Technology Development Model Agreements and Definitions

These forms are provided for reference only. Most agreements must be negotiated, approved, and signed by the Technology Transfer and Intellectual Property Office (TTIPO). Please contact TTIPO for further information.

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Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA)

A CDA is used to ensure that a party receiving proprietary information (for example, unpublished data or know-how) will keep the information confidential for a certain period of time, usually three to five years.

Simple Letter Agreement (SLA)

An SLA is used to transfer materials between laboratories for non-commercial research purposes. An unmodified SLA may be signed by your branch chief. Modified SLAs must be signed by OTD.

Material Transfer Agreement (MTA)

An MTA is used to transfer materials between laboratories, generally for non-commercial research purposes.

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA)

A CRADA defines the scope and terms of collaborative relationships between NIAID scientists and outside collaborators. The collaborator usually shares research, funding, and staffing costs. The CRADA is the only mechanism, other than an unsolicited gift, by which government laboratories may receive outside funds to support their research. NIAID/NIH owns patents on inventions that arise from its work conducted under a CRADA, but the collaborator obtains an option to negotiate an exclusive license to these inventions.

There are four types of CRADAs:

  1. CRADA, for research with a collaborator, giving the collaborator an option to license rights to discoveries that NIH scientists make under the CRADA’s research plan
  2. Materials Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (M-CRADA), to transfer otherwise unavailable proprietary materials from an outside party to an NIH lab, giving the provider an option to license rights to discoveries that NIH scientists make using the materials
  3. Cooperative Research and Development Agreement for Clinical Trials in Intramural Program (CRADA-CT-IM), for clinical research conducted in the intramural program
  4. Cooperative Research and Development Agreement for Clinical Trials in Extramural Program (CRADA-CT-EM), for clinical research conducted in the extramural program

For sample CRADA forms, visit NIH Forms & Model Agreements.

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