LEGAL NOTICE, TERMS OF USE & INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

The AI Praxis™ | www.theaipraxis.com

Effective Date: 19 February 2026 (version 3.0)

Principal: Paul F. Accornero

Trading Name: The AI Praxis™

PART I: LEGAL IDENTITY & STRUCTURE

1. The Principal

These Terms of Use constitute a binding legal agreement between the user ("You") and Paul F. Accornero (the "Principal"), operating commercially under the trading name and research imprint "The AI Praxis™" (the "Institute").

2. Nature of Entity & Tax Status

The AI Praxis is a strategic research vehicle and sole proprietorship (trading as / d/b/a), not a separate limited liability corporation. All commercial contracts, advisory engagements, and intellectual property licences are legally executed by the Principal in his personal capacity for all works derived from original research contained in "The Algorithmic Shopper," a registered work (U.S. Copyright Office Reg. No. TXu 2-507-027).

Tax Jurisdiction: The Principal is tax resident in Italy. All commercial activities conducted through The AI Praxis are subject to Italian tax law, including IVA (Imposta sul Valore Aggiunto) where applicable.

Partita IVA: 05595640268

PEC: paul.accornero@pec.it

3. Independence & Capacity

The AI Praxis is an independent research and advisory practice. All content published on this website and across all associated platforms is the Principal’s original intellectual property, created and published in a strictly personal, academic, and independent capacity.

No Affiliation: The views, frameworks, and theories expressed herein are solely those of the Principal. They do not represent the official strategy, opinions, or positions of any current or former employer, client, or affiliated organisation.

No Proprietary Disclosure: The content provided is theoretical and sector-agnostic. It does not disclose proprietary trade secrets, confidential business information, or competitive intelligence of any third party.

Independence: The AI Praxis receives no funding, resources, or support from any third-party employer or corporate entity. All research activities are conducted using the Principal’s personal resources and publicly available information.

PART II: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

4. Copyright Registration & Ownership

All content on this website, including but not limited to articles, research papers, frameworks, diagrams, presentations, handouts, multimedia materials, blog posts, and any other published materials, is derived from original research contained in The Algorithmic Shopper: Marketing and Selling in the Age of AI Gatekeepers, a work registered with the United States Copyright Office.

Registration Number: TXu 2-507-027

Copyright Holder: Paul F. Accornero

Registration Date: 2025

4A. Scope of Application

These Terms of Use, and in particular the Intellectual Property provisions set forth in Part II, apply to all content created, published, or distributed by the Principal across all platforms and media, including but not limited to:

• This website (www.theaipraxis.com)

• The Principal’s Substack newsletter (“The Algorithmic Shopper”)

• The Principal’s LinkedIn profile and articles (linkedin.com/in/paulaccornero)

• The Principal’s SSRN working papers (ssrn.com/author=8182896)

• Academic journal publications, peer-reviewed articles, and book chapters

• Conference presentations, keynote addresses, lecture presentation and workshop materials

• Podcast appearances, interviews, and multimedia content

• Diagnostic tools, software applications, and automated assessment platforms operated by or on behalf of the Principal (including but not limited to the Algorithmic Readiness™ Audit tool and related diagnostic instruments)

• Reports, scorecards, and analytical outputs generated by the Principal's proprietary diagnostic tools, whether delivered in automated or manual format

• Any other platform, medium, or format through which the Principal’s intellectual property is disseminated.

Where content published on third-party platforms references these Terms (including by hyperlink), the referenced Terms shall apply in addition to any platform-specific terms of service. In the event of a conflict between these Terms and any third-party platform terms regarding the Principal’s intellectual property rights, these Terms shall prevail to the maximum extent permitted by law.

