To establish UW–Madison policy related to ownership, access, and distribution of tangible research property.
This policy is intended to address the university’s responsibilities relating to the management of tangible research property, including, but not limited to:
This policy shall apply to all UW–Madison faculty, academic staff, visiting scholars, postdoctoral fellows or other trainees, research technicians, graduate or undergraduate students, and any other persons at UW–Madison involved in the design, conduct, or reporting of research at or under the auspices of UW–Madison, and it shall apply to all research projects on which those individuals work, regardless of the source of funding for the project.
TRP normally is either owned by UW–Madison or is subject to the ownership and other provisions of relevant grants and contracts.
It is the responsibility of the principal investigator (or another responsible party in the case of TRP developed in the normal course of university activity) to control the maintenance and distribution of TRP made in the course of research activity. Such control includes determining if and when the distribution of the TRP is to be made beyond the laboratory for others’ scientific or commercial use, subject to provisions of relevant grants or contracts and university policy.
TRP will normally be retained in the laboratory or unit where it is produced. The ultimate disposal of TRP is at the discretion of the principal investigator and their department or work unit head, subject to provisions of relevant grants and contracts.
All transfers of TRP from UW–Madison should be done using a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA), signed by an authorized university official, except as otherwise specified in Section 8.0,
Obligations to distribute TRP are not intended to supersede the principal investigator's right to keep TRP proprietary until the results of the research have been published.
Transfer of human tissues and specimens may be limited by university policies and federal regulations governing human subject research.
The University follows the research resource-sharing guidelines of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), other federal agencies, and many journals to make unique research resources available to academic colleagues for research use. These guidelines provide for the transfer of published TRP under standard MTAs such as the NIH Simple Letter and the Universal Biological Material Transfer Agreement (see Section 10.0 for links to these instruments). Although valid non-commercial reasons may exist for the temporary delay of TRP distribution outside the laboratory for others' scientific use (e.g., safety factors or the need to more fully characterize the TRP prior to distribution, etc.) scientific exchanges should not be inhibited due to potential commercial considerations.
The university, with the consent of the principal investigator, may make TRP available to industry scientists for research purposes.
Company requests for TRP for commercial purposes may be managed by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), when associated with WARF-managed IP and/or TRP, or by the university, and will typically involve licensing fees or cost recovery. Special considerations will apply to avoid conflicts of interest for transfers of TRP to a company from an investigator who has a conflict of interest management plan for that company. Transfer in these instances, if allowed, will require dean’s office approval and full cost recovery.
When a principal investigator moves to another institution, they will typically be able to take TRP (a portion or all) with them. The following will apply:
The university reserves the right to retain portions or all of the TRP if the TRP has special value to the university and/or its faculty, such as being a resource that other university investigators depend upon for their research.
The University will transfer the TRP under an MTA.
The TRP will be described with enough detail to allow identification of what items are being transferred as deemed appropriate by the principal investigator and approved by the department chair.
Documentation will specify that materials are being transferred for academic research use only and that they may be further transferred by the recipient institution to other academic institutions for research.
Further transfer for commercial use would require consultation and mutual agreement between the new institution and UW–Madison or WARF (if licensed through WARF).
When other research contributors leave the university, they may, only with the approval of the principal investigator and departmental chair, and using the attached template (see Appendix A), take a portion of their TRP to their new institution.
The principal investigator is responsible for the stewardship and retention of TRP as well as for determinations concerning access to and appropriate use of TRP.
Contributors are responsible to cooperate with the principal investigator in carrying out the requirements of this policy.
The dean(s) of the school(s)/college(s) in which the principal investigator is appointed may hear appeals concerning issues of access to TRP and determine who shall have access.
The vice chancellor for research may hear appeals to a dean's determination concerning access to TRP and make a final determination
Questions on the interpretation of this policy may be directed to the vice chancellor for research.
APPENDIX A: AGREEMENT FOR CONTRIBUTOR’S ACCESS TO TANGIBLE RESEARCH PROPERTY UW–MADISON
1. Purpose and Scope.
2. Inventory of TRP.
Attachment 1, “Inventory of Tangible Research Property Transferred,” lists the inventory of TRP to which Contributor is granted continuing access.
3. Limitation on Further Transfers
(Check one). The TRP or its unmodified derivatives may ____ / may not____ be further transferred by Contributor to another educational institution for non‐commercial research purposes. The TRP may not be further transferred to for‐profit entities without the prior written consent of the University.
4. Requirements for Use of TRP at Contributor’s New Institution.
