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Freedom of Information Act › Exemptions › Trade Secrets

The Freedom of Information Act is a United States federal statute enacted in 1966 to promote government transparency and the free exchange of public information. Under FOIA, any individual can request federal... more +
The Freedom of Information Act is a United States federal statute enacted in 1966 to promote government transparency and the free exchange of public information. Under FOIA, any individual can request federal agency records and enforce that right in a court of law. However, not all agency records can be requested; there are nine exempt categories of information. In addition to the federal law, many states have passed their own freedom of information acts. These acts are often similar but not always identical to the federal version.  less -
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

OFCCP Issues 30-Day FOIA Notice to Contractors and Subcontractors

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On August 18, 2022, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued unpublished notice of a broad Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that impacts the federal contracting community. An investigative...more

PilieroMazza PLLC

[Webinar] Protecting Your Confidential Information: FOIA Exemption 4 for Government Contractors - September 15th, 2:00 pm - 3:00...

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The Freedom of Information Act allows government agencies to release any record in their possession unless one of nine exemptions applies. Exemption #4—the focus of this webinar—protects information considered “trade secrets...more

Franczek P.C.

New Binding Opinion on Scope of FOIA for Third Parties and Proprietary Information

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In a rare binding opinion, the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) opined that certain information in the sole possession of a vendor that had contracted with the Illinois Department of Corrections...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Is Your Trade Secret Safe Under FOIA?

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In June 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Food Marketing Institute. v. Argus Leader Media. The case marked the Court’s first chance to address an important question: When can (or cannot) the federal government withhold...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Supreme Court Expands Trade Secrets Exemption from FOIA

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Businesses often worry that the information they provide to the government will be disclosed, and with good reason – such information is presumptively available to the public under the Freedom of Information Act...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Department of Justice Issues New Guidance on Exemption 4 to the Freedom of Information Act

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On Oct. 4, 2019, the DOJ issued guidance for determining whether commercial or financial information provided by a person or company is “confidential” under FOIA Exemption 4. When preparing reverse-FOIA submissions, a...more

Bass, Berry & Sims PLC

Protecting Government Contractors’ Confidential Information Just Got Easier

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At the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an important Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) decision that decreases the burden on contractors seeking to protect confidential information. As most contractors are aware,...more

Perkins Coie

Is the U.S. Supreme Court’s FOIA Decision a Game Changer for Companies Seeking to Prevent Disclosure of Proprietary Information?

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In its recent decision in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media d/b/a Argus Leader, No. 18-481, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a decades-old legal standard for companies that wish to shield their business...more

Perkins Coie

EPA Revises its FOIA Regulations

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The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule June 26, 2019, revising the agency’s Freedom of Information Act regulations. According to EPA, those regulations, last updated in 2002, required revision to comply with...more

Poyner Spruill LLP

Employers with Federal Contracts Should Take Affirmative Steps to Maintain Confidentiality of Pay Data Submitted via EEO-1 Survey

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As discussed in our prior alert, employers are now required to submit additional information to supplement EEO-1 reports. The deadline to submit this new information – which will include employee pay data (referred to by the...more

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck

Protecting Confidential Business Information

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Supreme Court Upends Half-Century Standard for Handling Confidential Commercial Information Under the Freedom of Information Act - Businesses that provide sensitive commercial or financial information to the federal...more

Holland & Knight LLP

The Supreme Court Expands Contractor FOIA Protection - with a Caveat

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Contractors have struggled to prevent the release of confidential information such as proposals incorporated into contracts and unit pricing requested by competitors and others under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)....more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Supreme Court Issues Decision Significantly Expanding the Scope of FOIA’s Confidentiality Exemption

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Seyfarth Synopsis: On June 24, 2019, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media and resolved fractured circuit splits about the parameters for when the government may withhold...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Supreme Court Rules on FOIA and the Protection of Sensitive Company Information

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,... on

A recent Supreme Court case determined that private commercial and financial information that is transmitted to the federal government under an assurance of privacy is considered “confidential” and not subject to disclosure...more

Blank Rome LLP

The Supreme Court Expands the Meaning of “Confidential” Information under FOIA Exemption 4

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The Supreme Court in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, No. 18-481 (U.S. June 24, 2019) recently relaxed the standard for withholding confidential information under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act...more

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP

Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media (2019)

McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff LLP on

Although patentees generally do not have great concerns about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) because of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's secrecy requirements, they may lose control over their information under...more

Morgan Lewis

Government Contract–Specific Impact of Recent Supreme Court FOIA Decision

Morgan Lewis on

In Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, the US Supreme Court held that private sector commercial information in the federal government’s possession may be withheld from public release without a showing that the...more

Morgan Lewis

Supreme Court Provides Greater FOIA Protections for Utilities Commercial Information

Morgan Lewis on

On June 24, the US Supreme Court issued its opinion in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, expanding the scope of information protected under Exemption 4 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). FOIA establishes...more

BCLP

U.S. Supreme Court Reduces Category of Third-Party “Confidential” Records Subject to Disclosure Under the Freedom of Information...

BCLP on

Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, 2019 WL 2570624, 588 U.S. - - - (June 24, 2019) (“FMI”), it made confidential commercial and financial information provided to the U.S. government by private parties subject to...more

Beveridge & Diamond PC

U.S. Supreme Court Increases Protection For Confidential Business Information Shared With The Federal Government

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Many companies that have submitted confidential business information to the federal government have learned the hard way that the Courts and federal agencies have not interpreted the word “confidential” under the Freedom of...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Supreme Court Issues Decision Significantly Expanding the Scope of FOIA’s Confidentiality Exemption

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

On June 24, 2019, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media and resolved fractured circuit splits about the parameters for when the government may withhold information from a...more

A&O Shearman

Supreme Court Extends Scope Of Confidential Information Disclosure Exemption Under Freedom Of Information Act

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On June 24, 2019, the United States Supreme Court, in an opinion by Justice Gorsuch, held that information that “is both customarily and actually treated as private by its owner and provided to the government under an...more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Supreme Court Strengthens Protection of Confidential Business Information Submitted to Federal Agencies

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Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media, decided June 24, 2019 by the Supreme Court, substantially expands the Freedom of Information Act exemption for confidential business information. The ruling is significant for...more

Cooley LLP

Blog: Will a new SCOTUS decision affect the SEC’s new confidentiality process?

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If you thought a case, just decided last week by SCOTUS, involving a claim against the VA by a veteran who had been denied benefits (Kisor v. Wilkie) seemed far afield from the securities laws (but really could have a...more

Knobbe Martens

Supreme Court Clarifies When Commercial or Financial Information Is 'Confidential' Under the Freedom of Information Act

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FOOD MARKETING INSTITUTE V. ARGUS LEADER MEDIA. Before the Supreme Court with J. Gorsuch delivering the majority opinion. Summary: Commercial or financial information is confidential under the Freedom of Information Act...more

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