Section 2-7-68. Designation of trade secrets by applicant; protection from public disclosure; notification of proposed release; declaratory judgment

   (a) In submitting data required by this article, the applicant may:

   (1) Clearly mark any portions thereof which in his opinion are trade secrets or commercial or financial information; and

   (2) Submit such marked material separately from other material required to be submitted under this article.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, the Commissioner shall not make public any information which in his judgment contains or relates to trade secrets or any commercial or financial information obtained from a person and considered privileged or confidential, provided that when necessary to carry out this article, information relating to formulas of products acquired by authorization of this article may be revealed to any state or federal agency consulted or as required by law and may be revealed at a public hearing or in findings of fact issued by the Commissioner.

(c) If the Commissioner proposes to release for inspection any information which the applicant or registrant has indicated that he believes is protected from disclosure under subsection (b) of this Code section, he shall notify the applicant or registrant, in writing, by certified mail or statutory overnight delivery. The Commissioner shall not thereafter make such data available for inspection until 30 days after receipt of the notice by the applicant or registrant. During this period, the applicant or registrant may institute an action in an appropriate court for a declaratory judgment as to whether such information is subject to protection under subsection (b) of this Code section.

Ga. L. 1976, p. 282, § 20; Ga. L. 2000, p. 1589, § 3.