Material Transfer Agreements
A Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) is a contract between the provider of material and the recipient. It grants the recipient a licence to use the proprietary material and ensures that both parties understand how the materials can be used. MTAs govern issues such as ownership of derivatives and modifications of the materials, the transfer of risk, limits on use, confidentiality of information in relation to the materials and rights to inventions, and research results arising out of use of the materials. Just as research sponsorship agreements and confidentiality agreements can affect the ownership and dissemination of research results, so too can MTAs.
All agreements must be reviewed by the Innovations & Partnerships Office to make sure they comply with U of T policies, before they are sent to the third party.
Download Templates:
(files are in .doc format)
For research purposes with university/non-profit organization:
If you are looking to transfer biological material to/ from another university or a non-profit organization for research purposes, please use the Uniform Biological Material Transfer Agreement (UBMTA) agreement. The UBTMA is a universally recognized agreement with extensive terms suitable for most universities.
For evaluation purposes by industry:
If you are looking to transfer biological material to industry for evaluation purposes, please use the Biological Material Transfer Agreement for Evaluation Purposes (BMTA-EP) agreement. This agreement is typically used when material is being evaluated by industry for appropriateness for their purposes. Since we usually require a license fee from industry users, they are often reluctant to pay fees until they know that material will meet their needs. If the recipient does not have these concerns then contact the Innovations & Partnerships Office to discuss an appropriate agreement template.
For research purposes with industry AFTER they have evaluated the material:
If, after the company has evaluated your material, deemed it appropriate for their use and would like to license the material, please use the Biological Material Transfer Agreement for Research Purposes agreement. In using this agreement it is important that they had previously signed the Biological Material Transfer Agreement with Evaluation Purposes. If the recipient has not previously signed the BMTA-EP then please contact Innovations & Partnerships Office to discuss an appropriate agreement template.
Questions? Concerns? If you have any questions, the Innovations & Partnerships Office is happy to help!
