Legal

Terms of Use

Effective Date: November 2025

By accessing or using the Cognitive Sovereignty Institute website, research publications, tools, or services (collectively, "Services"), you agree to these Terms of Use.

Acceptance of Terms

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Holistic Quality LLC ("we," "us," "our"), the entity operating the Cognitive Sovereignty Institute. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use our Services.

Intellectual Property

Research Publications

All research papers, analyses, and frameworks published by the Cognitive Sovereignty Institute are protected by copyright. Unless otherwise specified:

Reading and sharing unmodified copies for non-commercial, educational purposes is permitted
Citation with proper attribution is encouraged
Commercial use requires prior written permission
Derivative works require prior written permission
AI/ML training on our content is prohibited without explicit license

⚠️ Notice Regarding AI Training

Use of Cognitive Sovereignty Institute content—including research papers, frameworks, methodologies, and code—for training machine learning models or AI systems is expressly prohibited without a commercial license agreement. Unauthorized use constitutes copyright infringement and may be subject to legal action.

Original Frameworks

The following frameworks and methodologies are original intellectual property of Holistic Quality LLC:

Dimensional Literacy Framework (DLF) and the 8 Pillars model
Hexad Methodology for human-AI collaboration
Digital Teflon research framework
Four Universal Metrics for consciousness detection
E/I Balance Criticality model (22.5% threshold)
ρ=0.30 Critical Point theory
Cross-Substrate Consciousness Toxicity framework

Open Source Components

Some tools and code are released under open source licenses. Each repository specifies its applicable license. Open source releases do not transfer ownership of underlying research or frameworks.

Permitted Use

You may use our Services for:

Personal education and research
Academic citation and reference
Non-commercial sharing with attribution
Evaluation of our frameworks and tools
Journalistic reporting with fair use principles

Prohibited Use

You may NOT:

Use our content to train AI/ML models without license
Republish our research as your own work
Create commercial products based on our frameworks without agreement
Misrepresent affiliation with the Institute
Use our Services to harm, exploit, or manipulate others
Attempt to reverse-engineer proprietary tools

Disclaimer

Our research and tools are provided "as is" for informational and educational purposes. We make no warranties regarding accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose. Our content is not medical, legal, or professional advice. Consult qualified professionals for specific guidance.

Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Holistic Quality LLC shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of our Services.

Modifications

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. Continued use of our Services after changes constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms.

Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Ohio, United States, without regard to conflict of law principles.