Scholarly Publishing
Copyright Questions
The University of Michigan Library Copyright Office provides help with copyright questions for University of Michigan faculty, staff and students.
Email copyright@umich.edu with questions or visit our website for more information.
Legal Advice
The information presented here is intended for informational purposes and should not be construed as legal advice. If you have specific legal questions pertaining to the University of Michigan, please contact the Office of the General Counsel.
If you require legal advice in your personal capacity, the lawyer referral services operated by the Washtenaw County Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan may be helpful to you.
Overview
We are here to help with questions about your publishing aspirations and ideas for approaching your publishing plans.
- This guide includes information about Discounts and Funding for U-M Authors, a Publishing Toolkit (a starting place for issues and considerations you may encounter throughout the publishing lifecycle), and helpful Resources and Services at U-M and beyond.
- For specific advice related to scholarly publishing or communication, contact a specialist at the U-M Library in your area of research for a consultation.
- For questions specifically about copyright, consider these options to connect with the Library Copyright Office for information and guidance. The Library Copyright Office gives regular workshops on topics related to publishing. We are also happy to meet with you individually to develop a workshop for your department, guest teach in courses, or support you with whatever outreach may be most useful for you.
- For information about resources and services to support you throughout your research lifecycle, consider our guide on Open Research and Scholarship.
- For assistance with writing, U-M’s Sweetland Center for Writing is available to help you (located in North Quad on Central Campus).
Also see Huffman, S., Cotos, E., & Becker, K. (2022). Preparing to Publish. Iowa State University Digital Press.
Spotlight: A note on artificial intelligence and machine learning tools
Grant funders, publishers, journals, and professional societies are starting to develop policies regarding the appropriate use of AI and machine learning. This is an emerging topic, and it’s important to be familiar with the strengths and limitations of these tools.
While there are a growing number of funding opportunities and interest in publishing research on AI, carefully check for any policies that might affect your expected uses and reach out to funders and publishers as needed.
For example, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) “prohibits use of generative AI technology in the peer review of grant applications and contract proposals.” The U-M Generative Artificial Intelligence Advisory (GAIA) Committee published a report with guidance on these topics.
