Short-Term and Long-Term Confidentiality Requests for FCC Exhibits
When your company files its application for a new wireless product or device, you (or your legal department) can choose to keep specific exhibits confidential from public viewing. This makes sense if you are trying to keep trade secrets or designs from general availability when you submit your application.
When the device begins to be marketed, your company or authorized representative files a release of confidentiality. This means the documents will become public and show up on the FCC Equipment Authorization website.
Depending on the document (test reports, schematics, internal photos, etc), your company can request short or long-term confidentiality. Let’s take a closer look at what that really means.
The Two Types of FCC Confidentiality Requests
Short-Term Confidentiality
Short-term confidentiality requests can be granted for up to a maximum of 180 days or about 5 months from the date that your wireless device received its grant. If your company requested less than 180 days of confidentiality, they can request an extension. The original confidentiality length and the extension must be less than the 180-day max.
The types of documents that can be held under short-term confidentiality are
- External Photos
- Test Setup Photos
- Internal Photos
- Users Manuals
- Schematics
- Block diagrams
- Operational Descriptions
- Parts List/Tune-up Info
Short-term confidentiality releases are filed when your device or product begins to be marketed.
Long-Term Confidentiality
Long-term confidentiality on a wireless device’s FCC exhibit lasts indefinitely. When a request is approved, the documents marked as confidential will not be publicly available on the FCC equipment authorization website. They will only become available if the company files a request to remove the confidentiality or Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request for inspection is filed and approved.
There are certain documents that will be held under long-term confidentiality automatically without your company having to file a request for them. These are
- Software Defined Radio/Cognitive radio attachments submitted under the SDR Software/Security Info Exhibit type
- Scanning receiver information included in one of the exhibits noted as “commonly held confidential” and scanning receiver internal photos
For long-term public withholdment on other documents, your company needs to specifically file a request for it. These are the types of documents a company or applicant can request long-term confidentiality for in an FCC application:
- Schematics
- Block Diagrams
- Operational Descriptions
- Parts List/Tune-up Info
How Do You Request Confidentiality from the FCC?
So far we have looked at what short-term and long-term document confidentiality means and the different types of documents that can be held under it. Each exhibit can be under short-term or long-term confidentiality, but not both at the same time. Let’s see how your company can actually request confidentiality for their device’s exhibits.
To have a test report, internal photo, schematic, or other application exhibits/documents kept under confidentiality, your company or representative will submit a Confidentiality Request Letter with the rest of the equipment authorization (i.e FCC ID) application.
What is a Confidentiality Request Letter?
A confidentiality request letter is simply a document (usually in the form of a letter with a company’s logo on the top) that states your company is requesting confidentiality for all or some of the information submitted with the FCC application.
The FCC requires certain information to be in the request letter from the company, including
- Reference to sections 0.457(d) and 0.459 of the FCC Rules as the authority for requesting confidentiality.
- State the type or types of confidentiality being requested: Long-Term Confidentiality, ShortTerm Confidentiality.
- Indicate why the material should be withheld from public inspection.
- Identify the specific confidential information by exhibit type, name, and description.
- State that the information is not publicly available.
- Indicate if the information is a “trade secret” and to who it will be made available. “Trade secret” information is information not generally known or reasonably ascertainable that gives a business an economic advantage over competitors.
- If requesting Long-Term Confidentiality for internal photos or user’s manual exhibits under special conditions, provide the justification, information, and any additional exhibits
- Applicant signature
Summary: Long-Term vs Short-Term Confidentiality
In this article, we looked at short-term and long-term confidentiality requests for FCC application documents. For an electronic device submission, your company can request external photos, user manuals, schematics, and other documents to be kept from public viewing for a certain amount of time.
After a small time period has expired (short-term) or your company has requested a release of confidentiality (long-term), anyone can view these documents on the FCC website or fccInsights. For even more information on requesting confidentiality for your new product from fcc.gov, check out the links below.
