A Material Transfer Agreement is a contractual document that governs the exchange of research tools, primarily biological research tools, between a variety of types of organizations: industry; government laboratories; laboratories in universities, hospitals, or independent research institutes. In general, NIU is required to sign an agreement as provider of the materials before the transfer can take place. As a contractual document, the Material Transfer Agreement is binding upon the parties, and breach of these agreements creates a legal and financial risk for the institutions and investigators involved. These agreements often include terms and conditions regarding intellectual property rights, publication privileges and restrictions, confidential information, indemnification and warranty provisions. NIU seeks to avoid the acceptance of terms and conditions that impose liabilities or obligations.
On March 8, 1995, the National Institutes of Health — on behalf of the Public Health Service and the Centers for Disease Control — published the Uniform Biological Material Transfer Agreement (UBMTA) and a Simple Letter Agreement for the Transfer of Non-Proprietary Biological Material. For institutions that have signed the UBMTA Master Agreement, materials can be transferred under the terms of the UBMTA upon execution of an Implementing Letter for the particular transfer.
To learn if your institution or the participating institution is a signatory to the Master UBMTA Agreement, you may find out here.
The UBMTA is used to simplify and standardize the exchange of biological materials for research purposes. The UBMTA is NOT to be used if:
• the transfer is between NIU and an industry or for-profit institution
• a novel use or discovery from the material may result in a patent application
• the material is intended to be commercialized
For any of the above reasons, please use NIU’s Material Transfer Agreement or contact the TTO staff for assistance.
Keeping good laboratory records is important in conducting material transfer agreement activities. Such records can show the materials were used properly and can help to resolve invention ownership issues. Please see our Guidelines for Maintaining Lab Notebooks.