What should I do if the journal does not have an open-access option, or does not allow me to self-archive my manuscript with UK PubMed Central?
15.1 Authors must ensure, in advance of making any agreement with or commitment to a publisher at any stage, that the agreement or commitment does not conflict with the author’s obligations under the MRCs policy (as set out for grant-holders in the grant or fellowship terms and conditions). Specifically, authors should inform the journal that they have an existing obligation to make their papers available from UK PubMed Central, and investigate whether the publisher’s policy is in conflict with this obligation. 15.2 The MRC’s grant terms and conditions are mandatory and binding on institutions, grant holders, and all others supported by a grant. An author’s obligations to the MRC (whether as a grant-holder or member of staff) will therefore, in almost all cases, pre-date any agreement with a journal. 15.3 Authors are unlikely to be able to comply with the MRCs policy if, without reaching a specific agreement with the journal about deposition of a copy of the final paper in UKPMC, they
