Flock Safety Cameras – Are they public records?

Ohio Public Records Briefing – Issue #60

Sixty issues in and we’re still doing this thing! Our back hurts! Where’s that massage gun?

Thanks to all who asked questions over the past two weeks. But how do we get a restraining order from this person, who keeps asking us out on dates? NVM. Keep them coming!

Also – welcome to all our new subscribers! This is a very serious publication (um, don’t click the links above). We’ve added lots of new folks the past two weeks. As a nod to you all, we’re moving the paywall down a little lower so you can get a glimpse of what the newsletter looks like.

Exceptions A thru ZZ to 149.43

We're back with another installment in our ongoing public records exceptions series, and this week, we're looking at an important exception for all our friends in academia out there. Nothing like the peace and quiet of a college campus!

R.C. 149.43(A)(1)(m) says that “intellectual property records” are exempt from disclosure, and that term has a very specific meaning in the Public Records Act. But it's a lot narrower than you'd think -- we're not talking just any intellectual property here! “Intellectual property records” mean any non-financial and non-administrative records that are produced or collected (1) by or for state university faculty or staff, (2) that relate to studies or research on an education, commercial, scientific, artistic, technical, or scholarly issue, and (3) that haven't been publicly released, published, or patented.

Kind of a mouthful, we know. But the upshot is that any academic research used or created by a public university that hasn't been publicized yet is protected from disclosure. The Public Records Act says: research to your heart's desire and the public can’t see it until you publish it!

New Court Case Alert

Here’s an interesting one, and you may have read about it in the news.

The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) maintains a database of death certificates that it compiles using death-event data provided to ODH by funeral homes, coroners, and local health departments.