Terms.

1. Agreement to Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you and AI SIGMA ("AI SIGMA," "the Institute," "we," "us," or "our") concerning your access to and use of the website located at aisigma.org and all related features, tools, and services (the "Service"). By accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

2. Definitions

• "Service" refers to the AI SIGMA website at aisigma.org and all related features, tools, and services, including the published research, Annexes, briefings, press kit, forms, and downloadable materials.
• "Content" refers to all text, images, code, design, downloadable materials, and other materials displayed through or made available on the Service.
• "User Submission" refers to information you submit to the Service through a form (membership, press, contact, newsletter) or other communication channel.
• "Annexes" refers to the topical instruments through which the Institute publishes standards, recommended practices, and clause libraries.
• "You" and "your" refer to the individual or entity accessing the Service.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age to use the Service. By using the Service you represent and warrant that you are at least 18 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms. If you are using the Service on behalf of an organization, you represent and warrant that you have authority to bind that organization to these Terms.

4. Description of Service

The Service is the public-facing website of AI SIGMA, a practitioner-led standards initiative developing deployment-layer standards for AI adoption (model contract clauses, conformance criteria, and practitioner standards). The Service provides:

• Informational pages describing the Institute's mission, structure, leadership, and program of work
• Published research, briefings, and recommended practices as they are released
• Forms for inquiring about the founding cohort, press inquiries, general contact, and the quarterly briefings newsletter
• A press kit with logo, wordmark, and biography assets for editorial use

The Service is currently provided at no charge. The Institute does not, through this Service, offer legal advice, regulated services, or professional engagement. Founding Membership is by invitation; submission of an interest form does not create membership and does not create any agreement to provide services.

5. Acceptable Use and Prohibited Conduct

You may read, share, link to, cite, quote, and excerpt materials on aisigma.org for lawful purposes, including journalism, research, education, professional practice, and commentary, subject to the intellectual property terms in Section 6.

You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any local, state, national, or international law
• Submit User Submissions that are spam, malicious, defamatory, harassing, or knowingly false
• Misrepresent your affiliation with AI SIGMA, the Founding Co-Chair, or any Member or contributor
• Misrepresent the publication status, ratification status, or scope of any Annex, white paper, or other Institute output
• Reproduce, modify, or republish substantial portions of the Service or its Content as your own work
• Use automated means (scrapers, bots, headless crawlers) to access the Service in a manner inconsistent with our published robots.txt, or in a manner that imposes an unreasonable load on our infrastructure
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to derive the source code of any aspect of the Service that is not openly published
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any account, system, or data not made available to you
• Upload, transmit, or introduce viruses, malware, ransomware, or any other malicious code to or through the Service
• Interfere with, disrupt, or impair the integrity or performance of the Service

6. Intellectual Property

6.1 Service Content

The Service, including its design, code, copy, branding, AIΣ wordmark, and visual identity, is owned by AI SIGMA and protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. All rights are reserved except as expressly granted in these Terms.

6.2 Published Research, Annexes, and Briefings

White papers, Annexes, briefings, and other published Institute materials are protected by copyright. You may cite, quote, and excerpt these materials with attribution to AI SIGMA ("AI SIGMA, AI Standards Institute for Global Machine Adoption, https://aisigma.org") and a link to the source page when published online. Republication of full texts, mass reproduction, derivative works, and commercial redistribution require prior written permission from the Institute.

Each Annex and white paper is versioned. When citing, please include the version identifier (for example, Model Contract Clauses for Frontier AI Deployment, v0.1).

6.3 Press Kit

Logo, wordmark, headshot, and biography assets in the press kit are provided for editorial use without prior written permission, subject to standard attribution and the Institute's published style guidance for the AIΣ glyph (Σ is U+03A3, Greek Capital Letter Sigma; the wordmark is "AI" in Inter followed by "Σ" in Newsreader). Press-kit assets may not be modified, recolored beyond the published palette, or used in a manner that implies endorsement or affiliation.

