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Florida Statute 815.045 | Lawyer Caselaw & Research
F.S. 815.045 Case Law from Google Scholar
Statute is currently reporting as:
Link to State of Florida Official Statute Google Search for Amendments to 815.045

The 2023 Florida Statutes

Title XLVI
CRIMES
Chapter 815
COMPUTER-RELATED CRIMES
View Entire Chapter
F.S. 815.045
815.045 Trade secret information.—The Legislature finds that it is a public necessity that trade secret information as defined in s. 812.081 be expressly made confidential and exempt from the public records law because it is a felony to disclose such records. Due to the legal uncertainty as to whether a public employee would be protected from a felony conviction if otherwise complying with chapter 119, and with s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution, it is imperative that a public records exemption be created. The Legislature in making disclosure of trade secrets a crime has clearly established the importance attached to trade secret protection. Disclosing trade secrets in an agency’s possession would negatively impact the business interests of those providing an agency such trade secrets by damaging them in the marketplace, and those entities and individuals disclosing such trade secrets would hesitate to cooperate with that agency, which would impair the effective and efficient administration of governmental functions. Thus, the public and private harm in disclosing trade secrets significantly outweighs any public benefit derived from disclosure, and the public’s ability to scrutinize and monitor agency action is not diminished by nondisclosure of trade secrets.
History.—s. 2, ch. 94-100; s. 41, ch. 2022-5.
Note.—Former s. 119.165.

F.S. 815.045 on Google Scholar

F.S. 815.045 on Casetext

Amendments to 815.045


Arrestable Offenses / Crimes under Fla. Stat. 815.045
Level: Degree
Misdemeanor/Felony: First/Second/Third

Current data shows no reason an arrest or criminal charge should have occurred directly under Florida Statute 815.045.

Annotations, Discussions, Cases:

10 Cases from Casetext:Date Descending

U.S. Supreme Court11th Cir. - Ct. App.11th Cir. - MD FL11th Cir. - ND FL11th Cir. - SD FLFed. Reg.Secondary Sources - All

  1. B&L Serv. v. Broward Cnty.

    300 So. 3d 1205 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2020)
    After we issued our mandate in Rasier I , the trial court addressed Yellow Cab's pending motion for attorney's fees against Broward County pursuant to section 119.12, Florida Statutes (2016). The trial court denied the motion for two reasons. First, it found that by failing to cross-appeal in Rasier I , Yellow Cab waived the issue of whether Broward County unlawfully refused the records request. Second, relying on our decision in State Attorney's Office of Seventeenth Judicial Circuit v. Cable News Network, Inc. , 254 So. 3d 461 (Fla. 4th DCA 2018), it found that Broward County's refusal to produce the unredacted reports could not be unlawful because it was based on the "trade secret" exemption contained in section 815.045, Florida Statutes (2016). This appeal follows.
    PAGE 1208

  2. Managed Care of N. Am., Inc. v. Fla. Healthy Kids Corp.

    268 So. 3d 856 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2019)   Cited 1 times
    At issue here is the legislatively created exemption to the public records law under section 815.045, Florida Statutes, which protects trade secrets from disclosure. Section 815.045, establishes that it is a public necessity that trade secrets "as defined in s. 812.081... be expressly made confidential and exempt from public records law..." Section 812.081(1)(c), Florida Statutes, defines "trade secret" as:
    PAGE 858

  3. Surterra Fla., Llc. v. Fla. Dep't of Health

    223 So. 3d 376 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2017)   Cited 2 times
    Appellee Michael Barfield submitted a public records request to the Department for the files related to appellants' applications. The Department declined to release to Mr. Barfield appellants' unredacted applications pursuant to section 815.045 but told him that he could retrieve the redacted versions of the applications on its website. Subsequently, Mr. Barfield filed suit for a declaratory judgment that the exemption asserted by the Department does not apply to the redacted portions of appellants' applications.
    PAGE 378

  4. Office of Ins. Regulation v. State Farm Fla. Ins. Co.

    213 So. 3d 1104 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2017)   Cited 2 times
    Florida has a broad public records policy providing "that all state, county, and municipal records are open for personal inspection and copying by any person." § 119.01(1), Fla. Stat. But the Legislature has exempted trade secrets from the public records law. See § 815.045, Fla. Stat. According to the statute, this is because "the public and private harm in disclosing trade secrets significantly outweighs any public benefit derived from disclosure, and the public's ability to scrutinize and monitor agency action is not diminished by nondisclosure of trade secrets." Id.
    PAGE 1106

  5. James, Hoyer, Newcomer v. Rodale, Inc.

    41 So. 3d 386 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2010)   Cited 2 times
    We have for review a final order declaring documents that Rodale, Inc., ("Rodale") produced — in compliance with investigatory subpoenas — to the Department of Legal Affairs, Office of the Attorney General ("AG") to be trade secrets, and therefore exempt from disclosure as public records, pursuant to section 815.045, Florida Statutes (2009), even though now in the AG's hands. Except as to the complaints Rodale's customers made and Rodale's responses to the complaints, we affirm.

