Issues for Exchange of Plant Genetic Resources: Material Transfer Agreement (MTA)

Abstract

Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) is a contractual document that governs the transfer of tangible research materials between two parties where the recipient intends to use in the recipient’s research program. It is an agreement outlining conditions under which material is provided from the owner to the recipient for a specific use. The MTA defines the rights of the provider and the recipient with respect to the material and its derivatives. Material could be a wide range of biological resources viz., seeds, plants, cultures, cell lines, plasmids, nucleotides, proteins, transgenics etc., any form of chemical compound and even some types of software. The MTA is legally binding for the use of material and the research results obtained thereof. It limits on the use of the material, confidentiality of information, specifies publication restrictions and the rights to inventions and utilisation of the results. There may be different types of MTA i.e. transfer between academic or research institutions, transfer from academic institution to industry and transfer from industry to institution and all of these would have different terms and conditions agreed upon by both the parties.