6.4 Third-Party Marks

Third-party names, logos, and trademarks referenced on the Service (including ICAO, IATA, CAISI, the EU AI Office, NIST, ISO, the Beverly Hills Bar Association, and similar organizations) are the property of their respective owners and do not imply endorsement of or affiliation with AI SIGMA except where expressly stated.

6.5 Copyright Infringement and DMCA

If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, send a notice to [email protected] with: (a) identification of the copyrighted work, (b) the allegedly infringing material and its location on the Service, (c) your contact information, (d) a statement of good-faith belief that the use is not authorized, and (e) a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner. We will respond to legitimate notices promptly.

7. Website Use License

Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the Service for your personal, professional, journalistic, or academic purposes consistent with Sections 5 and 6.

This license does not include the right to: (a) modify, copy, or create derivative works of the Service or its Content beyond fair use and the attribution permissions in Section 6; (b) use any data-mining, scraping, or similar methods inconsistent with our robots.txt; or (c) use the Service for any commercial purpose that competes with or substitutes for the Institute's published materials without prior written consent.

This license terminates automatically if you violate these restrictions and may be terminated by AI SIGMA at any time.

8. Artificial Intelligence Disclosure

8.1 Current AI Usage on the Service

The Service is a static website. It does not run AI or machine-learning models on user data. Form submissions are routed to the Institute through Formspree and are read and acted upon by humans. Web Analytics is provided by Vercel and is cookie-free; it does not profile individual users.

8.2 AI Crawlers and Indexing

AI SIGMA welcomes indexing of its public Content by AI crawlers and answer engines (including, without limitation, GPTBot, ClaudeBot, OAI-SearchBot, PerplexityBot, Google-Extended, Applebot-Extended, CCBot, and successor user agents). The published robots.txt grants explicit permission, and a curated summary is provided at /llms.txt and /llms-full.txt. AI crawlers see only public Content; they do not see User Submissions.

Citation by AI systems is encouraged. The canonical name of the Institute is "AI SIGMA," with full expansion "AI Standards Institute for Global Machine Adoption."

8.3 No Training on User Submissions

We do not use your User Submissions, your personal information, or any data you provide through the Service to train artificial intelligence or machine-learning models, and we do not provide such data to third parties for that purpose.

8.4 Future AI Features

If we implement AI-powered features in the Service in the future (for example, an AI-assisted search of the Annexes), we will: (a) update these Terms and our Privacy Policy with clear disclosure; (b) explain what data is processed and how; (c) provide an option to opt out where feasible; and (d) maintain human oversight over any AI-generated recommendations.

9. Privacy and Data Protection

Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference into these Terms. The Privacy Policy describes our data collection, use, and sharing practices, including your rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA), the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and other applicable privacy laws.

10. Third-Party Services and Links

10.1 Service Providers

The Service relies on third-party providers including Vercel (hosting, analytics, and content delivery), Formspree (form submission processing), and Google Workspace (email delivery for the Institute's inboxes). While we work to ensure availability, we cannot guarantee uninterrupted access if these providers experience issues.

10.2 Third-Party Links

The Service contains links to third-party websites, including the websites of intergovernmental bodies, frontier AI labs, the Beverly Hills Bar Association, and the Founding Co-Chair's professional websites. We are not responsible for the content, privacy practices, or availability of any third-party site. Your interaction with third-party sites is governed by their own terms and policies.

11. Service Availability and Modifications

We strive to provide uninterrupted access to the Service but do not guarantee that the Service will be available at all times. We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any portion of the Service at any time, with or without notice. We will provide reasonable notice of material changes that affect your use of the Service through the briefings newsletter, the relevant page itself, or both.

