In keeping with the State University policy on copyrights, Project Directors and other authors may generally retain all rights to copyright and publish their works, except in those cases when the individuals were employed or directed within the scope of their employment to produce a specific work subject to copyright. In the latter circumstance, the University may own the copyright, or the Research Foundation of SUNY may apply for copyright when the publication was the result of project support.

When a project is supported for the purpose of writing and publishing textbooks and other monographs, usually the sponsor providing the support requires that ownership of the copyright be in the name of the Foundation, that the sponsor (usually the Federal government) has an unlimited right to reproduce the copyrighted material, and that it approve any negotiations with publishers for publication of the material to be copyrighted.