UDPATED on 1/9/26 at 10:50 am
The Michigan Court of Appeals says the University of Michigan does not have to release videos of experiments using mice to an animal rights group.
In an opinion released Thursday, a unanimous three-judge panel held the research is confidential intellectual property that is exempt from the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
The videos are part of a research project on the antidepressant effects of ketamine. And they are not necessarily permanently shielded from release to the public.
In the precedent-setting decision, appeals court Judge Daniel Korobkin wrote researchers need time to review and share their findings with other specialists before their work is made publicly available.
“Given that the statute’s purpose is to protect universities’ intellectual property and that a ‘reasonable opportunity’ must be given to share the videos with the academic community in a ‘timely manner,’ we conclude that defendant met its burden of proving that the exemption applies,” he wrote.
Animal Partisan attorney Will Lowrey said the group believes the videos would provide graphic evidence of how mice are abused in experiments supported with public resources.
“What’s at stake is really that intersection — the public’s right to know what a publicly funded university is doing behind closed doors to animals,” he told Michigan Public Radio.
Lowrey said the group is particularly interested in the videos of the experiments.
“We think that that’s very different from sterilized words on a paper, and we think that the public has every right to see that, to know what’s happening there,” he said. “We think that might have changed the public’s view on these experiments and animal experimentation in general.”
Lowery says Animal Partisan is still deciding whether to appeal the decision to the Michigan Supreme Court.
The University of Michigan did not comment on the decision. But in a 2022 position statement posted online, UM said the research is used to “improve health outcomes for both humans and animals.”
“As a public research university, we acknowledge the important obligation bestowed upon us to ensure that no animal is used needlessly and that animals are spared all unnecessary pain and distress,” it says.
Following our publication deadline, the University of Michigan released a statement.
The University of Michigan said it was “pleased” the Court of Appeals upheld the lower court and protected the ability of researchers to hold onto their work until it is ready to share publicly.
“We believe this result strikes the right balance between the public's right to receive public records and the need to protect the intellectual property being developed at the university until that intellectual work is ready for full publication,” said UM Director of Public Affairs Kay Jarvis in an emailed statement.
The University of Michigan holds Michigan Public's broadcast license.
