MIT Moves to Intervene in Release of Aaron Swartz’s Secret Service File
(Note, this is purely informational, I completely disagree with what MIT is doing in this case)It is interesting that they have never heard of third party's intervening in FOIA cases because it actually is a common occurrence in academia.Many times, a professor at another university will file a FOIA request for your grant application. If you feel your research plans are threatened by having the details of your grant passed along to this other professor, your university will intervene on your behalf in the FOIA request. This is especially true if there is patentable material in the grant that they fear will be threatened by wide dissemination of the contents of the grant. Even if they fail in blocking the FOIA request, they usually can at least delay the release long enough to file a preliminary patent on the material described in the grant application.I can understand reporters not having heard of this tactic, but I'm surprised an expert FOIA litigator would be unfamiliar with these cases.