material transfer agreement (MTA)

A contract that protects ownership of, and rights related to, research materials transferred between research institutions or corporate entities. It also established limits on the use and disposition of the materials. Examples include: cell lines, cultures, bacteria, nucleotides, proteins, transgenic animals, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals. Each exchange of research material requires an MTA. For repeated exchanges of the same research material, standardized MTAs can help streamline the process. At the University of Washington, MTAs are negotiated by the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) or the CoMotion office.