5. Proprietary Frameworks & Terminology ("The Canon")

The content on this site constitutes a proprietary body of economic and marketing theory. The Principal asserts international copyright, registered trademark, and common law rights over the following concepts, frameworks, methodologies, and terminology, collectively referred to as “The Canon”:

Registered Trademarks (® — UK Intellectual Property Office):

• The Shopper Schism® — The Core Thesis (US/EU applications pending)

• Agent Intent Optimisation (AIO)® — The Methodology (US/EU applications pending)

• The Algorithmic Shopper® — The Persona & Book Title (US/EU applications pending)

Pending / Applied Trademarks (™):

• Agentic Commerce™ — The Discipline

• Algorithmic Readiness™ — The Organisational Capability Framework

• Algorithmic Readiness Audit™ — The Diagnostic Tool

• The Praxis Method™ — The Consulting Methodology

• Commercial Excellence in the Agentic Age™ — The Curriculum • Agentic Integrity Scorecard™ — The Assessment Tool

• Agentic Integrity™ — The Trust & Compliance Framework

• The AI Praxis™ — The Research & Advisory Imprint

• Decision Preference Stack™ — The Agent Decision Architecture

Proprietary Frameworks & Concepts (Copyright & Trade Secret Protected):

• The Great Decoupling — The Macro Paradigm Shift

• The Trust Paradox — The Platform Trust Lifecycle

• The Automaton Economy — The Macro-Economic Paradigm

• The Four Ds Framework — Data, Discoverability, Decisional Clarity, Delivery Reliability

• The Governance Gauntlet — The Regulatory Risk Taxonomy • Delegated Consumption — Principal-Agent Theory in AI Commerce

• The 4.7× Finding — Empirical Finding on Operational vs. Reputational Influence

• Synthetic Shoppers — Algorithmically-Constructed Consumer Proxies

• The API Call Model — The Transaction Architecture Framework

• Agent-Centred Design — Design Methodology for Machine-Facing Systems

• From Relational Capital to Systemic Reliability — B2B Transformation Framework

• The Innovation Systems Architect — Emerging Organisational Role Archetype

Trademark Attribution:

The Shopper Schism®, Agent Intent Optimisation (AIO)®, and The Algorithmic Shopper® are registered trademarks of Paul F. Accornero (UK IPO). US and EU applications pending. All other ™ marks are claimed trademarks with applications filed or pending.

5A. Diagnostic Tools & Automated Outputs

The Principal develops and operates proprietary diagnostic tools that apply the frameworks described in Section 5 ("The Canon") to analyse publicly available digital data. These tools include, but are not limited to, the Algorithmic Readiness™ Audit, the Algorithmic Integrity Scorecard™, and related diagnostic instruments.

(a) Nature of Tool Outputs. All outputs generated by the Principal's diagnostic tools — including scores, assessments, reports, and recommendations — represent an algorithmic perspective analysis based exclusively on publicly available, machine-readable data. Tool outputs do NOT constitute legal, financial, tax, regulatory, or comprehensive business advice. The Principal does not have access to, and does not analyse, any user's internal business data, financials, legal structure, employment information, trade secrets, or confidential commercial relationships.

(b) Intellectual Property in Tool Outputs. All frameworks, methodologies, scoring systems, analytical structures, and proprietary terminology applied within the diagnostic tools are derivative works of "The Algorithmic Shopper" (U.S. Copyright Reg. TXu 2-507-027) and remain the exclusive intellectual property of the Principal. The user acquires no licence, right, or interest in any of the Principal's intellectual property by virtue of receiving a tool output, except a limited, non-transferable, non-sublicensable licence for internal evaluation purposes only.

(c) Prohibited Uses of Tool Outputs. Without the express prior written consent of the Principal, users may not: reproduce, redistribute, or publish any tool output; incorporate tool outputs into consulting deliverables, client presentations, or commercial advisory materials; reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the underlying methodologies or scoring algorithms; or use tool outputs to develop competing products or services.

