NIH policy: How to comply

The Submission Process
It is the responsibility of the researcher to take the proper steps to ensure the right to deposit the article and that the deposition of the article actually occurs. Compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy is a three-step process:

1) Address Copyright: Before you sign a publication agreement or similar copyright transfer agreement, make sure that the agreement allows the peer-reviewed article to be submitted to PubMed Central in accordance with the NIH Public Access Policy. Authors should avoid signing any agreements with publishers that do not allow the author to comply with the NIH Public Access Policy.

Individual copyright agreements can take many forms and researchers may wish to develop copyright agreement terms in consultation with their own legal counsel. The NIH, however, provides the following example of the recommended language that could be included in publication/copyright agreements:

Journal acknowledges that Author retains the right to provide a copy of the final manuscript to the NIH upon acceptance for publication, for public archiving in PubMed Central as soon as possible but no later than 12 months after publication by the journal.

2) Submit Article: It is the ultimately the responsibility of the researcher to ensure the article is submitted, and this may take place in one of the following ways:

  • Some journals automatically submit relevant articles to PubMed Central on behalf of authors. If your article is published in one of these journals, no further action is needed on your part. See http://publicaccess.nih.gov/submit_process_journals.htm for a list of these journals.
  • Your publisher may agree to send to final, peer-reviewed manuscript files to the NIH Manuscript Submission (NIHMS) system for you.

    In both of the above cases, you will still have to verify and approve the manuscript personally via the NIHMS system, which will notify you by email requesting this action. See the FAQ on using NIHMS for more information
  • You may deposit a copy of the final manuscript in the NIHMS personally. The details regarding the steps for this process can be found at http://www.nihms.nih.gov.

3) Citation: As of May 25, 2008, when citing an article in NIH applications, proposals, and progress reports that falls under the Policy, and was authored or co-authored by you or arose from your NIH award, you must include the PubMed Central reference number (PMCID).

 

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