Handling Material Transfer Agreements

General Information

A Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) is a contract between the owner of a material and its intended recipient, governing the transfer and subsequent use of the material. Exemplary materials include bacteria, cultures, nucleotides, proteins, plasmids, cell lines, transgenic animals, small molecules, polymers, and pharmaceuticals. An MTA governs the transfer of materials, and also covers issues such as ownership of the transferred materials and modifications and derivatives made by the recipient, limitations on use of the materials, confidentiality of information related to the materials, and rights to inventions and research results.

The following procedures should be used for outgoing and incoming MTAs.

Instructions for Outgoing MTAs (i.e., you are providing the material)

Please forward the request for materials to [[jason.mcdevitt,Research Innovation and Commercialization (RIC)]]. In order to ensure that we prepare a suitable MTA, please inform us if the material is a non-indigenous species of fish, or if the material is the subject of an invention disclosure or patent application. Please also be aware that transfer of non-indigenous fish may entail additional regulations.

Instructions for Incoming MTAs (i.e., you are receiving the material)

All incoming MTAs should be forwarded to [[jason.mcdevitt,RIC]] for approval.  Most MTAs can be processed extremely quickly, particularly those coming from other non-profit institutions. 

Please be aware that only those individuals authorized to sign on behalf of William & Mary may sign agreements that legally bind William & Mary. Anyone else who does so, whether inadvertently or not, subjects themselves to substantial personal legal liability.

If you have any questions concerning MTA's , please contact RIC via phone at 757-221-1751 or [[jason.mcdevitt,e-mail]].