  6. Coventry First v. State

    30 So. 3d 552 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2010)
    Coventry's trade secrets are one component of the proprietary records that the company sought to protect from the retroactive application of the 2007 amendment. See § 812.081(1)(c), Fla. Stat. (2007) (defining "trade secret"). Under Florida law, trade secret information is "expressly made confidential and exempt from the public records law because it is a felony to disclose such records." § 815.045, Fla. Stat. (2007). In this same provision, the Legislature recognized that the public disclosure of trade secrets in the custody of a state agency would financially harm the business interests of the individuals or entities seeking to protect their own trade secrets and would discourage cooperation and disclosure by the individuals and entities dealing with the agency. "Because of the intangible nature of a trade secret, the extent of the property right therein is defined by the extent to which the owner of the secret protects his interest from disclosure to others." Ruckelshaus, 467 U.S. at 1002, 104 S.Ct. 2862. The trial court found Coventry had taken reasonable steps to ensure that its commercially sensitive work papers and other information were not disseminated to its…

  7. NOS Communications, Inc. v. State

    858 So. 2d 362 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2003)   Cited 1 times
    We note that appellants raised for the first time in their reply brief the argument that the documents at issue were exempt from the Public Records Act under section 815.045, Florida Statutes. Had this argument been raised and rejected in the trial court, and had that rejection been made an issue in the initial brief, we would have been constrained by this court's recent decision in SePRO v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, 839 So.2d 781 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003), review of which is currently being sought in the supreme court, to reverse the trial court's denial of injunctive relief.

  8. Sepro Corp. v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection

    839 So. 2d 781 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2003)   Cited 16 times   1 Legal Analyses
    What is now codified as section 815.045, Florida Statutes (2002), was originally codified as section 119.165, Florida Statutes (Supp. 1994), as part of the Public Records Law. While Section 815.045, Florida Statutes (2001), reads more like a statement of legislative intent than a conventionally phrased provision of positive law, it makes its intended effect clear, in providing:
    PAGE 784

    Cases from cite.case.law:

    MANAGED CARE OF NORTH AMERICA, INC. v. FLORIDA HEALTHY KIDS CORPORATION, 268 So. 3d 856 (Fla. App. Ct. 2019)

    . . . At issue here is the legislatively created exemption to the public records law under section 815.045, . . . Section 815.045, establishes that it is a public necessity that trade secrets "as defined in s. 812.081 . . .

    SURTERRA FLORIDA, LLC. v. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, 223 So. 3d 376 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2017)

    . . . section 812.081, Florida Statutes (2015), and were exempt from disclosure as public records under section 815.045 . . . Barfield appellants’ unredacted applications pursuant to section 815.045 but told him that he could retrieve . . . See § 815.045, Fla. . . .

    OFFICE OF INSURANCE REGULATION, v. STATE FARM FLORIDA INSURANCE COMPANY,, 213 So. 3d 1104 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2017)

    . . . See § 815.045, Fla. Stat. . . .

    JAMES, HOYER, NEWCOMER, SMILJANICH, YANCHUNIS, P. A. v. RODALE, INC., 41 So. 3d 386 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2010)

    . . . ”) to be trade secrets, and therefore exempt from disclosure as public records, pursuant to section 815.045 . . . The legislatively created exemption at issue here is set out in section 815.045, Florida Statutes (2009 . . . to scrutinize and monitor agency action” concerning practices of which customers have complained. § 815.045 . . .

    COVENTRY FIRST, LLC, a v. STATE OFFICE OF INSURANCE REGULATION, 30 So. 3d 552 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2010)

    . . . .” § 815.045, Fla. Stat. (2007). . . .

    NOS COMMUNICATIONS, INC. v. STATE A., 858 So. 2d 362 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2003)

    . . . brief the argument that the documents at issue were exempt from the Public Records Act under section 815.045 . . .

    SEPRO CORPORATION, v. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, L. L. C., 839 So. 2d 781 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2003)

    . . . The complaint invoked sections 403.111, 688.002, 812.081 and 815.045, Florida Statutes (2000). . . . exempt from the public disclosure mandate of § 119.07(1) pursuant to the exemptions in §§ 815.04(3) and 815.045 . . . What is now codified as section 815.045, Florida Statutes (2002), was originally codified as section . . . While Section 815.045, Florida Statutes (2001), reads more like a statement of legislative intent than . . .