Material Transfer Agreements

A Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) is a contract that governs the transfer of proprietary material from one entity to another.  The agreement defines the terms of the transfer and obligations of the receiving party.  At LSU, MTAs are used for incoming and outgoing materials, and must be signed by an authorized LSU official.  MTAs may be used to transfer any type of tangible material, including some software.  Most frequently, the materials transferred under a MTA are biological materials or chemical compounds.  

Contact us any time you plan to give or receive research materials.  

When providing your materials to another institution, the ITC will prepare an agreement appropriate for your situation.  When receiving materials, typically the organization providing the materials will furnish the agreement.  Allow extra time when requesting materials from industry and international institutions;these transactions may take longer than usual to finalize.