15-1640

15-1640. Public records exemption;
intellectual property; historical records; donor records

A. The following records of a university under the jurisdiction of the Arizona
board of regents are exempt from the provisions of title 39, chapter 1, article 2:

1. Intellectual property that is a trade secret as defined in section 44-401 and
that is contained in any of the following:

(a) Unfunded grant applications or proposals.

(b) Proprietary data or research material provided to a university by a third party
who has an expectation that the data or material will remain confidential. In order to
qualify for the exemption prescribed in this subdivision, the intellectual property must
be provided to the university pursuant to a contract executed between the third party and
the university that meets all of the following requirements:

(i) The contract specifies that the intellectual property is being provided to the
university and that there is a need for confidentiality.

(ii) The contract is approved before the contract becomes effective by an official
of the university who is authorized to sign research contracts.

(iii) The contract includes the name or names of the third party, a general
description of the research or other work that is the subject of the contract in a manner
sufficient to provide the public with the information necessary to understand the nature
of that research or other work and a statement that the intellectual property that is the
subject of the contract will be conveyed by the third party to the university pursuant to
the terms of the contract.

(iv) The contract will become a public document that is subject to title 39,
chapter 1, article 2 when the contract is executed.

(c) Proprietary data or research material that is developed by persons employed by
a university, if the disclosure of this data or material would be contrary to the best
interests of this state.

2. Historical records and materials donated to a university by a private person or
a private entity, if restricted access is a condition of the donation. The exemption
provided by this paragraph shall expire no later than twenty years after the original
donation.

3. All records concerning donors or potential donors to a university, other than
the names of the donors and the description, date, amount and conditions of these
donations.

B. Any exemption provided by this section shall no longer be applicable if the
subject matter of the records becomes available to the general public.