What should a business data licence actually say?
A plain-English checklist covering scope, permitted uses, exclusivity, onward sharing, payment and responsibility.
A data licence needs to explain what another party can use, what they may do with it and what both parties are responsible for. The headline payment is just one aspect. Take these questions to your adviser when reviewing a real agreement.
What exactly is being licensed?
Request a scope you can match to your systems: record types, date ranges, fields and explicit exclusions. Does the agreement cover one defined export or later updates as well? All company data is not a sufficiently precise answer.
What does permission for AI include?
Ask separately about training a new model, fine-tuning an existing model and generating synthetic training examples. What about evaluation, commercial products and raw-data redistribution? These are questions to resolve in the terms, not a statement that every Maryah deal permits all of them.
Can we still use or license the same records?
Clarify the company's own use, other buyers and any exclusivity. Ask which records and purposes an exclusive right covers, how long it lasts and whether the restriction continues if no sale happens. A higher offer may come with broader rights or more restrictions.
Who else can receive the data?
Ask about affiliates, contractors, subprocessors and onward recipients. Who is responsible for their handling of the records? Which access and sharing restrictions follow the data? Get the actual recipient rules explained rather than assuming the first buyer is the only organisation involved.
When does payment become due?
Identify acceptance criteria, the payment trigger, timing, deductions and obligations to correct or refresh records. Ask what happens if only part of the proposed dataset is accepted. A calculator range is not a written offer, and a signed licence does not itself guarantee a sale.
Who is responsible if something goes wrong?
Have counsel explain warranties, indemnities, liability limits, incident handling and dispute procedures. Ask which party handles each stage of preparation and delivery. A statement that data will be cleaned does not answer who carries responsibility if identifying or confidential material remains.
What continues after the agreement ends?
Review deletion, retained copies, trained models, derivatives and any surviving obligations separately. Also ask about assignment or a future company sale. With Maryah, onboarding begins with counts and screenshots; raw data moves only after a buyer deal is agreed. This checklist is general information, not contract drafting advice or a description of terms already promised to you.