January 14, 2010

Mr. Eric D. Bentley

Assistant General Counsel

University of Houston System

311 East Cullen Building

Houston, Texas 77204-2028

OR2010-00717

Dear Mr. Bentley:

You ask whether certain information is subject to required public disclosure under the Public Information Act (the "Act"), chapter 552 of the Government Code. Your request was assigned ID# 367619.

The University of Houston (the "university") received a request for a particular licensing agreement. Although you take no position with respect to the public availability of the requested information, you state that release of this information may implicate the proprietary interests of a third party. Accordingly, you state, and provide documentation showing, you notified the Collegiate Licensing Company ("Collegiate") of the request and of its right to submit arguments to this office as to why the submitted information should not be released. See Gov't Code § 552.305(d); see also Open Records Decision No. 542 (1990) (determining that statutory predecessor to section 552.305 permits governmental body to rely on interested third party to raise and explain the applicability of exception to disclose under Act in certain circumstances). We have reviewed the submitted information.

An interested third party is allowed ten business days after the date of its receipt of the governmental body's notice under section 552.305(d) to submit its reasons, if any, as to why information relating to that party should be withheld from public disclosure. See Gov't Code § 552.305(d)(2)(B). As of the date of this letter, we have not received comments from Collegiate explaining why the submitted information should not be released. Therefore, we have no basis to conclude that Collegiate has a protected proprietary interest in the submitted information. See id. § 552.110; Open Records Decision Nos. 661 at 5-6 (1999) (to prevent disclosure of commercial or financial information, party must show by specific factual evidence, not conclusory or generalized allegations, that release of requested information would cause that party substantial competitive harm), 552 at 5 (1990) (party must establish prima facie case that information is trade secret), 542 at 3 (1990). Accordingly, the university may not withhold Collegiate's information on the basis of any proprietary interest Collegiate may have in the information. As no other exceptions to disclosure are raised, the submitted information must be released to the requestor.

This letter ruling is limited to the particular information at issue in this request and limited to the facts as presented to us; therefore, this ruling must not be relied upon as a previous determination regarding any other information or any other circumstances.

This ruling triggers important deadlines regarding the rights and responsibilities of the governmental body and of the requestor. For more information concerning those rights and responsibilities, please visit our website at http://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/index_orl.php, or call the Office of the Attorney General's Open Government Hotline, toll free, at (877) 673-6839. Questions concerning the allowable charges for providing public information under the Act must be directed to the Cost Rules Administrator of the Office of the Attorney General, toll free, at (888) 672-6787.

Sincerely,

Christina Alvarado

Assistant Attorney General

Open Records Division

CA/rl

Ref: ID# 367619

Enc. Submitted documents

cc: Requestor

(w/o enclosures)

Mr. William Battle

Collegiate Licensing Company

290 Interstate North Circle, Suite 200

Atlanta, Georgia 30339

(w/o enclosures)

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