The Material Transfer Agreements

The essay explores the role of Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) as pivotal legal instruments to facilitate experimental research and foster inter-institutional collaboration. The plural in the title is explained because two variants of MTA are considered: a first variant, more generic, useful for sharing any type of research material, while a second variant is specific for the transfer of self-replicating biological materials. The study concludes with the proposal of a MTA template, with integrated additional clauses for sharing biological resources, as a support for all those who create, use and disseminate the results of research activities.