Tangible Property Licensing

Tangible property (TP) refers to materials and research tools created or obtained in the course of research, for example, biological specimens, prototype devices, and chemical samples. TP does not necessarily need to be protected by patents in order to be licensed to third parties. It is valuable due to its proprietary nature, being difficult to create, and/or expensive.

TP should be disclosed to the TLO through the Research@MIT app. Once submitted, licensing staff will work with you to determine the appropriate protection, distribution, and licensing strategy.

Managing and Licensing Tangible Property

The NIH and other federal agencies encourage the sharing of research tools, consistent with academic norms. However, it is important to document the materials that are to be shared with others and the conditions of use.

The TLO non-exclusively licenses TP to industry and institutions for commercial purposes, including internal research and/or development, and the sale of research tools.

If you wish to send materials to a research collaborator, an outgoing Material Transfer Agreement (MTA), now known as Tangible Property Licensing, should be completed for this purpose.

Additionally, MIT has established contracts with certain organizations such as The Jackson Laboratory, Addgene, MMRRC, and ATCC, who maintain TP in their repositories and manage the logistics, quality control, and distribution. For assistance with outgoing MTAs or depositing your TP in a repository, please contact the TLO:

Request an Incoming Material Transfer Agreement

To submit an incoming Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) form, please visit OSATT Core: