The details of Purdue University’s contract agreement with Amazon have caused a stir with the National Association of College Stores, a trade association, which has filed a lawsuit against the university over the matter.
While Amazon is not a defendant in the lawsuit, the case stems from the terms agreed upon in February between the eCommerce company and Purdue. The trade association says, according to Internet Retailer, that the university must turn over the terms of the deal as a results of Indiana’s Access to Public Records Act to ensure the matter is being handled in a transparent way. While the university did oblige, parts were taken out because they were part of Amazon’s trade secrets, the report says.
That’s where the lawsuit comes into play.
“The redacted portions in the Purdue contract that are the subject of the suit contain materials that Amazon insisted should not be disclosed by Purdue on the basis that they are Amazon trade secrets,” says Steve Schultz, Purdue’s legal counsel told Internet Retailer. “Under Indiana law, if something is identified as a trade secret by the trade secret owner, Purdue is obliged not to disclose it. In short, the redactions at issue were not Purdue’s decision. Purdue’s sole focus on the Amazon relationship has been on achieving a meaningful cost savings for its students.”
But the National Association of College Stores claims that it’s not getting the information they need to maintain open records. The organization also said the lawsuit is not aimed at being “antagonistic or confrontational.”
“It’s only about getting as much information as we can about an important arrangement for the industry and for students, to understand the most they can about it,” the group said in a statement.
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