(d) Research Data Collection. The diagnostic tools collect anonymised, aggregated data for the Principal's academic research programme. By using the tools, users acknowledge and consent to the collection of anonymised usage data for research purposes, including publications, presentations, and teaching materials. No personally identifying information or company-identifying information will be published without express written consent. Full research policy: www.theaipraxis.com/privacy-and-research-policy.

(e) Limitation of Liability. Tool outputs are provided "as is" for informational and research purposes. The Principal accepts no liability for any business decisions made on the basis of tool outputs. Users must obtain independent professional advice before acting on any findings.

(d) Research Data Collection & Anonymised Publication Licence.

The Principal's diagnostic tools are operated, in part, as instruments of the Principal's independent academic research programme into algorithmic commerce, derived from "The Algorithmic Shopper" (U.S. Copyright Reg. TXu 2-507-027).

By submitting data to any diagnostic tool operated by the Principal (including entering a URL, domain name, or company identifier), the user acknowledges and agrees that:

(i) The Principal retains the unrestricted right to use, adapt, reproduce, publish, and present the data, findings, scores, analytical outputs, and methodological insights derived from the user's diagnostic assessment — in anonymised form — for any and all research, academic, editorial, and professional purposes, including but not limited to:

• Academic papers, journal articles, working papers, and book chapters (including publications on SSRN, in peer-reviewed journals, and in the Principal's forthcoming and future books);

• University lectures, seminars, workshops, and academic course materials;

• Conference presentations, keynote addresses, panel discussions, and speaking engagements;

• The Principal's Substack newsletter, LinkedIn articles, blog posts, podcast episodes, and other digital content;

• Doctoral thesis preparation, PhD research submissions, and academic examination materials;

• Commercial presentations, advisory briefings, and client-facing materials where the data is used in anonymised or aggregated form;

• Sector-level benchmarking reports, trend analyses, and industry research publications.

(ii) "Anonymised" means that the company name, trading names, domain names, owner names, employee names, specific locations, and any other directly identifying information will be removed or replaced with generic descriptors (e.g., "a UK-based specialist retailer," "Company X," "a mid-market B2B manufacturer," or similar). The Principal will use reasonable efforts to ensure that anonymised data cannot be readily re-identified by a member of the general public, although the Principal makes no guarantee against re-identification by persons with specific industry knowledge.

(iii) The Principal shall not publish or present diagnostic findings in non-anonymised form (i.e., identifying the user or their company by name) without the prior written consent of the user.

(iv) The diagnostic assessment is based exclusively on publicly available, machine-readable data. No confidential, proprietary, or non-public information is collected, analysed, or stored by the diagnostic tools.

(v) Nothing in this clause restricts the Principal's right to conduct similar assessments for other organisations, to publish generalised sector-level findings, or to develop aggregated benchmarks derived from multiple diagnostic assessments.

Full research and privacy policy: www.theaipraxis.com/privacy-and-research-policy

6. Permitted Uses

Subject to the restrictions set forth herein, you may:

• Read, view, and reference this content for personal and educational purposes

• Cite this work in academic publications, research papers, and scholarly articles with proper attribution (see Section 9)

• Share direct hyperlinks to pages on this website via social media, email, or other channels

• Quote brief excerpts (fewer than 100 words) for purposes of commentary, criticism, or review, provided proper attribution is given

• Reference the proprietary frameworks and terminology in academic discourse with appropriate citation

7. Prohibited Uses

Without the express prior written permission of the Principal, You may not:

• Reproduce, republish, upload, post, transmit, or distribute any content from this website in any form or by any means

• Modify, adapt, translate, or create derivative works based on any content from this website

• Use any content for commercial purposes, including but not limited to incorporation into products, services, consulting deliverables, training programmes, or commercial publications

• Remove, obscure, or alter any copyright notices, proprietary legends, or attribution statements

• Frame, mirror, or incorporate any portion of this website into another website or application

• Use any proprietary framework names, terminology, or concepts as trademarks, service marks, product names, or marketing claims without a licence

• Systematically download, scrape, or harvest content from this website using automated tools or processes

