So far we’ve covered MTAs (Material Transfer Agreements) and NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements). Today’s blog deals with other agreement types you might run across or need to use depending on the activities to be covered.

Bailment agreement

A bailment agreement is a contractual agreement (a bailment) that specifies the terms and purpose when transferring property from one person or entity (the bailor) to another (the bailee). It is not a transfer in ownership, rather it’s an agreement that outlines expectations regarding temporary placement of, or control over, personal property. For example, when you hand your car keys over to a valet, you are creating a bailment in which the valet is the bailee and you are the bailor.

Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

An MOU is a formal agreement between two or more parties. It is used primarily to set forth expectations between two parties on a common line of action.

Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)

An MOA is a cooperative relationship between two or more parties when those parties are working together on a project or working to meet an agreed upon objective. The purpose of the MOA is to document a written understanding of the agreement and to hold parties responsible to their commitments.

Teaming Agreement

A teaming agreement is a contract between a potential prime contractor and another entity to act as a subcontractor under a federal contract. A teaming agreement should be put into place with the prime contractor and potential subcontractor agreeing to combine resources to bid on a federal contract.

Site Access Agreement

A site access agreement comes into play when one party will be entering the property of another party. A site access agreement typically covers:

• Scope of access – where, how long, activities to be performed on site (e.g., sampling)
• Party obligations – notice, removal of obstacles to access, and safety
• Allocation of liability – site damage, delay and interruption, injury, insurance

Spidey-sense

Dr. Otto Octavious is a researcher at UC-Boulder who maintains a colony of wood spiders. Dr. Octavious receives a request from Peter Parker, a graduate assistant at Colorado State University (CSU), to access his lab to investigate the effects of pesticides on the wood spider.

Always willing to assist a student and fellow researcher, Dr. Octavious agrees to allow Peter access to his lab. While onsite, Peter unknowingly creates a new species of spider after subjecting the colony to a particular mix of pesticides. One of these new spiders lands on Peter’s hand and bites him. At the genetic level, the venom injected by the spider bite begins to work strange magic on Peter, giving him superhuman strength and the uncanny ability to sense everything in his surroundings, which Peter dubs, “spidey-sense.” Peter patents and markets the venom, brands and trademarks a company he created called “Spidey-sense” and patents his new breed of spider.

When Dr. Octavius learns about Peter’s bite, he is concerned that he might sue UC-Boulder. When he learns of Peter’s new discovery, he contacts his office of Technology Transfer to see if UC-Boulder has any rights to the new discovery.

In the above case study, how might UC Boulder have benefitted from having a site access agreement in place prior to Peter’s visit?

In the spirit of collaboration and in an effort to expedite processes, researchers might be tempted to share property (e.g., equipment) or let colleagues have access to their labs during site visits without putting appropriate agreements in place. If UC-Boulder had a site access agreement in place, ownership of the intellectual property (including patents and trademarks) would have been agreed upon in advance, along with a number of other issues surrounding liability, insurance, etc.

When in doubt of which type of agreement to use, or if you receive an agreement from another entity, contact the Office of Sponsored Programs.