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Data licensing in Germany

License your German company's data to AI buyers

A German company can sell its data to AI companies by licensing it, if the company holds the rights to its records and its privacy obligations allow it. Fill in one form, and we check your company against every buyer we work with. We email you within 24 hours.

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Free. About 9 questions: industry, size, records. When you send the form, we send your company and contact details to each buyer that fits, and our email names each one. Compare offers, then sign a license before you share records.

Company records live in tools like these

GmailOutlookSlackMicrosoft TeamsGoogle DriveSharePointNotionSalesforceHubSpotZendeskJiraGitHubDropboxConfluenceIntercomGitLabGoogle ChatOneDriveBoxSAPQuickBooks
GmailOutlookSlackMicrosoft TeamsGoogle DriveSharePointNotionSalesforceHubSpotZendeskJiraGitHubDropboxConfluenceIntercomGitLabGoogle ChatOneDriveBoxSAPQuickBooks
GmailOutlookSlackMicrosoft TeamsGoogle DriveSharePointNotionSalesforceHubSpotZendeskJiraGitHubDropboxConfluenceIntercomGitLabGoogle ChatOneDriveBoxSAPQuickBooks

What licensing your company's records means

Licensing means an AI data buyer pays the company to use copies of its work records, under a signed license that says what is shared and how it is used. You fill in one form with OpenTrain, we match your company with the buyers that fit best, and the license is between your company and the buyer.

What data protection law means for your records in Germany

Email, chat and customer records almost always contain personal data about your staff, your customers and the people who work for them.

Licensing records to an AI buyer is a new use of the personal data in them and a disclosure to another company. Under the GDPR, that generally needs a lawful basis, such as consent or legitimate interests, and a new purpose that is compatible with the one you collected the data for, unless the people consent. The people must generally be told before the new use starts.

Before you sign, ask your counsel:

  • Which lawful basis covers the license, and how you will tell the people in the records
  • Whether your works council must be involved
  • Whether staff were allowed to use work email or chat for private messages
  • Whether any record holds health or other special category data
  • What your privacy notices and contracts promised
  • Whether the buyer will anonymize the data first, or only pseudonymize it
  • What rules apply if the records go to a buyer outside the European Economic Area
Which law applies to you?

Which rules matter most depends on what the records hold and where the buyer is.

  • GDPRCovers companies established in the EU, Germany included, that handle personal data, for customer and staff records alike.
  • Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG)Adds German rules to the GDPR, including on staff records. The data protection authority of each German state oversees the companies based there.
  • Special category dataHealth, racial or ethnic origin, religion, trade union membership, biometric data used to identify people, and some other data need a condition from a short list on top of a lawful basis, and for a license that is usually explicit consent.
  • Transfers outside the EEASending personal data to a buyer outside the European Economic Area needs an EU adequacy decision for that country, such as the EU-US Data Privacy Framework for certified US companies, or safeguards such as the EU's standard contractual clauses, unless an exception applies.
  • Professional secrecyDoctors, lawyers, tax advisers and some other professionals can commit a crime by sharing client secrets without each client's consent, under section 203 of the Criminal Code.

This is general information, not legal advice.

How much a company can earn

"We're paying out $100k-3M+ for the data your business already generates"

What one AI data buyer says on its own site.

That buyer says its payments typically range from $100K to over $3M, based on the quality, uniqueness and value of the data.

The buyer sets any offer after it reviews your company.

Which records AI data buyers want

Everyday work records, like the ones below.

  • Email GmailOutlook
  • Team chat SlackMicrosoft TeamsGoogle Chat
  • Documents and wikis NotionConfluenceGoogle Drive
  • Customer and sales records SalesforceHubSpot
  • Support tickets ZendeskIntercomJira
  • Code and project history GitHubGitLabJira
  • Step-by-step process guides ConfluenceNotionSharePoint

Keep personal files, customer payment data and patient records out of any license.

How personal information is handled

  • Before you sign, ask each buyer to show you in writing, with a sample, what personal information it removes or transforms, when it does so, and who can see your records before then.
  • OpenTrain does not remove personal information for you.
  1. Your records
  2. Buyer explains what is removed or transformed
  3. You review
  4. You approve

Which AI data buyers take German companies

None of the AI data buyers we work with publishes a rule that excludes companies in Germany. Each buyer still decides which companies it takes, and a few of one buyer's industry postings prefer or require US companies. Some buyers prefer records written mostly in English. When you send the form, you ask us to send the company and contact details you give us to every buyer that fits, and our email names each one.

