Sports Data Labs, Inc. (“SDL”), an award-winning leader in patented AI-based data infrastructure, consent governance, and data monetization solutions for the Human Data Economy, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued U.S. Patent No. 12,696,878 to the company covering its novel AI-based consent management system governing personal data and NIL.
The issued patent, entitled “Animal Data Compliance System and Method,” leverages SDL’s architecture that places the individual (e.g., athlete, soldier, wearables user) or their authorized representative (e.g., lawyer, agent, AI program) in control of the terms, conditions, and permissions governing their data, including who may access it, for what purpose, in what geography, for what consideration, and under what restrictions. With a virtually unlimited number of consent possibilities and configurations, the system offers a scalable solution by leveraging artificial intelligence to infer the terms an individual is likely to want, configured to draw on the individual’s own history and/or on the patterns of similar individuals.
Notably, the patent’s specification expressly defines the governed data to include descriptive data related to a subject — such as a person’s name — and visually-captured data, including the person’s image and likeness. As a result, the issued patent covers governance of NIL data alongside other personal data including biometric, physiological, biomechanical, genetic/genomic, neurological, skeletal, tracking, performance, and medical (e.g., EMR) information.
“We are thrilled to be issued this foundational consent management patent, which puts individuals in control of how their personal data, including NIL, is accessed, used, and monetized across sports, media, and human performance use cases,” said Mark Gorski, Co-Inventor and CEO of SDL. “Consented personal data, at scale, is the defining input required for AI to map and model the human body in order to help us live longer, healthier lives. It is foundational to multiple trillion-dollar industries from longevity to healthcare to insurance. With consent requirements continuously evolving globally, our system is built to put the individual in control of their own personal data while supporting organizations in navigating the complexities tied to its collection, processing, and use.”
The issued patent, which is expected to remain in force in the U.S. until January 2041, has significant reach and scope including:
- Wearables and human performance. Governs continuous physiological, biomechanical, and readiness data captured through wearables and other sensors across training, competition, recovery, and rehabilitation contexts — configurable to be on distinct terms per context and data type — for use by third parties (e.g., wearables platforms, performance centers, clinical, military, and occupational institutions, among others), with the individual retaining control over downstream use and monetization.
- Individual or group licensing. Supports programs managing member data (including biometric, skeletal-tracking, and EMR data) and/or NIL including video gaming, trading cards, memorabilia, broadcast, sports betting, brand partnerships, and federation- or league-level programs — each operating under consent-governed rules with per-individual override, downstream notification, and enforcement across licensees.
- Individual control. Enables individuals to control how their personal data and NIL are used and monetized — directly relevant to collective bargaining, contract negotiations, and workforce relations.
- Monetization and downstream rights. Supports commercial pathways for athlete data and NIL, including derivative products such as digital twins and AI replicas.
- Onboarding of new users. In cases of new users (e.g., a freshman athlete, a new wearables customer) who have no preference history yet, the system is configured to propose terms based on similar individuals from day one, subject to the individual’s review, acceptance, modification, or decline before any rule takes effect.
- Auditability. Produces consent records suitable for regulatory, organizational, and counterparty audit as individual data rights mature into a regulated category.
- Contracts-and-Workflow Management. Provides AI-assisted consent governance at scale to optimize today’s data and NIL contracts-and-workflow management processes.
This is the company’s 17th issued patent globally. Outside the United States, the patent family is granted in South Africa and currently pending in 50+ countries, including across Europe, Japan, Australia, and other key markets.
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