7A. Commercial Appropriation & Derivative Works

The proprietary frameworks, methodologies, and terminology described in Section 5 (“The Canon”) represent original intellectual property developed through the Principal’s independent research, registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, and protected by international trademark registrations. Any person or entity that accesses this content — whether through this website, the Principal’s published papers, newsletters, academic lectures, workshops, conference presentations, or any other medium — is hereby placed on notice of the following:

(a) Incorporation of any Canon framework, terminology, methodology, or diagnostic tool into consulting deliverables, client presentations, training programmes, strategy documents, or any other commercial advisory output constitutes commercial use requiring a written licence from the Principal.

(b) Repackaging, relabelling, or reformulating Canon frameworks under different names, branding, or visual presentation does not avoid infringement where the substance, structure, or methodology derives from the Principal’s work. Infringement is assessed on substance, not labelling.

(c) Attendance at the Principal’s lectures, workshops, or presentations — whether paid or unpaid, public or private — does not constitute a licence to reproduce, adapt, or commercially exploit the content presented.

(d) The Principal maintains comprehensive forensic evidence of original authorship, including U.S. Copyright Office registrations with fixed dates of creation, timestamped SSRN publications with independent download records, version-controlled manuscripts predating any third-party use, and UK/EU/US trademark registrations.

(e) The Principal actively monitors for commercial appropriation across consulting, advisory, and training markets and will pursue all available remedies as specified in Section 11, including notification to the infringer’s clients, academic institutions, employers, and professional bodies.

8. Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning Restrictions (The "AIO Shield")

The content of this domain is "Human-Generated Original Work." The content on this website is protected by copyright and is expressly excluded from use in connection with artificial intelligence and machine learning systems. Without limitation, You may not:

• No Training: Use any content, in whole or in part, to train, develop, fine-tune, or improve any artificial intelligence system, machine learning model, large language model (LLM), neural network, or any other automated system

• No Dataset Inclusion: Include any content in datasets, corpora, or training materials used for AI/ML development

• No RAG Usage: Index this site to populate Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) knowledge bases for third-party commercial agents

• No Automated Analysis: Use automated systems to analyse, process, or extract information from this content for the purpose of replicating, summarising, or generating derivative content

• No Third-Party Access: Permit any third party, including AI service providers, to access this content for training or development purposes

In accordance with Article 4(3) of the EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market (2019/790), the Principal expressly opts out of the text and data mining exception for commercial purposes with respect to all content on this website and across all associated platforms. This opt-out is additionally expressed in machine-readable form via the robots.txt file and HTML meta tags on this website. The Principal does not consider the use of this content for AI/ML training to constitute fair use, fair dealing, or any analogous exception under applicable copyright law, and will treat any such use as infringement of the Principal’s copyright. The Principal expressly reserves all rights with respect to AI and machine learning applications. Commercial licensing for AI training purposes may be available upon request.

9. Attribution Requirements

When citing or referencing this work in accordance with the permitted uses above, please use the following attribution formats:

Academic Citation (APA 7th Edition):

Accornero, P. F. (2025). [Title of specific article or page]. The AI Praxis. https://www.theaipraxis.com/[page-url]

Book Citation (forthcoming):

Accornero, P. F. (2027). The algorithmic shopper: Marketing and selling in the age of AI gatekeepers. St. Martin's Press.

General Attribution:

Framework Attribution:

"Agent Intent Optimisation" (Accornero, 2025) describes...

The "Shopper Schism" framework (Accornero, 2025) identifies...

