Summary for sign-off: licensing your company's data to AI companies
This is a one-page summary for whoever signs off, such as your directors or owners. Write in your company's name and the date of the decision, then print it or save it as a PDF. It gives no estimate, because we hold no record of what any company has earned from business data.
Prepared by Arcline Data, the "we" in this paper.
Decision requested
Whoever signs off is asked to choose one of these.
- Go no further.
- Get a detailed estimate and have a lawyer read the agreement. Signing comes back to whoever signs off.
- Wait, and list what needs answering first.
The proposal
Your company would sign the standard agreement of a company in the United States that licenses business data to AI companies. That company is named before anything is signed.
It would license a de-identified copy of the data your company chooses and pay your company 60% of the licence fees it collects for that data (its website, checked October 2026).
There is no upfront payment and no guaranteed amount. Your company is paid only when an AI company buys a licence and accepts the data.
De-identified means that names, email addresses and other details that point straight to a person are swapped for labels before an AI company sees the data.
Labels do not cover everything that could point to a person. So de-identified data can still count as personal data under UK data protection law. Your company stays responsible for having the right to share its data, and should take advice before it does.
Main terms
| Term | What the standard agreement says |
|---|---|
| Share | 60% of the licence fees collected for your data. Service fees charged to buyers are outside the split |
| Payment | Within 45 days of the buyer's fee being received, once the buyer has accepted the data |
| Length | 3 years, then a year at a time unless either side gives notice at least 30 days before the period ends |
| Exclusivity | The rider, the short document written for your company, says whether the licence is exclusive. If it is, your company cannot license the same data anywhere else while it runs |
| Ending it | The other side can end it early without giving a reason. Your way out is to give notice before a renewal date |
| Standing behind the data | You stand behind your data: you promise you have the right to license it and you cover the other side and its buyers if that turns out wrong |
| Ownership | The agreement grants a licence, so your company keeps ownership of its data. What buyers build from it belongs to them |
| Law | The agreement is with a company in the United States. Disputes go to mediation, then confidential arbitration |
Source: the licensing company's standard agreement and its website, checked October 2026.
What it would cost your company
- Pay a lawyer to read the agreement. The licensing company says it charges your company no fees and no set-up costs (its website, checked October 2026).
- The licensing company says the work for your team is a short scoping call and a few hours of exports (its website, checked October 2026). That does not include the time your lawyer needs to read the agreement.
- Agree data protection and international transfer terms before any data leaves the UK.
Risks
- Your company may do the work and be paid nothing.
- What your company could owe if its promise about the data turns out wrong is limited only if a cap is added in the rider.
- An AI model that has learned from the data cannot unlearn it, and deals already signed carry on after the agreement ends.
- De-identified data can still count as personal data under UK data protection law.
- Buyers will know who your company is once a deal is agreed.
What is not yet known
- Whether your company is offered an agreement at all. It may be declined.
- Whether an AI company will buy a licence to your data, and if so when and for how much. We hold no record of what any company has earned from business data.
- How long it takes to reach a first payment, and which data protection terms will be agreed.
Next steps if option 2 is chosen
- Get the detailed estimate through our link, or book a free 30-minute call with us. Neither licenses any data or commits your company to anything.Get your detailed estimateBook a free 30-minute call
- Your company agrees what is in scope, and a lawyer reads the agreement.
- Whoever signs off decides whether to sign.