When do MTA's Apply?

Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) are binding written contracts that govern the use of exchanged material

Examples of materials include:

  • Assay Materials
  • Technical Data
  • Products
  • Monoclonal Antibodies
  • Software
  • Processes
  • Cell Lines
  • Confidential Information
  • Devices
  • Mouse Strains
  • Integrated Circuit Designs
  • Fabricated Equipment
  • Plant Varieties
  • Blueprints
  • Any Unique Material

A material transfer agreement is necessary when material is:

  • Arising from research and is not controlled by an existing third party agreement

  • Independently developed but assigned to UNH
  • Developed under UNH funding or external funding

A material transfer agreement is not necessary when material is:

  • Internally transferred among UNH entities

  • Resulting from one's academic activities (such as a syllabus or course notes)
  • Purchased
  • Developed under Work for Hire (transfer to a contractee or contractor per an existing agreement)
  • Transferred for diagnosis or testing
  • Arising from research but controlled by a third party, such as an industrial contract
  • Independently developed – no UNH resources were used to create the material and the material is not assigned to UNH

Issues addressed by material transfer agreements:


Intellectual property

  • Define and protect rights to innovations, intellectual property rights, and commercialization resulting from material
  • Define and protect rights to improvements to material and/or inventions made using material
  • Provide control over the distribution of material
  • Ensure acknowledgment of UNH investigators in publications resulting from use of their material 

Hazards

  • Ensure recipients exercise care in handling material
  • Ensure recipients follow relevant federal guidelines relating to recombinant DNA, protection of human subjects in research, and the use of animals.
Contact Information

Jenna Matheny
Director of Technology Transfer
jenna.matheny@unh.edu