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How It Works

Three steps to license your company's records

01
Step 01

Answer a few questions about your company.

Your industry, how many people work there, your role and where its records are kept. About two minutes.

02
Step 02

We find the buyers that fit.

We check your answers against each buyer's requirements and send your details to every buyer that fits. We email you within 24 hours and name each buyer once we've sent your details.

03
Step 03

Each buyer reviews, then you decide.

You don't have to find or contact buyers yourself. If a buyer asks you to fill in its own form, our email has the direct link. Each buyer reviews your company and may make an offer. You choose whether to sign.
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Who can sign for a German company that is closing

While the company operates, its managing directors (for a GmbH) or management board (for an AG) sign, or people they authorize, such as an officer with general commercial power of attorney (Prokura).

Once a formal process starts, the person who can sign changes. When insolvency proceedings open, the right to manage and dispose of the company's assets passes to the insolvency administrator, and only the administrator can sign. A deal of special importance needs the creditors' committee, or the creditors' meeting, to agree. Before proceedings open, a court may appoint a preliminary administrator, whose powers depend on the court's order. In self-administration, the management keeps signing under a court-appointed custodian's supervision. Ask to see the court order before anyone signs, and check with your counsel.

For more on licensing a closing company's records, see closing or closed companies.

Sign a license before you share any records

  1. First, ask each buyer to put its security and privacy terms in writing, and to confirm that nothing leaves your systems until you approve it.
  2. Then sign a license that says what is shared, how it is used and what you are paid.
  3. Share data only after you sign, and only what the license names. OpenTrain does not audit or guarantee any buyer's security.
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Paid licenses

for the records your team already keeps

You decide what is shared

You pay OpenTrain nothing
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In the news

Data licensing by industry

Each industry page lists the records AI data buyers want from that industry.

FAQ
Can a German company license its data to AI companies?
Yes, if the company holds the rights to its records and its privacy obligations allow it. Personal data in those records falls under the GDPR and Germany's Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG), which need a lawful basis for a new use, such as consent or legitimate interests. Apply once and we check your company against every buyer we work with. We don't give legal advice, so check with your own counsel before you sign.
What is a German company's data worth to AI buyers?
Look at what buyers can license: how much data you have, how unique it is, whether you hold the rights to license it, and its quality and depth. Personal information may need to be removed or transformed, and the buyer may set privacy and exclusivity terms. Only a buyer can turn that into an offer, and we can't promise an amount. Apply once and we check your company against every buyer we work with.
Why apply through OpenTrain instead of going to a buyer directly?
You can. But you'd have to find the buyers, learn what each one wants and fill in each one's application. Each buyer takes only some industries, sizes and kinds of data, so many of those applications go nowhere. Through us you fill in one form, we send it only to the buyers that fit, and you can compare their offers before you sign. It costs you nothing.
What does OpenTrain cost?
Nothing. If a buyer credits your referral, it may pay us a referral reward.
What happens after I apply?
We check your answers against every buyer we work with and send your details to each one that fits. We email you within 24 hours and name each buyer once we've sent your details. You don't have to contact any buyer yourself. If a buyer asks you to fill in its own form, our email has the direct link. Each buyer decides whether to contact you, and you can compare any offers before you sign.

How OpenTrain gets paid

OpenTrain costs your company nothing. If a buyer credits your referral, the buyer may pay us a referral reward. You license your data straight to the buyer. We never receive, hold or sell that data. We keep the company and contact details you give us. When you submit the form, you ask us to send them to AI data buyers that fit, and we email you to name each buyer we send them to.

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Find buyers that fit your company

One form covers every buyer we work with. Your details go to the buyers that fit only when you send your answers. Nothing is licensed unless you say yes.

Disclosure: OpenTrain is an independent referrer. If a buyer we match you with credits your company's referral, that buyer may pay OpenTrain a referral reward. You pay OpenTrain nothing. We never receive or hold the data your company licenses. We keep the company and contact details you give us. When you submit the form, you ask us to send them to AI data buyers that fit, and we email you to name each buyer we send them to.

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