Ocelot documents
It is a clone of this request.
| Tracking # |
22-391 |
| Submitted | Oct. 4, 2022 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Todd Feathers
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
1) All contracts, memorandums of understanding, data sharing/privacy agreements, statements of work, and successful RFP responses and bid submission documents regarding the university's contracts with Ocelot Inc. (ocelotbot.com, a.k.a. CareerAmerica LLC) since Jan. 1, 2017.
2) All user manuals, technical support documents, or comparable documents provided to the district regarding Ocelot Inc. products/services. This should include, where available, documents describing the design, training, and validation of any Ocelot Inc. artificial intelligence systems used by the university.
3) All university policies governing the use of Ocelot Inc. products/services.
4) All annual. end-of-term, or end-of-contract reports provided to the district by Ocelot Inc. regarding the company's services for the district.
5) Data libraries/dictionaries for all Ocelot Inc. databases and software used by the district. To clarify: data dictionaries/libraries list the different categories of data included in a database, they do not include the data itself.
I ask that all fees be waived as I intend to use the requested records to publish articles in the public interest and not for any commercial purpose. In the event you choose to impose fees, I request a detailed breakdown of the fees, including the hourly wage of each employee involved and an explanation justifying the employee hours required to fulfill the request.
Should you choose to reject this request or redact portions of it, I ask that you provide a detailed explanation and citations to the statutory exemptions and associated case law underlying your decision to withhold each/any portions from public review.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Tom Nash, a citizen of Virginia, in coordination with Todd Feathers.
From: Virgina Tech
Virginia Tech
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Your first Virginia Tech record request (request number #22-391) has been submitted.
Request #22-391.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at Virginia Tech .<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://help.nextrequest.com/knowledge/requester-resources'>help page</a>
From: Virgina Tech
Virginia Tech
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Documents have been released for record request #22-391 along with the following message:
Mr. Nash,
The contracts you requested have been uploaded to your file. As for any additional documents requested, any that Virginia Tech may have will need further review to determine if any represent Ocelot's proprietary information. As such, we anticipate further responding no later than October 26, 2022.
* VBO Posting - CareerAmerica LLC (Ocelot).pdf
* Virginia Tech Ocelot Updated Contract 2936_executed_03162021.pdf
* Virginia Tech Ocelot Addendum 2 (3827) to Contract 2936_library_05102022.pdf
* Virginia Tech Ocelot Addendum 1 (3650) to Contract 2936_3.9.2022.pdf
* P3890223 - CareerAmerica LLC (Yr 1 of 3).pdf
* P4091155 - CareerAmerica LLC.pdf
* P4114451 - CareerAmerica LLC.pdf
* P4067020 - CareerAmerica LLC.pdf
Document links are valid for one month.
After November 12, you will need to sign in to view the document(s).
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at Virginia Tech .<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://help.nextrequest.com/knowledge/requester-resources'>help page</a>
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22-391_2022-10-13_02_20_58_0000
From: Virgina Tech
Virginia Tech
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Record request #22-391 has been closed. The closure reason supplied was:
All responsive records have been provided. Any information available to Virginia Tech through the use of the software represents proprietary information owned by the vendor.
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From: Todd Feathers
Hello,
Thank you very much for your response, but could you please provide me with a full letter of denial, specifically including citations for the specific statutory or case law exemptions you are relying on in order to withhold these documents from public review and explanations of how those exemptions apply to the requested material.
Thank you very much!
From: Virgina Tech
Virginia Tech
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A message was sent to you regarding record request #22-391:
Mr. Nash,
As previously stated, the additional information you requested represent proprietary information owned by the vendor. This is covered in section 2.2-3705.1.6 of Virginia's FOIA.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at Virginia Tech .<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://help.nextrequest.com/knowledge/requester-resources'>help page</a>
From: Todd Feathers
Hello,
The exemption you cite, 2.2-3705.1.6, applies specifically and narrowly to "vendor proprietary information SOFTWARE," which "means computer programs acquired from a vendor for purposes of processing data for agencies or political subdivisions of the Commonwealth."
None of the records I have requested meet the definition of vendor proprietary information software. I therefore ask that you fulfill the remainder of my public records request. However, if you disagree, I ask that you explain:
1) How are user manuals and technical support documents software?
2) How are university policies software?
3) How is a data dictionary software?
Thank you very much for your help.
From: Virgina Tech
Virginia Tech
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A message was sent to you regarding record request #22-391:
Mr. Nash,
The vendor's product is SOFTWARE AS A SERVICE and, therefore, the section cited applies. The fact that Virginia Tech may have access to such items as user manuals and data dictionaries through the software does not make those items Virginia Tech Records.
Virginia Tech does not have any policies related to the use of the product.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at Virginia Tech .<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://help.nextrequest.com/knowledge/requester-resources'>help page</a>