News and Events

Google Book Settlement Reminder:

Deadline for Opting-Out is September 4, 2009

Fairness Hearing: October 7, 2009

Do you have a U.S. copyright interest in a book or ‘insert’ published on or before January 5, 2009? 

Then the Google Book Search Settlement may affect you.

To determine if you are a member of the class covered by the Google Book Search settlement, review the official Google Settlement website.  If you are a member of the affected class, you have until SEPTEMBER 4, 2009 to elect to ‘opt-out’ of the Google Book Settlement. If you are a member of the class and do not take action to opt-out, your work will be subject to the terms of the settlement, which, as it turns out, will also enable you to require that Google not scan or destroy existing scans of your works. To opt-in to the settlement, you do not need to take any action. Also see additional resources for the university community.

As the deadline to opt-out of the settlement approaches, we want members of the University of Michigan community who may be affected by the settlement terms to be aware of their options and to consider the implications of either remaining in the class of authors and publishers OR electing to opt out. We do not know, of course, whether the court will approve the settlement proposed by the plaintiffs and Google.   The Fairness Hearing scheduled for October 7, 2009 will answer that question. Note that the University of Michigan Press has chosen to remain in the settlement on behalf of its authors.

Past Events

Open Access Week at the University Library - March 23-27, 2009

The University of Michigan University Library is hosting a week-long, campus-wide exploration of Open Access during the month of March. The series of events will bring together scholars, publishers, and librarians from a range of disciplines to discuss the impact of Open Access on academic research and publishing. The mission of universities and libraries is to ensure public access to knowledge, and we will examine the role the Open Access movement may play in service of that mission.

Visit the Open Access Week event page for the full schedule.

Copyright Essentials for Dissertation Writers

When you're working on your dissertation, copyright law is probably the last thing on your mind. However, it pays to think about copyright issues before you're on your way to your oral defense. This session will cover the copyright issues most important to dissertation writers: what copyright protects and how long that protection lasts; how to determine when you need to ask for permission to use copyrighted material in your thesis; how to get permission when you need it; how to increase the impact of your thesis with Deep Blue; and what it means to publish your thesis with UMI.

Copyright and Publishing Essentials

Copyright law has a profound impact on the professional lives of university faculty, all of whom are both users and creators of copyrighted material. This session will provide an introduction to copyright questions that most affect scholarly authors, such as: What does copyright protect and for how long? Who owns the copyright? When do you need permission to use other people's works in your writing and teaching? What is involved in transferring rights to others? How can you protect your interests in dealing with journals and publishers? How can you increase the impact of your work by use of Creative Commons licenses or by depositing your work in Deep Blue?

Google Settlement: Reminder for Authors

SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition), the Public Library of Science (PLoS), and Students for FreeCulture have jointly announced the first international Open Access Day. Building on the worldwide momentum toward Open Access to publicly funded research, Open Access Day will provide an opportunity for the higher education community and the general public to understand more clearly the opportunities of wider access and use of content.

Open Access Day will invite researchers, educators, librarians, students, and the public to consider the ways that they can contribute to the cause of providing free, online access to scholarly literature.

The University of Michigan supports Open Access with a variety of different projects, many of them in the University Library, including:

• The Scholarly Publishing Office
• Deep Blue, the University's institutional repository
• Open.Michigan, an Open Educational Resource initiative

To learn more about Open Access Day, visit the Open Access Day website.

Risks, Rights and Responsibilities: Current Copyright Issues for Academics

Monday, October 1st, 4:00-5:30 pm. Michigan Union, Kuenzel Room.

The University Library is pleased to bring together two local intellectual property experts to share their insights about the copyright issues facing today's academics. Jack Bernard, assistant general counsel with the U-M's Office of the General Counsel, and an adjunct professor in the School of Law, the School of Information, and the School of Public Policy, will discuss strategies for being a responsible copyright holder in a time of increasing limitations on rights and access. Jessica Litman, Professor of Law at the University of Michigan and author of the book Digital Copyright, will speak about the copyright related opportunities and pitfalls afforded to academics by the Internet. With an introduction by Paul Courant, University Librarian and Harold T. Shapiro Collegiate Professor of Public Policy in the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Light refreshments provided. Please join us!