Mixed Decision Reached in PAWS v University of Washington Case
After over 3 years in the courts, the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) v the University of Washington case has been decided on appeal.
In mid-1993, APA filed an amicus (friend of the court) brief in the appeal of this case, in which PAWS filed suit against the University of Washington to obtain access to an unfunded grant proposal, which was coauthored by psychologist Gene Sackett, PhD. The decision in the appeal was mixed, with the judges' opinion stating that the unfunded proposal is not protected from disclosure and could not be withheld in its entirety. However, the importance of maintaining the investigator's intellectual property was recognized in that the hypotheses and perhaps some of the data may be excised from the released proposal. The APA brief to the Washington State Supreme Court addressed the potential negative consequences of premature disclosure of proposed research projects.
Although this case applies only to Washington state, it will be watched closely by other states with public disclosure laws. For more information, contact Stacey Cunningham in the Science Directorate at (202) 336-6000.