5.1 Data Rights

Depending on the proposal category, observers may have exclusive access to their science data during a proprietary period. For Small and Medium GO proposals, this period is normally 12 months following the date on which the data, for each target, are archived and made available to the investigator after routine data processing. At the end of the proprietary period, the data become available for analysis by any interested scientist through the HST Archive.

Proposers of Small and Medium GO Programs who wish to request a proprietary period shorter than one year (3 or 6 months), or who are willing to waive their proprietary rights altogether, should specify this in the "Special Requirements" section of the proposal (see Section 9.3). Because of the potential benefit to the community at large, particularly (but not exclusively) in the case of Snapshot Programs, proposers should give this possibility serious consideration (it is one of the selection criteria for Snapshot Programs; see Section 6.2).

Data taken under the Treasury (see Section 3.2.6), Calibration (see Section 3.2.4), and Large (see Section 3.2.3) Program categories will by default have no proprietary period. Any request for non-zero proprietary periods for programs in these categories must be justified in the "Special Requirements" section of the proposal (see Section 9.3) and will be subject to review by the TAC.