Licensing vs. selling your company's data: do I lose ownership?
Short answer
No. In an AI data licence you keep ownership of your records and grant a buyer the right to use copies for a defined purpose, usually training or testing AI models. Non-exclusive licences are normal, so you can keep using your records and could license them again.
Licence, in one paragraph
You keep the original records and the ownership of them. The buyer gets copies and a written right to use them in specific ways, for example to train and evaluate AI models, under specific conditions. You get paid for granting that right.
Non-exclusive is normal
Most buyers take a non-exclusive licence: you're free to keep using your records, and in principle to license them to someone else. If a buyer wants exclusivity, that's a significant extra right and should be priced as one.
What to read carefully in any licence
- What's licensed. Exactly which records, which years, which systems.
- The permitted use. Training, testing, or more? Can they resell or pass on the raw data?
- Duration. Licences for AI training are often perpetual for the permitted use, because a trained model can't un-learn. Ask what happens to the raw copies afterwards.
- Exclusivity. Non-exclusive, or exclusive, and for how long.
- Payment. Amount, timing, and any conditions.
- Personal information. Who removes it, how, and who is responsible if some slips through.
- Confidentiality. Will your firm's name ever appear? Can anyone tell the data came from you?
- Warranties and indemnities. What you promise about ownership, and what happens if a promise turns out wrong. These clauses matter; have your own lawyer read them.
Not a sale of your business
Licensing records is a data deal. Your company, its equipment, its customers and its ownership don't change hands, and nobody gets a stake in your firm. If someone turns a data conversation into an offer for your business, that's a different kind of deal, with different rules and different advisers.
Quick questions
Can I license the same records to more than one buyer?
With a non-exclusive licence, usually yes. Read the licence: some buyers ask for exclusivity, and that should come with a higher price.
Can a buyer delete or give back the data later?
A trained model can't simply un-learn data, so licences are usually perpetual for the use granted. Ask what happens to the raw copies, and whether they can be passed on to anyone else.
Is licensing my data the same as selling my business?
No. It is a licence of copies of records. Your company, its assets and its ownership don't change hands.
Want an honest read on your own records?
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