12. Disclaimer of Warranties

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

• IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY
• FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
• NON-INFRINGEMENT
• ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR RELIABILITY OF ANY PUBLISHED MATERIAL
• UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION

WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED. THE INSTITUTE'S PUBLISHED MATERIALS — INCLUDING WHITE PAPERS, ANNEXES, MODEL CONTRACT CLAUSES, AND BRIEFINGS — ARE PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. THEY DO NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE, REGULATORY GUIDANCE, OR A SUBSTITUTE FOR QUALIFIED COUNSEL OR PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT IN ANY SPECIFIC TRANSACTION OR DEPLOYMENT.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THE ABOVE EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN SUCH JURISDICTIONS, OUR LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

13. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, AI SIGMA SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE SERVICE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

• INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES
• LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF PROFITS, GOODWILL, OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION
• DAMAGES RESULTING FROM RELIANCE ON ANY CONTENT, MODEL CLAUSE, ANNEX, WHITE PAPER, OR OTHER PUBLISHED MATERIAL FOR ANY PURPOSE
• SERVICE DOWNTIME OR UNAVAILABILITY
• DAMAGE TO YOUR DEVICE OR SOFTWARE

YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT USE OF THE SERVICE, AND ANY RELIANCE ON THE INSTITUTE'S PUBLISHED MATERIALS, IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE LIMITATIONS IN THIS SECTION APPLY REGARDLESS OF THE LEGAL THEORY ON WHICH ANY CLAIM IS BASED, INCLUDING CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER BASIS, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

NOTHING IN THESE TERMS SHALL EXCLUDE OR LIMIT LIABILITY FOR (A) DEATH OR PERSONAL INJURY CAUSED BY NEGLIGENCE, (B) FRAUD OR FRAUDULENT MISREPRESENTATION, OR (C) ANY LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY EXCEED ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US$100).

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless AI SIGMA, its Founding Co-Chair, Members, contributors, and operators from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys' fees) that arise from or relate to: (a) your use of or access to the Service; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your violation of any rights of another person or entity; (d) your User Submissions; or (e) your misrepresentation of affiliation with the Institute.

15. Dispute Resolution and Binding Arbitration

15.1 Binding Arbitration

Any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by JAMS under its Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures. The arbitration shall take place in Marin County, California, before a single arbitrator. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction.

15.2 Class Action Waiver

YOU AND AI SIGMA AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, COLLECTIVE, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims and may not otherwise preside over any form of representative or class proceeding.

15.3 Jury Trial Waiver

TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU AND AI SIGMA EACH WAIVE THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL IN ANY COURT PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE.

15.4 Exceptions

Either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation, or violation of a party's intellectual property rights, including the AIΣ wordmark and the Institute's published Content.

15.5 EU Users

If you are a consumer residing in the European Union, the binding arbitration provisions above do not apply to you. You may bring proceedings in the courts of your country of residence.

16. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-law provisions. Subject to the arbitration provisions above, you submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Marin County, California.

17. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. If we make material changes, we will notify subscribers to the briefings newsletter at least 30 days before the changes take effect, post the updated Terms at this URL, and update the "Last updated" date at the top.

Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the modified Terms. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Service.

18. Miscellaneous

18.1 Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any policies referenced herein, constitute the entire agreement between you and AI SIGMA regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements and understandings.

18.2 Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

18.3 Waiver

No waiver of any provision of these Terms shall constitute a further or continuing waiver of that provision or any other provision. Our failure to assert any right or provision shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

18.4 Assignment

You may not assign or transfer your rights under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign our rights and obligations under these Terms without restriction or notice, including to a successor entity.

18.5 Force Majeure

AI SIGMA will not be liable for any failure or delay in performance resulting from causes beyond its reasonable control, including acts of God, natural disasters, pandemic, war, terrorism, civil unrest, government action, labor disputes, internet service provider failures, or third-party platform outages.

19. Contact Information

For questions about these Terms, contact us at [email protected].

AI SIGMA — AI Standards Institute for Global Machine Adoption
Marin County, California, United States