges making the opinion deem the case as having less precedential value....
by the Supreme Court of California
Supreme Court of California
The Supreme Court of California is the highest state court in California. It is headquartered in San Francisco and regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacramento. Its decisions are binding on all other California state courts.-Composition:...
.
The county made three arguments. The county claimed the records were "protected critical infrastructure information" and exempted from release by the federal Critical Infrastructure Information Act of 2002, that disclosure was exempted under the CPRA under the "catch all" exemption, and that it had a federal copyright in the basemap, arguing that copyright protection authorized the county to condition release of records, under freedom of information laws like California’s Public Records Act, with restrictions on the requester’s use of the records or sharing of the records with others.
Decision
The court rejected each of the county's arguments:- The court rejected that the records were exempted from release as "protected critical infrastructure information" under the Critical Infrastructure Information Act (CII) of 2002, as the county was only the provider of such resources, not the receiver, and hence the CII was irrelevant.
- The court rejected the CPRA "catch all" exemption claim, concluding that the "public interest in disclosure outweighs the public interest in nondisclosure.
- The court stated that as "a matter of first impressionFirst impression (law)First impression is a legal case in which there is no binding authority on the matter presented. Such a case can set forth a completely original issue of law for decision by the courts. A first impression case may be a first impression in only a particular jurisdiction...
in California" there is "no statutory basis either for copyrighting the GIS basemap or for conditioning its release on a licensing agreement" and order that the "record thus must be disclosed as provided in the CPRA, without any such conditions or limitations" and ruled that it considered the general case of "interplay between copyright law and California's public records law, with the result that unrestricted disclosure is required".
See also
- Microdecisions, Inc. v. SkinnerMicrodecisions, Inc. v. SkinnerMicrodecisions, Inc. v. Skinner, 889 S.2d 871 , was a case before the Florida Second District Court of Appeal concerning whether the Collier County, Florida Property Appraiser could require prospective commercial users of the records created in his office to first enter into alicensing agreement....
- County of Suffolk v. First American Real Estate Solutions, 261 F.3d 179 (2001)