In addition to the definitions in § 2507.3, the following definitions apply to this subpart:
Commercial use request is a FOIA request for a purpose that furthers a commercial, trade, or profit interest, which can include furthering those interests through litigation. The Agency's decision to place a requester in the commercial use category will be made on a case-by-case basis, in consideration of the requester's intended use of the information.
Direct costs are the expenses AmeriCorps incurs in searching for and duplicating (and, in the case of commercial use requests, reviewing) records in order to respond to a FOIA request. Direct costs do not include overhead expenses such as the costs of space, or of heating or lighting a facility.
Duplication fees are the reasonable direct costs of making copies of records to respond to a FOIA request, including the cost of materials to produce paper copies and materials plus operator time to produce tapes, disks, or other media.
Educational institution is any school that operates a program of scholarly research. To qualify for this fee category, a requester must show that the request is authorized by, and made under the auspices of, an educational institution and that the records are not sought for a commercial use, but rather are sought to further scholarly research. The request must serve the scholarly research goals of the institution rather than an individual research goal.
Fee waiver is a waiver or reduction of processing fees if a requester can demonstrate that certain statutory standards are satisfied, including that the information is in the public interest and is not requested for a commercial interest.
Noncommercial scientific institution is an institution that is not operated on a “commercial” basis and that is operated solely for the purpose of conducting scientific research, the results of which are not intended to promote any particular product or industry. A requester in this category must show that the request is authorized by, and made under the auspices of, a qualifying institution and that the records are sought to further scientific research and are not for a commercial use.
Representative of the news media is any person or entity that gathers information of potential interest to a segment of the public, uses its editorial skills to turn the raw materials into a distinct work, and distributes that work to an audience. In this clause, the term “news” means information that is about current events or that would be of current interest to the public. A freelance journalist will be regarded as a representative of the news media if they demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through a news media entity.
Review fees are the direct costs incurred during the initial examination of a document to determine if it must be disclosed under the FOIA. This includes doing all that is necessary to prepare a record for disclosure, such as redacting the record and marking the appropriate exemptions. Review time also includes time spent obtaining and considering any formal objection to disclosure made by a confidential commercial information submitter. It does not include time spent resolving general legal or policy issues regarding the application of exemptions. Review fees are properly charged even if a record ultimately is not disclosed.
Search fees are costs of all time spent looking for responsive material, including, if necessary, page-by-page or line-by-line identification of information within records.