NIH Grants and Funding
Learn about copyright considerations when preparing your manuscript for submission.
Before you sign a publication agreement or similar copyright transfer agreement, make sure that the agreement allows the paper to be posted to PubMed Central (PMC) in accordance with the NIH Public Access Policy.
Final, peer-reviewed manuscripts must be submitted to the NIH Manuscript Submission System (NIHMS) upon acceptance for publication, and be made publicly available on PMC no later than 12 months after the official date of publication.
Points to consider while planning your NIH-supported paper:
Read more on NIH Employee Procedures for Complying with NIH Public Access Policy
- Which submission method will be used?
- What version of the paper will be made available on PMC?
- Who will submit the paper?
- When will it be submitted?
- Who will approve the submission?
- When will the paper be made public on PMC?
Whose approval do I need to submit my final peer-reviewed manuscript to PubMed Central?
Authors own the original copyrights to materials they write. Consistent with individual arrangements with authors’ employing institutions, authors often transfer some or all of these rights to the publisher when the journal agrees to publish their paper. Some publishers may ask authors to transfer these rights when the paper is first submitted to the journal. Authors should work with the publisher before any rights are transferred to ensure that all conditions of the NIH Public Access Policy can be met. Authors should avoid signing any agreements with publishers that do not allow the author to comply with the NIH Public Access Policy. Government works are not subject to copyright protection in the United States. NIH employees always must submit their final peer-reviewed manuscript to PubMed Central, even if all other authors of the article are not Federal employees.