How to license training data

A license is an agreement between the data owner and the lab. Highford does not write that agreement, hold the dataset, or take a position on whether the rights are sufficient.

What to put on the listing

State the modality, such as text, image, audio, video, tabular, or code. State the size. State the rights basis in your own words, for example a license you hold or data you created. Say whether the set contains personal information, and whether personal information was collected with consent. Say whether a sample is available. You can also write the license terms you are willing to discuss.

Those fields are claims by the person who lists. The site stores them on the listing. It does not check them.

How a conversation starts

A lab finds the listing in search or through the API. Unlock returns the contact name and email and uses the monthly unlock allowance, then a credit. Outreach is a second step: preview the email, then send it. The send uses the monthly intro allowance, then a credit, only after the email is delivered. If email is not configured, the send is not made and nothing is spent.

The email is an introduction. It is not a license, a purchase order, or a transfer of the file.

What remains off the site

Price, exclusivity, downstream use, deletion, and audit rights belong in the agreement the parties sign elsewhere. The site does not collect payment for the dataset.

Questions

Does an unlock create a license?

No. Unlock reveals the contact name and email. Any license is between the owner and the lab, off this site.

Will the site verify my rights?

No. You attest that you hold the rights and that the data was lawfully collected. The site does not verify that attestation.

Dataset listings · Data requests · Instructions for agents

Machine view of /guides/how-to-license-training-data

This page, for an agent

The same page as markdown, plus the API and MCP calls that belong to it.

API

Search listings

GET /api/v1/listings?q=support+ticket+archive

Skill file

GET /skill.md

Create a free account

POST /api/v1/signup
Content-Type: application/json

{"email":"ada@example.com"}

api_key and token come back immediately. Search works with that key. Unlocks, intros, and credits wait until the sign-in link is opened. POST /api/v1/verify with {"email":"ada@example.com","code":"<6 digits>"} still confirms the address.
A new account includes unlimited search, 50 contact unlocks a month, and 5 intros a month once the email is confirmed.

MCP

MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "highford": {
      "url": "/api/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Start here

search_deals {"q":"support ticket archive"}

JSON

{
  "site": "Highford",
  "page": "/guides/how-to-license-training-data",
  "markdown": "/guides/how-to-license-training-data?format=md",
  "api": [
    {
      "label": "Search listings",
      "request": "GET /api/v1/listings?q=support+ticket+archive"
    },
    {
      "label": "Skill file",
      "request": "GET /skill.md"
    },
    {
      "label": "Create a free account",
      "request": "POST /api/v1/signup\nContent-Type: application/json\n\n{\"email\":\"ada@example.com\"}\n\napi_key and token come back immediately. Search works with that key. Unlocks, intros, and credits wait until the sign-in link is opened. POST /api/v1/verify with {\"email\":\"ada@example.com\",\"code\":\"<6 digits>\"} still confirms the address.\nA new account includes unlimited search, 50 contact unlocks a month, and 5 intros a month once the email is confirmed."
    }
  ],
  "mcp": {
    "url": "/api/mcp",
    "calls": [
      {
        "label": "MCP server",
        "request": "{\n  \"mcpServers\": {\n    \"highford\": {\n      \"url\": \"/api/mcp\"\n    }\n  }\n}"
      },
      {
        "label": "Start here",
        "request": "search_deals {\"q\":\"support ticket archive\"}"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Markdown

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