Material transfer agreement

A material transfer agreement (MTA) is a contract that governs the transfer of tangible research materials between two organizations when the recipient intends to use it for his or her own research purposes. The MTA defines the rights of the provider and the rights and obligations of the recipient with respect to the materials and any progeny, derivatives, or modifications. Biological materials, such as reagents, cell lines, plasmids, and vectors, are the most frequently transferred materials, but MTAs may also be used for other types of materials, such as chemical compounds, mouse models, and even some types of software.

MTA types
Three types of MTAs are most common at academic institutions: transfer between academic or research institutions, transfer from academia to industry and transfer from industry to academia. Each calls for different terms and conditions.

For simple transfers not involving intellectual property, in the US the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends a simple letter agreement. For materials that may be patented or for which more protection is desired, the NIH has developed a Uniform Biological Material Transfer Agreement (UBMTA). Many U.S. educational institutions have signed the UBMTA Master Agreement. AUTM (previously the Association of University Technology Managers) serves as the repository for the original UBMTA Master Agreement and maintains the list of the signatories. Signatories to the UBMTA Master Agreement only have to sign an implementing letter with the details of the particular transfer since they have already agreed to all the terms of the Master Agreement.