Director: copyrighted building plans excluded from GRAMA, Kupferberg appeal denied

The director denied Barry Kupferberg’s appeal seeking a full set of building plans for a home under construction in Summit County (Appeal No. 2026‑124).

Kupferberg, representing himself, argued the plans are routine and safety‑critical to a homeowner and offered to sign nondisclosure agreements or pay copying costs. Summit County counsel (identified on the record as Beatty/Vidi) said the plans had been marked proprietary and copyrighted and offered in‑office review only; counsel cited the GRAMA exclusion for copyrighted materials.

The director found the county’s determination correct under the copyright exclusion to GRAMA and concluded Kupferberg had not identified an exception that would authorize disclosure. Although the petitioner emphasized safety and fairness concerns, the director said those private interests did not outweigh the statutory copyright exclusion and denied the appeal. A written decision will follow within seven business days; Kupferberg may appeal to district court within 30 calendar days.

Why it matters: the ruling underscores that copyrighted architectural plans may be excluded from disclosure under GRAMA and that on‑site review or judicial remedies in civil court are the typical avenues to challenge such a determination.