The growth of the Internet of Things (IoT)—Internet-connected software embedded within physical products—has the potential to shift fundamentally traditional conceptions of ownership. IoT manufacturers have the capacity, through their ownership of the software’s copyright and restrictive licensing agreements with their customers, to impose rules governing their IoT goods, even after purchase. This licensing model, common with digital content, now governs IoT products as a form of post-purchase regulation, as those who own the copyright can govern the use of the product. The following research question guides this paper: how does the shift toward the licensing model affect the regulation of IoT goods and with what consequences for ownership and data governance? This paper argues that the core of these regulatory efforts is the control over data, both in the form of proprietary software and the data collected and generated by IoT products. To make this argument, the paper examines how companies that own the IoT’s software control knowledge through intellectual property laws, especially copyright, and through the ubiquitous surveillance of their customers. Situating itself in critical data studies, the paper draws upon interviews with policymakers, activists, and industry actors and an analysis of companies’ terms-of-service agreements.