U MEMO 26-10

U MEMO 26-10
March 16, 2026
Confidential Commercial or Financial Information; Copyright; Reasonable Search for Records

Requester made a record request to the Department of Health (DOH) for copies of a manual for a test used to assess adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and documents indicating the employer of the staff who administer and score the test and communicate with clients about the test.  OIP found that disclosure of the manual would likely substantially harm the competitive position of the manual’s copyright holder and would impair DOH’s ability to conduct objective assessments.  OIP therefore concluded that DOH may withhold the manual under the UIPA’s frustration exception.  

In the absence of any evidence as to what, if anything, DOH did to search for records indicating the employer of the staff who administered the test and communicated with the clients, OIP concluded that DOH did not meet its burden to establish that it had performed a reasonable search for such records or that it had actual knowledge that no responsive records existed.  However, OIP noted that although DOH did not perform a reasonable search for records, in its response to the appeal DOH stated that the State of Hawaii is the employer of the staff who administered the test and communicated to clients, effectively providing the information that was requested.  Therefore, OIP instructed Requester to inform DOH if she still sought such records in light of DOH providing this information, and, if so, instructed DOH to conduct a reasonable search for such records.