Source: http://copyright.lib.harvard.edu/states/north_dakota/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 09:25:36+00:00

Document:
The North Dakota Open Records Law states that "[a] disclosure of a requested record under this section is not a waiver of any copyright held by the public entity in the requested record or of any applicable evidentiary privilege." N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 44-04-18(11).
A 2008 North Dakota Attorney General Opinion  addressed the confidentiality of particular public records, and concluded that "when a confidential record is required [to be disclosed to the Agriculture Commissioner], the record is thereafter in the public domain and is no longer confidential." N.D. Att'y. Gen., LETTER OPINION 2008-L-20.
In an advisory document, however, citing the Open Records Law quoted above and the New York case, County of Suffolk, New York v. First Am. Real Estate Solutions, 261 F.3d 179, 183 (2d Cir. 2001), the Attorney General advises that "state and local government entities are not  precluded from claiming copyright protection in their original works. Any use of a copyrighted record without the permission of the public entity, except for 'fair use' as defined in the Copyright Act, is prohibited." (footnotes omitted). Office of Attorney General, Open Records Manual, page 13.
In 1977, North Dakota amended their constitution to say, "Unless otherwise provided by law, all records of public or governmental bodies, boards, bureaus, commissions, or agencies of the state or any political subdivision of the state, or organizations or agencies supported in whole or in part by public funds, or expending public funds, shall be public records, open and accessible for inspection during reasonable office hours." N.D. Const. art. XI, § 6. The North Dakota public records law was first enacted in 1957 and may be found at N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 44-04-18.
The North Dakota public records law does not restrict records based on the intended use of the requestor and the Attorney General Citizen's Guide says that, "You have a right to open records, regardless of your identity or purpose." North Dakota Attorney General, A Citizen's Guide to North Dakota's Open Records and Open Meeting Laws. While all records not specifically exempted must be disclosed under the Open Records Law, see N. States Power Co. v. N. Dakota Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 502 N.W.2d 240, 243 (N.D. 1993), the subsequent use of particular records may, however, be restricted by other aspects of North Dakota law, in particular, trade secret law. N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. 85-24, at 3 (1985).
Unclear GIS property map data available on the Grand Forks County website  Grand Forks County, ND, GIS - Property Maps Disclaimer, stating both that "Information on this site is in the public domain and may be copied without permission" and "Maps and data are to be used for reference purposes only."
North Dakota does not restrict public records requests based on the status of the requestor, and a statute which formerly restricted school board records requests to taxpayers within a school district was recently rewritten to eliminate that requirement. See N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 15.1-07-25; see generally Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Open Government Guide: Access to Public Records and Meetings in North Dakota.
North Dakota law states that "[a]ll records made or received by or under the authority of or coming into the custody, control, or possession of public officials of this state in the course of their public duties are the property of the state" and authorizes the return of records which have escaped official custody. N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 54-46-07.
Some public records in the custody of the State Historical Society of North Dakota are labeled with a disclaimer stating that "[p]ublic records are not subject to copyright restrictions." See, e.g. State Historical Society of North Dakota, State Agencies - Banking and Financial Institutions - #30587. The general copyright statement provided by the archives, however, does not address public records specifically.
North Dakota Attorney General, Open Records and Meetings, available at http://www.ag.nd.gov/OpenRecords/ORM2006A.htm.
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Open Government Guide: Access to Public Records and Meetings in North Dakota, available at http://www.rcfp.org/rcfp/orders/docs/ogg/ND.pdf.
State Historical Society of North Dakota, available at http://history.nd.gov/index.html.
North Dakota State Library, available at http://www.library.nd.gov/.
State ex rel. Johnson v. Baker, 74 N.D. 244, 279, 21 N.W.2d 355, 373 (1945).
N. States Power Co. v. N. Dakota Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 502 N.W.2d 240 (N.D. 1993), available at http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=3939113629185429492.
N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 44-04-18, available at http://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t44c04.pdf?20141021170823.
N.D. Const. art. XI, § 6, available at http://www.legis.nd.gov/constit/a11.pdf?20141021164615.
N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 54-34.4-05, available at http://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t54c34-4.pdf?20141021170659.
N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 44-04-18.5, available at http://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t44c04.pdf?20141021170823.
N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 15.1-07-25, available at http://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t15-1c07.pdf?20141021171114.
N.D. Cent. Code Ann. § 54-46-07, available at http://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t54c46.pdf?20141021171533.
N.D. Att'y. Gen., LETTER OPINION 2008-L-20, available at http://www.ag.nd.gov/Opinions/2008/Letter/2008-L-20.pdf.
N.D. Op. Att'y Gen. 85-24, at 3 (1985). [1985 WL 257684 (N.D.A.G. June 12, 1985)], available at http://www.ag.nd.gov/Opinions/1985/Formal/85-24.pdf.
North Dakota Attorney General, A Citizen's Guide to North Dakota's Open Records and Open Meeting Laws, available at https://www.ag.nd.gov/Brochures/ORandOMBrochure-citizen-2005.pdf.
Office of Attorney General, Open Records Manual, available at http://www.ag.nd.gov/Manuals/OROMManuals/OpenRecordsManual.pdf.
Grand Forks County, ND, GIS - Property Maps Disclaimer, available at http://gfcounty.nd.gov/node/58.
State Historical Society of North Dakota, State Agencies - Banking and Financial Institutions - #30587, available at http://history.nd.gov/archives/manuscripts/inventory/30587.html.
State Historical Society of North Dakota, Archives – Copyright and Use Permissions, available at http://history.nd.gov/archives/rscopypermission.html.
 Unless and until they are overturned by a court, North Dakota Attorney General opinions are binding for state officials. State ex rel. Johnson v. Baker, 74 N.D. 244, 279, 21 N.W.2d 355, 373 (1945).

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