Conn. Supreme Court backs secret UConn lists

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - The state Supreme Court backed the University of Connecticut Tuesday in its battle against identifying its supporters, ruling that the school may invoke a trade-secret exemption to shield information.

The justices voted 7-0 to uphold a lower court ruling siding with UConn. The university said lists naming its donors and other supporters amount to trade secrets that other institutions could use to lure away its fans' dollars and loyalty.

The Supreme Court said easy access through Freedom of Information requests would undermine UConn's ability to recoup costs or reap financial benefits of its work.

"It cannot reasonably be questioned that the university expends considerable resources of the state, on its own or in partnership with others for the research and development of intellectual property," the justices said.

University spokesman Mike Kirk said safeguarding certain information is vital to UConn.

"The university is pleased that the court affirmed that these trade secrets can be protected," he said in an email.

Former state Rep. Jonathan Pelto, who requested the information, did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Pelto, a UConn alumnus, has said Connecticut has one of the best Freedom of Information laws in the United States, but that it's unclear how it applies to the university.

Connecticut's law presumes all government information is public unless it meets certain exemptions, including company trade secrets that are in a public agency's hands because of bidding, contracting or other circumstances.

Open-records experts have said it's the first time Connecticut's courts had to decide whether public entities — not just businesses — may invoke a trade-secret exemption to keep information private even if it was created at public expense.

The Supreme Court said defining a trade secret mirrors the definition under Connecticut's Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which penalizes the misappropriation of trade secrets. The justices said the law applies to public and private entities "and clearly does not impose any requirement that either type of entity principally be engaged in a trade."

Pelto requested the UConn information in 2008, hoping to reach more people for the Friends of UConn advocacy and watchdog group.