An MTA is a written contract between a provider and a recipient of research material, which may include academic, government or commercial organizations. Contracts protect the rights of all parties with regard to publication, freedom of research, confidentiality and intellectual property. At Brown, the Research Agreements and Contracting (RAC) team negotiates and signs these agreements on behalf of the University.
Division of Research
Material Transfer Agreements
Sending Materials from Brown
If you are a Brown researcher interested in sending materials to an outside nonprofit or for-profit entity, submit a request to RAC at mta@brown.edu that includes the following information:
- Description of the research materials
- Name and contact information of the recipient
- Purpose of the transfer
RAC will review your request and provide the appropriate MTA. If the outside entity does not accept the MTA provisions and requests edits, the team will negotiate on behalf of Brown and the Brown researcher.
Export Compliance
All transfers of materials, software or data must be compliant with U.S. export regulations. Some materials, software or data may require an export license if shipped abroad. There may be other restrictions, such as that these items cannot be shipped to a restricted or banned party, or located in an embargoed country. Because penalties for violation of export control laws are significant and may include personal fines and criminal charges, RAC helps to ensure compliance for any material shipped under an MTA.
RAC liaises with the export control compliance team in Research Integrity for all outgoing international MTAs and certain incoming MTAs. If export licenses are required, the Research Integrity team will discuss options and processes with RAC and the responsible Brown researcher.
Export Controls
Brown University is highly committed to protecting openness in research while also complying with U.S. export control laws and sanctions regulations.
Bringing Materials to Brown
If you are a Brown researcher interested in receiving materials from either a nonprofit or a for-profit organization, you will need to fill out the Incoming MTA Questionnaire, which includes the following information:
- Name and contact information of the Brown principal investigator
- Name and contact information of the providing investigator
- Description of the research materials
- Intended use of the materials
- Funding source for the project in which the materials will be used
Completed questionnaires should be emailed to mta@brown.edu. If you received a draft MTA from the outside entity, please include a copy of the draft along with the completed questionnaire.