Georgia Department of Natural Resources v. Theragenics Corp., 273 Ga. 724

Summary

The Supreme Court of Georgia held that trade-secret information submitted to a regulatory agency under compulsion is protected from disclosure under the Georgia Open Records Act, even if the submitting party did not designate the information as confidential at the time of filing. The court affirmed a preliminary injunction barring the Georgia Department of Natural Resources from disclosing Theragenics Corporation's proprietary information, concluding that the agency bears ultimate responsibility for determining whether records are exempt from disclosure.

Holdings

1. A business entity does not lose its right to assert trade-secret protection merely because it failed to identify all trade secrets at the time of original filing with a regulatory agency, so long as it made reasonable efforts to prevent disclosure to persons to whom it was not legally required to disclose the information.
2. The governmental records custodian bears ultimate responsibility under the Open Records Act for determining whether compelled records are exempt trade secrets and cannot treat the filer's failure to make an initial designation as an automatic waiver.

Questions Presented

1. Whether trade-secret information compelled to be provided to a governmental agency loses its protected status because the submitting party did not identify the information as confidential at the time of its original filing.
2. Whether the Georgia Open Records Act places responsibility on the governmental records custodian to determine whether compelled records contain trade secrets exempt from disclosure.

Disposition

affirmed