Introduction
LICEN lets owners publish encrypted datasets, define enforceable usage policies around access, and earn royalties whenever approved researchers use the data for AI model training using 0G Storage, 0G Chain, and a simulated 0G Compute lifecycle.
Control & Monetize your Datasets
LICEN lets owners publish encrypted datasets, define enforceable usage policies around how access is granted, and earn royalties whenever approved researchers use the data for AI model training.
The Problem
AI companies are desperate for high-quality data to train their models, but sourcing it is slow, risky, and legally murky. Independent researchers can't get access to premium training data at all.
On the other side: the people who created that data — academic labs, biomedical institutions, content creators — see nothing. Their datasets are scraped, repurposed, or locked behind legal agreements that benefit no one.
The trust gap is costing both sides. Data sits unused. AI development stalls. Value is destroyed.
The Solution
LICEN enforces how data is accessed, how long access lasts, how much training can happen, how often a buyer can return, where it's used, and how revenue is shared — through programmable, auditable on-chain policies.
Why This Only Works on 0G
LICEN is built around three load-bearing primitives from the 0G ecosystem:
- 0G Storage stores the encrypted dataset and gives it a permanent Merkle-root identity that can be referenced trustlessly.
- 0G Chain enforces the owner's usage policy, locks escrow, and settles royalties through the
DataPolicycontract. - 0G Compute is the target training network. The current demo simulates the 0G Compute lifecycle, while the production roadmap is a 0G-compatible confidential node with attestation-gated dataset key release.
For Dataset Owners
Publish once, earn forever. Your dataset never leaves your control — royalties are enforced by smart contract, not by trust.
For AI Researchers
Instantly access licensed training data. Pay per epoch, receive your fine-tuned model — no infrastructure to manage.
How It Works in 4 Steps
- Secure Upload: You upload your dataset. It gets completely encrypted before it leaves your computer. Our servers never see the raw data, and the encrypted asset is stored on 0G Storage.
- Set the Rules: You define a full usage policy: pricing, run caps, requester caps, session duration, expiry, and allowed purposes. These rules are locked into a smart contract on 0G Chain that nobody can break.
- Researchers Pay: A researcher finds your data, pays upfront for the training they need, and the money is locked safely in escrow.
- Secure Training & Automatic Pay: The demo simulates the 0G Compute training lifecycle and settlement path. In production, this moves to a 0G-compatible confidential node where dataset keys are released only after TEE attestation. The researcher gets their trained model, and the smart contract pays your royalties. No invoicing, no lawyers.
What makes LICEN different
| The old way | LICEN |
|---|---|
| Share a dataset, lose control forever | Dataset stays encrypted — only licensed jobs can access it |
| Payment via invoice or honor system | Royalties enforced by smart contract — automatic, non-negotiable |
| No usage tracking | Every training session is logged on an immutable ledger |
| Download and run anywhere | Jobs run through a controlled training lifecycle; production uses attested confidential compute |
Built on 0G
LICEN is built natively on the 0G ecosystem — not just using it as a bridge. Every core component of the protocol relies on a specific 0G primitive.