Addgene: Addgene - MTA Policy

Addgene transfers materials on behalf of institutions that have deposited them at Addgene, and only to academic and non-profit laboratories for research use.

Addgene strongly believes in the open exchange of biological materials among academic and non-profit institutions. Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) allow open exchange to occur because they offer intellectual property and liability protection for material providers. Institutions that have deposited materials at Addgene require a MTA for each transfer of material. The MTA restricts the use of the material to research, non-commercial purposes.

Upon placing a request for materials online, Addgene will send a customized MTA packet to you or your technology transfer office. Addgene has developed an online infrastructure to help streamline the MTA process; most MTAs are approved and processed within 2 to 3 business days.

Most requests will be covered under the Uniform Biological Materials Transfer Agreement (PDF).

Addgene does not sell original or unmodified vectors from other companies. For plasmids that are based on vector backbones of other companies, please note that the vector backbones are the property of those respective companies, and there may be additional terms governing the use of plasmids based on these backbones. Please check the company websites for additional information and terms. Please note that with regard to plasmids constructed using commercial vector backbones, you cannot: a) use the plasmids for any commercial purpose, or b) re-create vector backbones that you can otherwise obtain from the company.

Some plasmids may contain cDNAs derived from materials distributed by the IMAGE Consortium. Addgene does not distribute original IMAGE clones. The use and handling of such plasmids are covered under a Good Faith Agreement.

The University of California, Stanford University, University of Oregon, Vanderbilt University, and several other institutions are owners of issued or pending patents covering certain fluorescent proteins such as GFP, EGFP, mRFP, mCherry, Cerulean and derivatives. These institutions acknowledge and/or consent to Addgene’s distribution of plasmids containing these fluorescent proteins to academic and non-profit research laboratories for non-commercial research use. Requesting some of these plasmids requires the recipient to agree to certain ancillary agreements in addition to the UBMTA. See UCSD’s notice on EGFP, Vanderbilt University’s notice on Cerulean.

For plasmids based on vector backbones from commercial entities, please check the company websites or Addgene’s website for additional information and terms. In particular

For plasmids based on the pcDNA family of vectors from Invitrogen, please consult the Limited Use Label License on Invitrogen’s website.

For plasmids containing the Gateway™ technology from Invitrogen, please note that the purchase of Gateway Clonase™ from Invitrogen is required for carrying out any Gateway™ recombinational cloning reactions.

For plasmids containing Firefly Luciferase patented by Promega, please see Luciferase Limited Use Label License (The recipient scientist must acknowledge this LULL to receive material; the recipient institution signature is not required).

For plasmids containing Tetracycline controllable expression systems patented by Tet Systems, please see Tet Systems Limited Use Label License (The recipient scientist must acknowledge this LULL to receive material; the recipient institution signature is not required).

For plasmids containing Fluorescent Proteins (e.g. DsRed, ZsGreen, mCherry) sold and/or owned by Clontech Laboratories, please see Clontech Limited Use Label License (The recipient scientist must acknowledge this LULL to receive material; the recipient institution signature is not required).

The distribution of any material by Addgene is not meant to carry with it, and does not grant any license, express or implied, under any patent.

If you have any questions or comments on the MTA process, please see Frequently Asked Questions on MTAs, or email Addgene at mta@addgene.org.