Pre-Engagement Terms
Common Ground Ventures and its affiliated companies may provide advisory materials, strategic deliverables, and creative work product during the pre-engagement process. The following terms govern the use, ownership, and confidentiality of that work.
Section 01
All materials, deliverables, concepts, strategies, designs, brand packages, logos, color palettes, typography systems, sample websites, sales protocols, pitch decks, revenue strategies, organizational recommendations, and any other work product (collectively, "Work Product") created, developed, or shared by Common Ground Ventures, its principals, affiliates, employees, contractors, or subcontractors during any pre-engagement, exploratory, or advisory interaction shall remain the exclusive intellectual property of Common Ground Ventures and its respective affiliated entities.
The Client acknowledges that Work Product may be generated by one or more affiliated entities operating under or alongside Common Ground Ventures. Intellectual property rights are retained by the originating entity and are not transferred through presentation, delivery, or discussion.
Section 02
The Client may not use, reproduce, distribute, implement, share with third parties, or derive commercial benefit from any Work Product without the express written consent of Common Ground Ventures.
Written consent may be granted through:
Absent such consent, all Work Product shared during the pre-engagement process is provided for evaluation purposes only and may not be acted upon, implemented, or repurposed in any form.
Section 03
Common Ground Ventures and its affiliated entities reserve the right to use any Work Product created during the pre-engagement or engagement process for marketing, portfolio, case study, and promotional purposes. This includes, but is not limited to, the display of deliverables on company websites, in pitch decks, on social media, and in client-facing materials.
Common Ground Ventures further reserves the right to reference the advisory or consulting relationship with the Client's company in marketing and business development materials, without disclosing confidential business information as defined in Section 04.
Section 04
Both parties acknowledge that proprietary and confidential information may be exchanged during the pre-engagement process. Each party agrees to maintain the confidentiality of the other party's proprietary business information and to not disclose such information to third parties without prior written consent.
Confidential information includes, but is not limited to:
This obligation of confidentiality shall survive the termination of any pre-engagement discussions and shall remain in effect for a period of two (2) years from the date of the last exchange of confidential information.
Section 05
The Client acknowledges that this consent governs pre-contractual exploratory work and advisory interactions. It does not constitute a formal engagement, retainer, or service agreement. No obligation to deliver, continue, or complete any Work Product is created by this consent.
A formal service agreement, statement of work, or equivalent document will govern any paid engagement and will supersede these terms only to the extent explicitly stated in such agreement.
Section 06
These terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Arizona. Any disputes arising from or related to these terms shall be resolved through good-faith negotiation between the parties. If negotiation fails, disputes shall be submitted to binding arbitration in Maricopa County, Arizona.