Autodesk terms and AI training: can you train on your own Revit data?

Which question are you really asking?#

The question of training AI on Revit data is really several questions, and each turns on different documents. Mixing them up is the most common reason firms get confusing answers from forums, resellers and vendors.

A digital practice leader should name the activity first, then read the documents that govern it. The table separates the activities A/E firms most often have in mind.

What the public record shows about Autodesk's AI language#

The public record on Autodesk's AI language comes down to two points that pull in different directions. One concerns ownership of what you create; the other concerns what you may do with the software's output.

Firms reading these together should not treat a press report, a forum thread or this article as the governing text. Vendor terms are revised from time to time, and summaries lag behind. Use the record below to frame questions, then answer them from the version of each document that applies to your firm today.

• 1Ownership: Autodesk's General Terms include a section titled You Own Your Work, which says the customer keeps ownership of files, designs, models, data sets and similar material that it or its authorized users create and upload.
• 2Use restrictions: AEC Magazine reported that a broad clause in Autodesk's terms and acceptable use policy, if read literally, would stop users from training their own AI models on output from an Autodesk application, and that this language had been in Autodesk contracts since May 2018.
• 3What follows: ownership settles who holds the files, not every permitted use of them, so the restriction language and its current wording decide whether training on model content is allowed.

Which Autodesk documents to read#

The Autodesk documents to read are the general terms of use, the acceptable use policy, the terms for any cloud services you use, the privacy statement and any enterprise or volume agreement your firm signed. A negotiated agreement can change how the standard terms apply, so ask whoever manages your Autodesk account whether one exists.

Save a dated copy of each document you rely on. Terms change, and a rights review is only as good as the version it was based on.

• 1General terms of use: ownership of your content, the license you hold to the software and its outputs, and how changes take effect.
• 2Acceptable use policy: what you may not do with the software or services, including any restrictions that touch AI and machine learning.
• 3Cloud service terms for Autodesk Docs, BIM 360 or Autodesk Construction Cloud, if your models live there.
• 4Privacy statement and product settings that control whether your data may be used to improve Autodesk services.
• 5Your firm's signed agreements, which can supersede or supplement the standard terms.

What to check in the current text#

The current Autodesk text should be read with a short list of questions in hand, because the relevant language is spread across several documents. Write down the answer to each question, the document and section where you found it, and the version date.

Software licenses commonly restrict reverse engineering and building competing products. How such restrictions apply to training on your own design content is a question for the current text and your counsel, not for a summary written under an earlier version, including the reporting above.

Your Revit models contain more than your design#

A Revit model contains more than the firm's own design: it typically includes vendor-supplied templates and content, manufacturer families downloaded from third-party sites, and links to consultant models. Each layer can carry its own terms.

For training an internal model, these layers may matter little. For licensing a package to an outside developer, they matter a great deal, and the simplest approach is often to remove linked consultant models and third-party content or replace them with generic placeholders.

• 1Autodesk-supplied families, templates and sample content, which come under Autodesk's license terms.
• 2Manufacturer families and product content, often downloaded under the manufacturer's or content platform's terms.
• 3Linked structural, MEP and civil models, which are the instruments of service of the consultants who prepared them.
• 4Owner-furnished templates, standards or existing-condition models provided under the client's terms.

Client contracts usually set the tighter limit#

Client contracts usually set the tighter limit on Revit data, because the model describes the client's building. Confidentiality clauses, ownership terms, data security exhibits and AI riders can restrict use even where the software license would not.

Before any model is used for training or licensing, tag the project with its contract type and any restriction. Projects with explicit prohibitions on training third-party models stay out. Projects with silent or unclear terms go to counsel, or to the client for consent.

Consultant agreements matter too. If structural or MEP consultants modeled in linked files or shared worksets, check whether their agreements allow use of their content beyond the project; the cleaner route is usually to unload and remove those links before any export.

Illustrative: a digital practice leader sets a firm rule#

Illustrative: a fictional A/E firm wanted to train an internal model to flag common modeling errors in its Revit projects, such as unhosted elements and mismatched levels. Its digital practice leader was asked to confirm the firm could do this before IT exported anything.

The leader pulled the current terms of use, acceptable use policy and cloud service terms, saved dated copies, and sent the questions above to outside counsel. In parallel, project managers tagged projects by contract type and removed any with confidentiality riders or AI prohibitions.

Counsel's review produced a firm rule: internal training on firm-authored model content from cleared projects, no vendor sample content or manufacturer families in training sets, and a fresh review before any external licensing. The rule went into the firm's AI policy with a reminder to recheck terms at each renewal.

How SourceX treats vendor terms in a rights review#

SourceX treats software vendor terms as one input to the Rights step of the SourceX five-step transaction, alongside client contracts, consultant agreements and employee notices. The firm's counsel and SourceX record which versions were reviewed and on what date.

For any package that proceeds, the SourceX Evidence Packet captures provenance, licensing rights, permitted use, the privacy record and release authorization. Large model archives stay in the firm's own storage or ship on encrypted drives.