Mercor Wants to Buy Your Old Work Files

AI training data company Mercor is reportedly offering payments to professionals willing to sell materials from previous jobs, including specialized production assets like visual effects files. The Wall Street Journal broke the story, noting Mercor has approached workers across multiple industries. The scheme carries serious legal risks, as most such materials belong to former employers and are protected by intellectual property laws and confidentiality agreements. Despite Mercor claiming it does not buy IP, its outreach messages referenced purchasing work directly. Adding to concerns, Mercor recently suffered a massive data breach exposing up to 4TB of sensitive user data.