Guidelines
Intellectual Property and Copyrights
All material that is fixed in a tangible medium (photos, electronic and printed text, music, broadcast performance) produced by units of the University, is inherently copyrighted under the Berne Accords, which are part of U.S. law. The Regents are the legal owners of all University products. To discourage copyright infringement, state the year of production and the name of the copyright holder. The suggested format is to use the copyright bug (©) or the word “copyright”—but not both—followed by “The Regents of the University of Michigan” and the year.
University written, visual, and musical products (except for “Copyrighted Photos” below), with or without the Regents’ copyright statement, may be freely reproduced by any unit of the University for its own use. Written, visual, and sound products that contain a copyright statement from some unit of the University other than the Regents might not be protectable by that unit, but you should request permission before copying or reproducing.
Copyrighted Photos. All photos are copyrighted whether they carry a copyright notice or not. Some photographers relinquish all rights to their photos; others provide limited one-time use. If you reproduce a photo that has been borrowed from another University publisher or publication, be sure that the photo has been released by the copyright holder for your use and that the necessary fees have been paid. This caution includes photos reproduced for computer transmission, e.g., in websites and electronically reproduced documents.
Logos and Trademarks
Logos and Registered Marks
The U-M wordmark is used on most marketing materials and on departmental letterhead and business cards. In addition, the following University marks are officially registered with the U.S. Trademark Office:
- “Michigan”
- the Block M
- the Split Block M (M with “Michigan” through center bar)
- the football helmet design
- “M GO BLUE”
These logos may not be used outside the University without express permission from the identity standards group. Any use for commercial purposes, including by University units, requires a written licensing agreement with the Licensing Office. University units may use these marks without express permission for non-commercial purposes. Please email umlogos@umich.edu for more information.
Logo file downloads
Visit the Identity Guidelines website for information, policies, and logo file downloads.
University Seals
The “official” University Seal is the one that is cast in the matched-metal die sets used for embossing official documents, such as diplomas, transcripts, and regental documents. The Seal is used primarily for regental and ceremonial purposes; please email umlogos@umich.edu with specific questions about use of the Seal.
Colors
The University wordmark uses blue PMS 294 (for uncoated stock), PMS 547 blue (for coated stock), and gold PMS 7406. For more information about the wordmark, visit the standards page of the Identity Guidelines website.
U-M’s maize and blue are not otherwise represented by any “official” colors. These are described in early University documents as “the blue of a summer sky, the yellow of ripe corn.” “Azure Blue” and “Maize” were standard artists’ oils in 1867 and these colors were adopted by a committee of students of the Literary Department in that year. Their choice was ratified by the Regents in 1912. The colors are represented today by the University flag and by the ribbons affixed to the diploma. Those are slightly different from each other. Either set of colors is acceptable.
Intercollegiate Athletics has chosen blue PMS 282 and yellow PMS 116 (for coated stock) and yellow PMS 109 (for uncoated stock) to be its “official” colors. Other college and department colors can be found on the print style guide page of the logos website.
Editorial Style Guide
Table of Contents
- In General
- Abbreviations and Acronyms in Titles and Headlines
- Acronyms That Stand Alone
- Articles with Abbreviations and Acronyms
- Degrees
- I.E. and E.G.
- Plurals of Abbreviations and Acronyms
- State Abbreviations
- United States
- University of Michigan
- Abbreviations
- Address Format
- Campus Mail
- In General
- Academic and Nonacademic Units and Bodies
- Committee, Center, Group, Program, and Initiative Names
- Course Titles
- Degrees
- Department Names
- Geographical and Related Terms
- Grades
- Job and Position Titles
- Medical and Scientific Terms
- Publication and Other Titles
- Seasons and Semesters
- Structures and Places
- Students
- Trademarks
- The University
- Intellectual Property and Copyrights
- Consent to Photograph or Record Electronically
- Graduation Dates
- Inclusive Dates
- Punctuation with Dates
- Logos and Registered Marks
- University Seals
- Colors
- Lists within Sentences
- Vertical Lists
- Degrees with Names
- Government Programs
- Names for Racial and Ethnic Origins
- Names with Initials
- Names with Job Titles
- Names with Suffixes
- Publications, Presentations, and Reports
- In General
- Adjacent Numbers
- Dates
- Footnote Numbers
- Inclusive Numbers
- Metric Measures
- Money
- More than One Kind of Number in a Sentence
- Multiple Numbers in a Sentence
- Ordinal Numbers
- Room Numbers
- Telephone Numbers
- Time
- Years and Decades
Proofreaders’ and Editors’ Marks
Publication Guidelines and Boilerplates
- Campus Safety Statement
- Freedom of Expression Statement
- Nondiscrimination Policy Statement
- President’s Diversity Letter
- Regents List
- Apostrophes
- Colons
- Commas
- Dashes
- Ellipses
- Hyphens
- Periods
- Quotation Marks
- Semicolons
- Collective Nouns
- Miscellaneous
- Prepositions at the End of Sentences
- Split Infinitives
- That/Which
- Their
- Who/Whom
- Web Reading Habits
- Writing for the Web
- Punctuation in Web-related Copy
- URLs and Email Addresses
- Age
- Disability
- Gender
- Race and Ethnicity
- Sexual Orientation
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Guidelines for News Media Access to University of Michigan Property
Need more information? Visit the Public Affairs & Media Relations website » »
Revised November 2001
As a public institution, the University has some obligation to permit members of the news media reasonable access to campus spaces. However, the University also has the power to regulate access to campus in order to carry out our educational, research and related functions; to protect the safety and well-being of members of our community and visitors to our campus; to protect the privacy of students, their families and others for whom the campus represents their place of residence; and to protect the privacy of student academic records and other records as required by or permitted under state and federal laws.
