Introducing Fairlode: a first step into AI data licensing

We’re introducing Fairlode, a service from Blue Canvas for businesses that want to understand whether their records could be suitable for AI data licensing.

The starting point is a straightforward question: does your business hold useful records of real work, and is there a sensible reason to explore licensing them? Fairlode helps you work through that question before you spend time preparing files or discussing a deal.

The initial review is free. We ask for a non-confidential description, not the records themselves. There is no promise of a buyer, a valuation or a sale.

Start with a description, not a data dump

A business does not need to send its source code, customer records or internal documents to begin the conversation. The useful first step is to describe, in broad terms:

• What the records cover and the work they relate to.
• Roughly how much material exists and the period it covers.
• Whether it includes decisions, explanations or recorded outcomes.
• Any known ownership, confidentiality or sharing restrictions.

Keep customer names, personal information, trade secrets and confidential detail out of that description. If even a broad outline needs protecting, speak to us before submitting it.

What sort of records are worth discussing?

Fairlode’s starting points include software history with issues and reviews, support tickets with documented resolutions, and operational runbooks. The useful question is what the records explain, not simply how many files a company has.

For example, an archive might show a recurring fault, the checks that were carried out, the fix that was chosen and what happened afterwards. That is an illustrative example of the detail to describe, not a claim that a buyer is currently looking for it.

Generic policies, public templates and material that belongs to customers are usually poor starting points. Sensitive personal details, defence material and export-controlled information are not suitable for this initial enquiry.

There is more background in Fairlode’s guide to how AI data licensing works. Suitability, permission to share and actual buyer demand are separate questions.

How Fairlode works

1. You describe what the business holds. The website takes you through a five-step questionnaire. It does not ask you to upload datasets or source files.
2. We review the description. Phil Patterson reviews submissions and identifies the questions that would need resolving before any next step.
3. You approve any introduction. Before an identifiable introduction, you see the named partner and exactly what they would receive. Separate written approval is required.
4. You decide whether to proceed. Any proposed licence is a separate agreement with the buyer or relevant intermediary, with your own advisers involved.

Fairlode does not buy, hold or resell datasets. Completing the questionnaire is not an agreement to license your business’s records.

Who can use it today?

Initial reviews are open to businesses in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. Fairlode is operated by Blue Canvas AI Ltd in Derry.

Republic of Ireland companies are currently waitlisted pending our legal advice. We are not yet reviewing them for introductions and have not announced an opening date. The Ireland and Northern Ireland service page explains that distinction.

No headline valuation or guaranteed deal

We would rather give someone a useful answer than a large number with no offer behind it. Many records will not suit a buyer. Others may need work on ownership, confidentiality or preparation before a discussion can go further.

The assessment is free. If a business licenses data through a partner we introduced, that partner may pay us a referral fee. We explain the partner, how the fee works and who pays it in writing before an introduction. Any optional paid readiness session is quoted separately in advance.

Interest is not an offer, and an offer is not a completed transaction. You remain responsible for deciding whether the proposed terms suit your business, with independent legal and commercial advice.

Explore Fairlode

If you run a business in Northern Ireland or Great Britain and want to understand the next step, describe your records to Fairlode. No files, no obligation and no need to prepare an export first.

For the wider picture of Blue Canvas’s work, see our recent websites and digital products. Fairlode follows the same approach: answer a specific question, make the limits clear and give people a practical next step.