4. Material Transfer
Principle
Iowa State University is committed to the appropriate receipt and transfer of
biological and non-biological materials to facilitate collaborative efforts.
Material transfer language is necessary to document provider’s ownership in the
materials, recipient’s rights to possession, and related obligations associated
with use of the materials, and to ensure that materials remain available for
other purposes.
Guidelines
For the protection of proprietary property, material transfer language is
strongly recommended by ISU for biological and non-biological materials sent to
or received from external collaborators, including, but not limited to, other
universities, research foundations, industries, and special interest groups.
Language addressing the transfer of materials applies to all materials,
independent of the existence of intellectual property.
USDA and CDC have issued rules regarding transfer of potentially hazardous
biological materials (see Compliance section) and enforcement of export
controls and traffic in arms regulations. For materials that fall under these
rules, an MTA is required.
The Office of Sponsored Programs Administration (OSPA) reviews and negotiates
material transfer language for the receipt and transfer of materials that are
not related to ISU intellectual property disclosures. Iowa State University
Research Foundation (ISURF) reviews and negotiates material transfer language
for the transfer of materials related to ISU intellectual property disclosures.
ISU and ISURF are both signatories to the Uniform Biological Material Transfer
Agreement (UBMTA) published in the Federal Register on March 8, 1995. Use of
this agreement is only appropriate with those organizations listed as
signatories. Please refer to www.autm.net/index.cfm
for a listing of all signatories and the document.