When a principal investigator receives a Materials Transfer Agreement (MTA) from another institution or company from which they have requested materials, the MTA should be forwarded to DRA at osp@utk.edu.
DRA staff review the terms of the agreement and make sure that all compliance approvals are in place. If the terms are acceptable and approvals are in place, DRA processes the agreement for the university and forwards the signed agreement to the institution/company for signature. The principal investigator is notified when DRA receives the fully executed agreement so arrangements can be made for the institution/company to send the subject materials to them.
When materials owned by UT are sent to another institution or company, execution of UT’s Material Transfer Agreement is required. The principal investigator should contact DRA at osp@utk.edu and provide the information necessary to prepare the MTA. DRA staff will prepare and forward the agreement to the institution or company for signature and notify the principal investigator when the agreement is fully executed so arrangements can be made for the subject materials to be sent to the institution or company.
Non-Disclosure Agreements
Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are also known as confidentiality agreements, proprietary information agreements, and secrecy agreements. They are often requested when two or more parties wish to enter into initial discussions about specific processes, methods, or technology to determine the potential for a future relationship.
If you or an entity with whom you are considering collaborating determine that an NDA is necessary, you should initiate the process by contacting DRA staff at osp@utk.edu or the Corporate Engagement team at partner@utk.edu.