TDM Rights Reservation for AI Training
What is TDMRep?#
TDMRep (Text and Data Mining Reservation Protocol) is a W3C specification that allows website owners to formally declare whether their content may be used for text and data mining, which includes AI model training. As AI training becomes a major legal and ethical issue, TDMRep provides a standardized, machine-readable way to express your preferences. The EU's Digital Single Market Directive gives content owners the right to reserve TDM rights, and TDMRep is the technical implementation of that legal right. Even outside the EU, having a clear TDM declaration demonstrates your position on AI training use of your content.
Implementing TDMRep#
Place a tdmrep.json file at /.well-known/tdmrep.json on your domain. The file declares your TDM policy using a simple JSON structure.
{
"tdm": [
{
"policy": "https://example.com/tdm-policy",
"permission": [
{
"type": "tdm",
"target": "https://example.com/",
"assigner": "https://example.com",
"action": "mine"
}
]
}
]
}TDMRep declares your legal position on AI training. If you allow AI training use, set appropriate permissions. If you reserve rights, ensure your policy page explains your position clearly.
TDMRep Strategy#
Your TDM policy should align with your overall AI visibility strategy. If you want maximum AI visibility and citation, allowing TDM use signals openness to AI systems. If you want to protect your content from unauthorized AI training while still allowing citation and retrieval, you can permit mining for citation purposes while reserving training rights. Consider your business model: content publishers may want to reserve training rights to maintain licensing value, while SaaS companies often benefit from allowing all AI use to maximize brand exposure.
- Allow TDM if you want maximum AI visibility and do not depend on content licensing revenue.
- Reserve TDM rights if you are a content publisher who licenses content.
- Include a clear policy page URL explaining your position.
- Combine TDMRep with robots.txt for complete access control.
- Review your policy quarterly as AI training practices evolve.
Frequently Asked Questions
In the EU, TDM reservation is backed by the Digital Single Market Directive and is legally enforceable. Outside the EU, it serves as a clear declaration of intent that may have legal weight depending on jurisdiction. It establishes a documented position on AI training use.
TDMRep is about training data rights, not real-time citation. AI systems that cite sources in real-time (Perplexity, ChatGPT Browse) use retrieval, not training. TDMRep does not block citations, only training data use.
Compliance is evolving. EU-operating AI companies are increasingly checking TDMRep as the legal framework matures. Having a clear declaration positions you ahead of enforcement regardless of current compliance levels.