What is the difference between selling and licensing company data?
Selling data transfers ownership to the buyer, usually for good. Licensing gives the buyer permission to use the data for agreed purposes, for an agreed term, while your company keeps ownership. When UK companies talk about selling data to AI labs, the deal is almost always a licence, which keeps far more control with the company.
How do selling and licensing compare?
The main differences are ownership, control and future income. A licence keeps ownership with you, limits what the buyer can do, ends after a fixed term and leaves you free to keep using the data. A sale hands all of that to the buyer. The table sets out the differences side by side.
| Licensing | Outright sale | |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Stays with your company | Transfers to the buyer |
| Your own use | You carry on using the data as normal | Can be restricted or lost |
| Permitted use | Limited to agreed purposes, such as AI training and evaluation | Usually unrestricted |
| Term | Fixed term, with deletion or return at the end | Permanent |
| Other buyers | Non-exclusive by default | The buyer controls any further use |
| Re-identification and resale | Banned in the licence | Depends on the sale terms |
| Future income | Refreshed data can be licensed on a schedule | Usually a single payment |
Why do most UK companies license rather than sell?
Because a licence earns income without giving the data away. The company keeps ownership, keeps using its records, sets limits on how the buyer uses them and gets the data deleted or returned at the end of the term. Licensing is also easier to fit around UK GDPR, client contracts and confidentiality duties than a full transfer.
Can a data licence be exclusive?
Yes, by agreement. Our licences are non-exclusive by default, which keeps your options open. Some AI labs pay more for time-limited exclusivity, where no other buyer can license the same dataset for an agreed period. Whether that’s worthwhile depends on the price and how long the exclusivity lasts, and you decide.
What does a data licence restrict?
A licence sets out what the buyer can and can’t do. Ours limit use to training and evaluating AI models and agents, ban re-identification of anyone in the data, ban resale and onward transfer of the raw data, and require deletion or return at the end of the term. The licence is governed by English law.
AI labs can see the full licence terms we offer.
When might an outright sale make sense?
Rarely. A sale can suit a company that is closing and has no further use for its records, or a buyer that insists on full ownership. It needs more careful legal work, because ownership, personal data and confidentiality duties move with the data. In most cases, including insolvency, a licence achieves the same value with less risk.
Insolvency practitioners can read about realising company data for creditors.
Common questions
Can we keep using our data after licensing it?
Yes. A licence gives the buyer permission to use a copy for agreed purposes. Your company keeps ownership and carries on using its records as normal.
What happens at the end of the licence term?
The buyer must delete or return the data, as set out in the licence agreement.
Is licensing worth less than selling?
Not necessarily. As of October 2026, most UK companies we assess fall between £100,000 and £500,000 for a licence. See how company data is valued.
Who negotiates the licence terms?
We do, as your UK data broker. We bring the offer to you to accept or decline.