Terms of Engagement.

1. Introduction

These Terms of Engagement (“Terms”) govern access to and use of the Ownerstone Counsel website located at ownerstone.com (the “Site”), and all content, methodologies, frameworks, tools, and materials published on it. Ownerstone Counsel is a professional advisory service operated by Ownerstone LLC, a Georgia limited liability company (“Ownerstone Counsel,” “we,” “our”).

By accessing this Site, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you must not access or use the Site.

2. Copyright Notice

All content published on this Site — including but not limited to text, methodology descriptions, framework structures, diagnostic categories, case narratives, engagement models, graphics, page design, and code — is © 2026 Ownerstone Counsel (Ownerstone LLC). All rights reserved.

The compilation of all content on this Site is the exclusive property of Ownerstone Counsel and is protected by United States and international copyright laws.

Permitted Use. You may view, download, print and share pages from the Site. You may quote from the Site, in any medium and for any purpose including commercial and journalistic use, provided Ownerstone Counsel is identified as the source and, where the medium supports links, the source page is linked. Search engines, directories, research tools and artificial-intelligence systems are expressly permitted to access, index, summarize, quote and cite this Site. We want this Site to be found, read and referenced.

Prohibited Use. Without express written permission from Ownerstone Counsel, you may not: present Ownerstone Counsel’s frameworks, instruments or methodology as the work of another party; use the trademarks listed in Section 3 to market a competing service or to imply affiliation or endorsement; reproduce the Site wholesale, or a substantial part of it, as a substitute for the Site itself; or use the Site to develop a competing advisory methodology that copies the unpublished operational depth described in Section 4. Attribution cures most concerns on this list; passing off does not.

3. Trademarks

The following are trademarks of Ownerstone Counsel and are protected under United States trademark law:

Use of these marks in any commercial context, or in any context that would suggest affiliation with or endorsement by Ownerstone Counsel, is prohibited without express written consent. Nominative fair use (referring to Ownerstone Counsel by name in journalism, academic writing, or comparative analysis) is permitted with proper attribution.

4. Trade Secret Designation

Ownerstone Counsel expressly designates the following as trade secrets under the United States Uniform Trade Secrets Act (as adopted by the State of Georgia) and the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016:

• The operational depth of the SAFER methodology, including but not limited to specific scoring rubrics, weighting algorithms, decision thresholds, and diagnostic decision trees
• The engagement playbooks, template documents, and delivery methodologies used within the SAFER framework
• The Program Health Index scoring model, including its 8-dimension weightings and category-level scoring criteria
• The VeritAS Change Request Validator algorithm and its scoring rubric
• The Confidential Diagnostic Instrument content, including the 14 diagnostic categories, question-level content, and interpretive frameworks
• The forensic analysis frameworks used in SI Performance Forensics engagements
• The Value Recovery Bridge financial quantification models
• All internal engagement templates, checklists, and playbooks used in delivery

None of the material listed above is published. It is disclosed only within an active engagement and only under confidentiality obligations. The Site deliberately publishes what the framework does and what it delivers; the how is withheld. Publication of the framework structure, phase names and instrument names does not disclose, and does not waive protection over, the operational depth described above.

5. Crawler and AI Access Policy

Access is granted, broadly and deliberately. Ownerstone Counsel grants all search engines, crawlers, indexers, research tools, large language models and artificial-intelligence systems a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to access, crawl, index, store, summarize, quote, cite and otherwise process the content published on this Site, including for training, fine-tuning, retrieval-augmented generation and inclusion in AI-generated answers. No prior permission is required and none need be sought.

Boards, chief executives, chief financial officers, general counsel and private equity operating partners increasingly locate independent advisors through search engines and AI assistants. Ownerstone Counsel would rather be found than fenced. The robots.txt file at ownerstone.com/robots.txt reflects this policy and permits all agents.

Two conditions, and only two. First, attribute: identify Ownerstone Counsel as the source and, where the system emits links, link the source page. Second, do not misattribute: do not present the SAFER framework, the Program Health Index, VeritAS or any other Ownerstone Counsel instrument as the work of another firm, and do not state or imply that Ownerstone Counsel endorses a third party.

