# How to record data licensing revenue: ASC 606 text > How to record data licensing revenue? ASC 606 times a sales-based royalty on an IP license, but no source says whether a data corpus is IP. Accountant needed. By Matt Burns, Vaultfish. Canonical: https://vaultfish.com/answers/how-to-record-data-licensing-revenue Published: 2026-07-18 Updated: 2026-10-14 ## The short answer Under ASC 606, a sales-based royalty on an IP license is recorded when the sale or usage happens or the performance obligation is satisfied, whichever is later. No source we found settles whether a data corpus is IP or a one-time sale is a license. An accountant decides the treatment. An accountant who has read your contract decides the treatment. I can only lay out what the published sources say and where they go quiet. ## What does ASC 606 say about royalties on a license? [Deloitte's revenue roadmap, chapter 12 on licensing](https://dart.deloitte.com/USDART/home/codification/revenue/asc606-10/roadmap-revenue-recognition/chapter-12-licensing/12-7-sales-or-usage-based), sums up the sales-based and usage-based royalty exception. You record revenue at the later of two events: - The later sale or usage. - The point when you meet, or partly meet, the performance obligation the royalty relates to. The exception applies when the license of intellectual property is the main item the royalty relates to (ASC 606-10-55-65A). The roadmap's point is that you don't record revenue from estimated future royalties. ## Does the type of license change the timing? FASB issued ASU 2016-10. The [Journal of Accountancy](https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2016/apr/fasb-issues-revenue-recognition-clarifications-201614242/) reports that it asks what a promise to grant a license gives the customer. It could be one of two things: - A right to access the entity's intellectual property, which is met over time. - A right to use it, which is met at a point in time. The ASU also clarifies the scope of the royalty guidance above. ## Is a company data corpus intellectual property here? I found no source that says. I read no FASB text on data as the licensed asset. The sources above talk about intellectual property in general. I also found nothing on whether a one-time corpus transfer is a license or a sale. Put both questions to your accountant. ## How do the payment shapes differ? Our [pay page](/answers/how-are-you-paid-for-company-data) lists the payment shapes that data companies, buyers and licensors publish. - [Troveo](https://www.troveo.ai/business-data) describes a license with a payment on every sale. It says ownership never transfers. Our [Troveo page](/answers/troveo-revenue-share) has what it publishes. - micro1's CFO described, in an undated talk, a one-time payment for a corpus (self-reported). - [SimpleClosure's terms](https://simpleclosure.com/tos/) say title vests in the acquiring entity, as our [license or license page](/answers/license-or-sell-company-data-to-ai) reports. - Wiley, a public publisher, licenses content for AI generally at a fixed price. [Wiley's 2025 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/107140/000010714025000081/jwa-20250430.htm) said most of that revenue was recognized on acceptance, and [Wiley's 2026 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/107140/000162828026045111/jwa-20260430.htm) says at a point in time or partly over time. [What publishers earn from AI licensing](/answers/what-do-publishers-earn-from-ai-licensing) has Wiley's numbers. My reading is not a source. I think a payment on every sale, a lump sum and a transfer of title would each be tested against different parts of the rule. Your accountant confirms which. ## What should you bring to an accountant? Bring these: - The signed agreement. - The payment schedule. - What the buyer receives, and whether title moves. - Any usage reports the buyer sends. Our [rights check](/rights-check) covers the rights questions that come before the books. Talk to a tax professional about your own situation. Figure: steps Sale or usage occurs -> Performance obligation satisfied -> Revenue recognized at the later event. ASC 606 recognizes a sales-based IP royalty at the later of the sale or usage and the obligation being met. _Vaultfish helps you run the process. We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. If you need counsel who knows this area, we can point you to one._ ## Sources - [Deloitte's revenue roadmap, chapter 12 on licensing](https://dart.deloitte.com/USDART/home/codification/revenue/asc606-10/roadmap-revenue-recognition/chapter-12-licensing/12-7-sales-or-usage-based) - [Journal of Accountancy](https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/news/2016/apr/fasb-issues-revenue-recognition-clarifications-201614242/) - [Troveo](https://www.troveo.ai/business-data) - [SimpleClosure's terms](https://simpleclosure.com/tos/) - [Wiley's 2025 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/107140/000010714025000081/jwa-20250430.htm) - [Wiley's 2026 10-K](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/107140/000162828026045111/jwa-20260430.htm) micro1 may pay us a referral fee if a company we introduce goes ahead with it. [How we are paid](https://vaultfish.com/disclosure)