Acquiring AI rights from your publishers

Many enterprise customers already have institutional subscriptions that cover traditional research use (reading, downloading, printing). AI-specific rights, such as the ability to upload content to third party tools like Elicit for automated analysis, may or may not be included in your existing agreements. If they are not, most publishers now offer dedicated AI or data licensing rights.

This section provides general guidance on navigating that process, is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult your own legal counsel or data governance team for guidance specific to your situation.

AI rights (sometimes called "AI licensing," "TDM rights," or "data licensing") refer to contractual permissions that allow you to use publisher content with AI-powered tools like Elicit. These rights typically cover one or more of the following:

• Uploading articles or full-text content to third-party AI platforms

• Text and data mining (TDM) of publisher content

• Use of content for retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows

• Automated extraction, summarization, or analysis of articles at scale

These rights are distinct from your standard publisher subscription access, which generally covers individual reading and manual research use.

Start by reviewing existing publisher agreements for:

• TDM (text and data mining) clauses

• AI-specific language

• Third-party tool restrictions

• Commercial use qualifiers

Your legal, library, information services, data governance, or procurement team will typically have access to these agreements and can help identify the relevant terms.

Most major academic publishers now offer standalone AI or data licensing rights, separate from standard subscriptions. These vary by publisher and fall into a few categories:

• Data licensing agreements that grant rights to use article content (abstracts, full text, or both) with AI tools

• TDM-specific addenda that extend existing subscription agreements to cover AI processing

• Platform-specific approvals where a publisher pre-approves the use of its content with named AI tools

When negotiating AI rights, consider asking about:

• Scope of permitted use: Does the license cover RAG, summarization, extraction, or all of the above? Is it limited to specific tools or platforms?

• Content coverage: Does it cover the full text, or only abstracts and metadata? Does it include back-catalog content or only current subscriptions?

• User scope: Can all licensed users at your organization use the rights, or is it limited to a specific number of seats or departments?

• Term and renewal: Are AI rights co-terminous with your subscription, or do they have a separate term?

• Third-party tool provisions: Does the license specifically permit uploading content to external AI platforms like Elicit, or is it restricted to internal use?