Full Terms Attribution (for use in shortened notices on papers and articles):

“This work is subject to the Intellectual Property Terms of The AI Praxis™. Full terms: www.theaipraxis.com/legal-and-ip”

PART III: LICENSING & ENFORCEMENT

10. Licensing & Permissions

Commercial use of any content, frameworks, or intellectual property from this website requires a written licence agreement. Licensing enquiries are welcome for:

Corporate training programmes and executive education materials
Consulting deliverables and client-facing presentations
Commercial publications, books, and articles
Conference presentations and keynote materials
Software products, applications, and digital tools
Academic course materials for commercial programmes
AI/ML training datasets (subject to separate commercial terms)

Diagnostic tool outputs for commercial redistribution or resale
White-label licensing of diagnostic tools or reports under third-party branding
API access to diagnostic tools for integration into third-party platforms
Bulk or enterprise licensing of automated assessment tools

11. Enforcement & Remedies

The Principal actively monitors for unauthorised use of the intellectual property contained on this website. Infringement of these rights may result in:

• Cease and desist demands

• DMCA takedown notices to hosting providers and platforms

• Claims for actual damages, statutory damages, and legal costs under U.S. Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 504)

• Injunctive relief to prevent ongoing infringement

• Notification to academic institutions, employers, and professional bodies where applicable

• Civil proceedings in the courts of competent jurisdiction (see Section 14)

PART IV: DISCLAIMERS & LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

12. No Professional Advice / No Fiduciary Duty

The content provided on this Site is for high-level strategic, educational, and academic discussion only.

Not Consulting: Your access to this site does not create a consultant-client, advisory, or fiduciary relationship.

Not Financial Advice: Nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, tax, or financial advice.

No Warranty of Results: The Principal makes no warranty that the application of these frameworks (e.g., AIO strategies, Algorithmic Readiness Audit) will result in specific financial outcomes, market performance, or commercial success.

13. Forward-Looking Statements

This Site contains speculative analysis regarding the future of AI, commerce, and market structures. These "forward-looking statements" are based on current theoretical models, available research, and the Principal's professional judgment. The Principal is not liable if market conditions, technology developments, or regulatory environments evolve differently than predicted. All forward-looking statements are made as of their date of publication and are not updated for subsequent developments.

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Paul F. Accornero and The AI Praxis from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from or related to: (a) your use or misuse of the Site; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your commercial application of the frameworks, methodologies, or content without a valid licence; or (d) your infringement of any intellectual property rights.

15. Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR): For any disputes regarding commercial licensing, the parties agree to first seek an amicable resolution via the Veneto Chamber of Commerce Mediation Service (Servizio di Conciliazione).

For any complaints, please contact us directly at: Administration@aipraxis.ai

PART V: GOVERNING LAW & JURISDICTION

16. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Italy, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

17. Exclusive Jurisdiction

Any dispute arising from these Terms or the content of this Site shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Treviso, Italy.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Principal reserves the right to pursue legal remedies for copyright infringement in any jurisdiction where such infringement occurs, including but not limited to the United States (where the work is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office), the European Union, and any other applicable jurisdiction under the Berne Convention or WIPO Copyright Treaty.

18. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable under Italian law or the law of any other applicable jurisdiction, such finding shall not affect the validity, legality, or enforceability of the remaining provisions, which shall continue in full force and effect.

19. Modifications to These Terms

The Principal reserves the right to modify, update, or revise these Terms at any time without prior notice. The "Effective Date" at the top of this page indicates when these Terms were most recently revised. Continued use of this website following any changes constitutes acceptance of the modified terms.

20. Third-Party Content & Links

This website may contain links to third-party websites, references to third-party research, and citations to external sources. Such references are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute endorsement. The Principal is not responsible for the content, accuracy, or availability of third-party materials. All third-party trademarks, service marks, and logos referenced on this website are the property of their respective owners.

CONTACT FOR RIGHTS & LICENSING

For all enquiries regarding intellectual property, licensing, permissions, or to report suspected infringement:

Paul Ferrando Accornero (Principal)

t/a The AI Praxis™

Email: paul.accornero@aipraxis.ai

PEC: paul.accornero@pec.it

Website: www.theaipraxis.com

Sede Legale: Riviera S. Margherita 24, 31100 Treviso (TV), Italy. P.IVA: 05595640268.