Opinion ID: 1217808
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Licensing fee

Text: Appellants argue the master erred in finding the licensing fees charged by Horry County did not violate FOIA because: (1) the fees exceed the actual costs for making copies; and (2) the fees are not charged uniformly for the same records. FOIA provides that a public body may establish and collect fees not to exceed the actual cost of searching for or making copies of records, and the fees must be uniform for copies of the same record or document. S.C.Code Ann. § 30-4-30(b) (2007). The records must be furnished at the lowest possible cost to the person requesting the records. Id. However, the public body may decide not to charge a fee where it determines the waiver of the fee is in the public interest because furnishing the information can be considered as primarily benefitting the general public. Id. The Horry County ordinance provides different licensing fees for copying GIS data, depending on the intended use. Timothy Oliver, Assistant Director of Horry County's GIS department, testified before the master that Horry County provides GIS data to certain public entities at no cost, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the City of North Myrtle Beach, and Ocean and Coastal Resource Management. Oliver also testified that while the money charged for the record may exceed the actual cost of copying it, the cost is associated with the copyright license use and not the FOIA request. Horry County places the license fees collected in one account for use in maintaining the system and had collected nearly $30,000 from 2003 until the September 2005 hearing. Seago testified at the hearing that he had no objection to the fees charged, tendering checks in the amounts of $100 and $125, and his only complaint was the attempt to restrict subsequent commercial use of the information. Noting that Seago did not object to the fees being charged to him, the master found the County could impose a licensing fee in excess of actual cost of reproduction where, as under the circumstances of this case, the data is being released for purposes that extend beyond initial access to a public record as allowed by FOIA. First, we find no FOIA violation where Horry County waives fees to public entities. The FOIA statute specifically provides that copying fees can be waived where it is in the interest of the public. S.C.Code Ann. § 30-4-30(b) (2007). Providing these documents for free to public entities that intend to use them for public benefit and not for commercial gain would certainly fit under this category. The question of whether Horry County can charge licensing fees that would exceed the actual copying costs pursuant to a FOIA request is a more difficult question. FOIA requires the actual copying fees be charged at the lowest possible cost to the requesting party. Horry County avers that the county did not charge Appellants for documents requested pursuant to the FOIA, the charge was for the license to commercially distribute the copyrighted data. Appellants argue classifying the fee schedule as a licensing fee instead of a copying fee is merely a matter of semantics where the fee is for the production of a public document. Appellants are technically correct that Horry County never provided the documents/data to Appellants in the first place, as is required under FOIA. However, after they tendered the requested fee, Horry County informed Appellants that signing the licensing agreement was a prerequisite to the production of the data. Thus, it is clear that the fee was not for the production of the document; it was for the subsequent commercial distribution of the document. FOIA limitations on the fee structure for providing copies of public records are applicable only to those copies that are provided in keeping with the spirit of FOIA. FOIA fee provisions do not contemplate subsequent commercial distribution of copyright-protected documents for profit. FOIA is unambiguous in setting forth the method of determining fees for providing copies contemplated by the Act. This method does not change depending on the status of the requester. However, FOIA does not control fees for subsequent commercial distribution for profit of copyrighted public records. The undisputed evidence in the record is that the licensing fees charged for the GIS data exceeded actual copying costs. However, no evidence was introduced as to what those actual copying costs would be in non-licensing situations. The fees in this case, while in excess of actual copying costs, do not appear to be exorbitant. Without knowing the actual costs of producing a copy of the GIS data, we cannot determine whether the fees charged frustrate the intent of FOIA in light of the intended commercial use and Horry County's desire to protect its copyright. Accordingly, we find it is more appropriate to remand the fee question for the determination of what the actual copying costs would be and whether the fees charged were so out of line with the actual copying costs such that the fees would frustrate the intent of FOIA.