Material Transfer Agreement

A Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) is a research contract between a provider and recipient of research materials which governs the terms and conditions under which the research material may be used.  MTAs are not encumbered with research funding, but in return for the provision and use of the materials, providers often require certain considerations in return.   An MTA protects the intellectual and other property rights of the provider, and generally addresses other issues in material transfers such as publication, limitation on the use of the research materials, inventions and results from the use of the research material, indemnification and liability issues.

There are two main types of MTAs -- incoming and outgoing -- and these MTAs generally fall into three categories most common at academic institutions: transfers between academics or non-profit research institutions, transfers from industry to academia, and transfers from academia to industry. Different types of MTAs are utilized for these types of transfers.

USC is a signatory to the UBMTA (Uniform Biological Material Transfer Agreement) developed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the UBMTA may be used to transfer materials between other signatories to the UBMTA to help facilitate the exchange of materials between academics and non-profits. However, many providers of materials often require their own MTAs tailored to their specific requirements. MTAs from industry often contain restrictive language in the areas of licensing, patent rights, and publication, and include language that conflicts with basic academic rights by placing unnecessary restrictions on the institution and its investigators.  In situations where companies are interested in USC materials for testing and evaluation, USC will provide the appropriate MTA to ensure USC's rights are protected.

MTAs need to be reviewed to ensure compliance with USC policies, principles and guidelines, and all MTAs need to be signed by an authorized representative of USC. Please contact our Senior Material Transfer Agreement Administrator for assistance.