Material Transfer Agreement (MTA)

The purpose of an MTA is to transfer tangible matters between the parties. For SDSU, common materials transferred include: seeds, cell lines, antibodies, chemicals, laboratory devices, and electrical devices. Generally, the use of the material transferred under an MTA is restricted to academic entities for non-commercial research. Each MTA is treated differently based on types of material and ownership of the material. If the material is not protected (e.g. patented), a fee may be requested for transfer to commercial entities. Typically no fee is assessed for transfers between academic institutions. If the material is created by or owned by SDSU and protected (e.g. patented), material will only be transferred to academic institutions and will not be transferred to commercial entities with an MTA. All protected (e.g. patented) materials requested by a for-profit commercial entity, should be transferred under another agreement such as a Tangible Property License Agreement.