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