Submission Guidelines

HModEx Ontology Submission Guidelines

HModEx is a marketplace designed to help researchers, developers, and organizations share, validate, and license biomedical ontologies. To ensure quality, usability, and compliance, all submissions must follow these guidelines.

1. Eligibility to Submit

  • You must have a registered Modeler account on HModEx.
  • Ontologies must be original work or submitted with proper authorization from the rights holder.
  • By submitting, you agree to abide by HModEx licensing and usage policies.

2. Accepted Formats

We currently support:

  • OWL (Web Ontology Language)
  • RDF/XML
  • JSON-LD
  • Other widely adopted ontology formats (see platform FAQ for updates).

Tip: Make sure your ontology is machine-readable and validated against the appropriate standard before submission.

3. Metadata Requirements

Each ontology must include:

  • Title & Version Number
  • Domain/Discipline (e.g., oncology, genomics, pharmacology)
  • Description (100–300 words) explaining scope and intended use cases
  • Contributors & Affiliations
  • Licensing Terms (choose from HModEx-supported licenses, e.g., CC-BY, CC0, or commercial options)
  • Validation Status (self-declared, peer-reviewed, or institutionally validated)
  • Keywords/Tags for discoverability

4. Submission Process

  1. Upload Ontology File(s) through the Modeler dashboard.
  2. Fill Out Metadata Form with all required fields.
  3. Select Licensing Model (open, restricted, or commercial).
  4. Submit for Review — ontology is queued for automated checks and Reviewer evaluation.
  5. Revise if Needed — you may receive feedback to update metadata, format, or content.
  6. Publish — once approved, your ontology is listed in the marketplace.

5. Review & Validation

  • Automated Checks: file integrity, format compliance, and metadata completeness.
  • Reviewer Evaluation: domain experts verify accuracy, relevance, and licensing clarity.
  • Feedback Loop: Modelers may be asked to address gaps before publication.

6. Licensing & Revenue

  • All submissions must clearly state licensing terms.
  • For commercial licenses, revenue share agreements apply (see [Licensing Policy]).
  • Modelers retain ownership of their work while granting usage rights per selected license.

7. Best Practices for Approval

✅ Use clear, descriptive ontology names.
✅ Provide real-world examples of application in your metadata.
✅ Keep your ontology versioned and documented.
✅ Respond promptly to Reviewer feedback.
✅ Ensure licensing terms are unambiguous.

8. Grounds for Rejection

  • Incomplete metadata or missing required files.
  • Submission in unsupported formats.
  • Licensing conflicts or unclear ownership.
  • Ontologies that fail validation checks or quality review.
  • Duplicate submissions of existing ontologies without meaningful updates.

9. Updates & Versioning

  • Modelers may submit new versions of existing ontologies.
  • Updates must include changelog notes.
  • Old versions remain archived but are clearly marked as “outdated.”

10. Support

For technical questions, formatting help, or licensing clarification, contact the HModEx Support Team at [support email/portal].

👉 Ready to submit? Log in to your Modeler dashboard and start your first upload today.