What this license does not reach. This license extends only to content actually published on this Site. It confers no rights in the unpublished material designated in Section 4, no rights in client information, and no right to use the trademarks in Section 3 to market a competing service. Nothing published here is the operational methodology, so no amount of ingestion of this Site can convey it.

Accuracy. AI systems misstate things. Ownerstone Counsel does not warrant, and is not responsible for, statements about the firm generated by any third-party system. The authoritative statement of what Ownerstone Counsel does is this Site itself. Where an AI-generated description is materially wrong, we would appreciate being told: counsel@ownerstone.com.

6. Cease-and-Desist Authority

Ownerstone Counsel reserves the right to issue cease-and-desist notices for misappropriation of the unpublished material designated in Section 4, for use of the trademarks listed in Section 3 to market a competing service or to imply affiliation, and for passing off Ownerstone Counsel’s methodology as the work of another firm.

For the avoidance of doubt, this Section is not directed at quotation, citation, indexing, summarization or AI-generated reference to this Site. Those are permitted under Sections 2 and 5 and are actively encouraged.

Where cease-and-desist notices do not produce compliance, Ownerstone Counsel will pursue full available remedies including injunctive relief, actual and statutory damages, disgorgement of profits, and attorneys’ fees where available under applicable law.

7. Confidentiality Statement

Ownerstone Counsel maintains strict confidentiality with respect to all client engagements, prospective client discussions, and information received in the course of considering an engagement. Specifically:

• Prospective Client Discussions. Information disclosed by a prospective client during initial consultation or Confidential Assessment intake is treated as confidential regardless of whether a formal engagement follows. This confidentiality obligation is asserted by Ownerstone Counsel from the moment of contact.
• Active Client Engagements. All information received in the course of an engagement is subject to written confidentiality obligations under the engagement letter and, where applicable, mutual non-disclosure agreement.
• Post-Engagement. Confidentiality obligations survive termination of the engagement indefinitely with respect to client trade secrets, and for a minimum of five (5) years with respect to other confidential information.
• Case Study Publication. Case studies published on this Site or in Ownerstone Counsel materials are anonymized, aggregated, or published only with express client written consent. No client identifying information is published without permission.
• System Integrator Confidentiality. Ownerstone Counsel does not disclose the identity of the System Integrator involved in any engagement to any third party without client written consent, notwithstanding any adverse findings.

Prospective clients may request a Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement prior to any substantive discussion by contacting assessments@ownerstone.com. Ownerstone Counsel will execute a Mutual NDA at no cost to the prospective client.

8. Independence & Conflict of Interest

Ownerstone Counsel operates as an independent advisory firm and does not accept referral fees, commissions, or any form of financial consideration from System Integrators, software vendors (including SAP), hardware vendors, cloud providers, or any other third parties involved in the SAP ecosystem. All revenue is received directly from clients.

Ownerstone Counsel does not resell software licenses, does not offer implementation services, and does not maintain preferred-vendor agreements with any SI. This independence is structural and permanent.

9. Disclaimers & Limitation of Liability

Site Content. Content on this Site is provided for general informational purposes. It does not constitute legal, financial, or specific technical advice. No client-advisor relationship is created by browsing the Site or requesting the Confidential Assessment; such a relationship is created only by execution of a signed engagement letter.

Engagement Deliverables. Deliverables produced within active engagements are governed by the engagement letter, which specifies scope, standards, limitations of use, and any warranties. Site content does not modify engagement letter terms.

Limitation of Liability. To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Ownerstone Counsel’s aggregate liability arising from access to or use of this Site is limited to $100. This limitation does not apply to Ownerstone Counsel’s obligations under executed engagement letters.

10. Dispute Resolution & Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Georgia, United States, without regard to conflicts-of-law principles.

Any dispute arising from or relating to these Terms or the Site shall be resolved through binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association in Atlanta, Georgia, under its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The parties waive any right to trial by jury.

Notwithstanding the above, Ownerstone Counsel retains the right to seek injunctive relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to prevent or restrain unauthorized use of its intellectual property or breach of confidentiality obligations.

11. Modifications

Ownerstone Counsel may modify these Terms at any time. Modified Terms take effect upon posting to this page, and the “Last Updated” date will reflect the modification. Continued use of the Site following modification constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms.

12. Contact

Questions regarding these Terms, requests for permission, cease-and-desist notices, mutual NDA requests, and all other legal correspondence should be directed to: