Selling lab notebooks, SOPs and QC records

Updated October 2026 · listmydata team

Years of lab notebooks, SOPs and QC records show how experiments really run, including the ones that fail. That's what AI companies building science tools lack. Before selling, check who owns the data: in contract research, the sponsor usually does.

What buyers want

• Lab notebooks, including scanned paper notebooks
• Standard operating procedures, method validation reports, calibration and QC logs
• Deviation and corrective-action (CAPA) records
• Staff email and notes about troubleshooting at the bench

A startup building automated science labs raised $300 million in 2025, arguing AI has used up what's on the internet and needs new experimental data (TechCrunch). AI data companies also pay PhD scientists $70 to $105 an hour to write research problems from their own work. See expert gigs in science.

Check before you sell

• Sponsor-owned data: contract research agreements commonly make raw data and reports the sponsor's exclusive property, with confidentiality lasting years after the work ends. Only list what your lab owns.
• Patient data: clinical records are covered by HIPAA and must be de-identified by HIPAA's Safe Harbor or Expert Determination method before sharing (HHS). When in doubt, leave them out.
• Records you must keep: regulated labs (for example under CLIA or FDA's GLP rules) have retention requirements. Selling a copy doesn't change your duty to keep the original.

Getting your data out

• LabArchives: "Offline Notebook" creates a read-only copy of a notebook or folder as a zip. Attachments over 250 MB are left out. (LabArchives)
• Benchling: has an export option for notebooks and projects. Check the current menu in Benchling's help center.
• Paper notebooks: scans are fine. Buyers can work with clear PDFs.

General information, not legal advice.

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