Can authors and publishers continue to assert copyright in scientific publications resulting from NIH funding?
Yes. The NIH Public Access Policy does not affect the ability of the author, the author’s institution, or the publisher to assert ownership in the work’s copyright. Authors, consistent with their employment arrangements, may assign these rights to journals (as is the current practice), subject to the limited right that must be retained by the funding recipient to post the works in accordance with the Policy, or the provision that the journal submits the works in accordance with the Policy on the author’s behalf.