The problem may take a little time and effort to solve, but it is seldom a deal breaker. And these kinds of negotiations are just what Materials Management is here to do for you. So before you purchase software, find out about the license, and let Materials Management have a look at it before closing the purchase. But a second type of information request has been around a lot longer than Open Records, is treated in a very different manner, and is easy to distinguish from Open Records. These are discovery requests.
Discovery is a part of the civil litigation process.
In essence, each side gets an opportunity to conduct an investigation of the other side's case, as well as documents or other information pertinent to the case which may be in the hands of third parties. Occasionally the University is a party to a case and gets discovery requests in that context. Far more often, the University is the third party. Litigants may want to get copies of someone's student records, medical records, employment records, or other records. The reason discovery requests are handled in a different manner is that the authority under which they work comes from a different source.