The following represent guidelines for allowing or restricting representatives of the news media onto property and into buildings owned or controlled by the University of Michigan. For the purposes of this document, “media” is defined to include any individual or group conducting interviews, making audio or video recordings, or capturing photographic images, for purposes of dissemination to the public via commercial or noncommercial news and information outlets, including the Internet. A separate, detailed policy exists for collection of material for commercial, non-news use such as film production, advertising, and sale of products.
In specific situations, decisions about access to property may be made by representatives of the Department of Public Safety or other safety officials, Facilities and Operations, the Office of Communications, or other senior administrators as appropriate. When in doubt, you are encouraged to seek guidance from these offices.
Some general guidelines include:
- Vehicles must be parked in legal spaces and must display the appropriate permit, if required. Parking arrangements may be made and permits obtained through Parking & Transportation Services, News Service, or the Athletic Department.
- Equipment must not damage University property.
- Equipment, vehicles and personnel must not restrict the flow of traffic nor access to buildings or portions of buildings, and may not impede fire lanes.
- Additional restrictions may be placed on equipment including television cameras, still cameras, flashes and other special lighting, and audio equipment in order to minimize disruption to campus events and activities or to address safety or security concerns. In instances where security is an issue, items may be subject to inspection.
Members of the news media are generally allowed free access to the following campus venues and spaces, subject to the general guidelines above:
- In any building or portion of a building which is open to the public, during public hours.
- Inside any event to which admission is free and open to the public (such as lectures and forums) or to which the individual is a paid ticketholder. However, restrictions may be placed on use and location of cameras, lights, flashes and other equipment in order to minimize disruption of the event. Advance notice or media credentials may be required in some instances.
- In public, outdoor areas of campus such as the Diag, Palmer Field, Ingalls Mall, North Campus Diag, etc.
- In public parking areas provided vehicles are parked legally and the flow of traffic is not restricted.
Media are not allowed in the following locations without express permission from an administrative authority and/or an officially designated University escort:
- Hospital and medical clinical areas where patients are being treated, including the University Health Service, and the waiting areas of such clinics; similarly, any locations where confidential counseling is taking place.
- Residential areas including the interior of any residence hall and apartment buildings controlled by the University. This includes common areas of residential facilities such as lounges, dining halls and community centers. Access also may be restricted to courtyards, sidewalks, patios, adjacent parking lots and other spaces immediately adjacent to private residences and apartments where necessary to reasonably protect residents from unwarranted intrusion. Individual residents who wish to invite members of the news media into shared residential space, such as to their room within a residence hall, must provide advance notification to appropriate Housing staff.
- Athletic venues including Michigan Stadium, Crisler Arena, Yost Fieldhouse, University golf courses, etc., unless the individual is a paid ticketholder.
- Inside the private offices or research labs of faculty, staff, administrators and student employees.
- Inside a classroom when class is in session.
- Inside libraries, museums or other areas where quiet study is enforced or where collections might be endangered by media activity or equipment.
- Inside any venue where admission is charged, unless the individual is a paid ticketholder. In the latter instance, members of the media must abide by the standard expectations of behavior for any ticketholder.
- Inside private functions which are not open to the public, such as dinners, receptions, etc.
- Inside any University facilities where the general public is not permitted, such as the North Campus Transfer Facility, Central Power Plant, Department of Public Safety, maintenance and repair facilities, etc.
- Any location on campus, indoor or outdoor, which has been labeled a crime scene or is deemed to be hazardous or unsafe. Such locations should be marked and secured by appropriate safety personnel.
These lists are not exhaustive, and additional guidelines may be established as necessary according to the general principles noted above.
For those outside of the media who wish to film on campus, please visit the film and video guidelines section of the Vice President for Communications’ website.