Legal

The Assurance Line helps boards, executives, and practitioners assess AI governance. The published resources provide general information, rather than advice tailored to your organization or certification of its controls. Paid editions are licensed resources. Independent assessments are separate engagements with their own agreed terms.

These terms explain how you may use the site and its resources, what a purchase includes, and the limits of the framework. They apply to site use and purchases unless a separate written agreement sets out different terms for your license or engagement.

Licensing

Daniel Johns owns the framework and publishes it under the name The Assurance Line. He is the seller and licensor of the editions and licenses described below. A license permits the uses described here; it does not transfer ownership of the material.

Free resources

You may read, print, and quote the free resources, including in board papers and internal reports, with attribution to The Assurance Line and the framework version where applicable. You may share links to the site. Republishing complete resources or selling them requires written permission.

Individual editions

The Board Edition and Professional Edition are licensed to one named user. You may use your edition in your own work and for internal governance. You may include attributed excerpts and completed assessments, checklists, and reports in board papers and internal reports. Colleagues may read those outputs, but you may not share your access or distribute the complete licensed resources to them.

A director serving on several boards may use a personal Board Edition in those director roles. Each additional person who uses the complete resources needs an individual license or coverage under an organization license.

A one-time purchase includes 12 months of online access, starting when access is provided. The license to use saved or printed copies of the version supplied at purchase continues after online access ends, subject to these terms. Future versions are included only when stated in the purchase offer.

There is no subscription or automatic renewal for an individual edition. Buying the same edition again with the same email address renews online access, adding 12 months to its current end date; you will not be charged again without your authorization.

Organization licenses

An organization license permits internal use of the Professional Edition by any number of people within the agreed organization. The written agreement identifies the covered legal entity, any included affiliates, the annual term, the fee, and renewal arrangements. A license for one entity does not automatically cover its affiliates or external clients.

New versions published during the active license term are included. Unless the written agreement provides otherwise, access and permission to use or distribute the complete licensed resources end when the term expires. Completed board papers, assessments, and reports may be retained as records. Renewal and any changed fee are agreed in writing.

Consulting and client services

Using the licensed material to provide consulting, assessments, training, or other services to external clients requires a separate written license. An individual edition or organization license does not include that permission. This does not prevent a director from using a personal Board Edition in the director roles described above.

Do not present the material as your own work or describe its use as accreditation or certification. Attribute quotations and retain copyright notices. Any additional license terms must be agreed in writing before purchase.

Independent assessments

Commissioned assessments are separate services. Their scope, deliverables, fees, confidentiality, and engagement terms are agreed in writing before work starts. Sending an inquiry does not create an engagement. Purchasing an edition does not include an independent assessment, and commissioning an assessment does not automatically include an organization license.

Payments, refunds, and consumer rights

Prices on the Pricing page are in US dollars. Organization licenses and assessments have starting prices; the agreed fee and any applicable taxes are confirmed before purchase or engagement. Individual editions are one-time purchases. Organization licenses have an annual term as described above.

Payments are handled by a payment provider on its hosted payment page. The total and any applicable taxes are shown before you pay. Once payment is confirmed, we send purchase confirmation and access instructions to the email address provided. If payment or access fails, contact us so we can check the purchase and resolve the issue.

If you have a problem with a purchase or service, contact us so we can address it. Any agreed cancellation or refund arrangements are additional to your rights under applicable consumer law. Nothing on this page excludes, restricts, or modifies consumer guarantees, remedies, or other rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Email and online access

Access is associated with your email and the edition or license purchased. Sign-in links are sent to that address and expire after a limited time. Keep your email account secure, keep sign-in links private, and do not share access outside the permissions of your license. Access cookies keep you signed in and are separate from the term of your license.

Provide an email address you can access. If it changes or you have trouble signing in, contact us. We may need to verify your purchase before changing the address associated with your access.

Our Privacy page explains how we handle email addresses, purchase records, inquiries, and assessment answers. Optional analytics consent, where required, is separate from purchasing or accepting these terms.

Published information and professional advice

The published resources do not replace legal, audit, financial, tax, security, or other professional advice. Apply them with regard to your organization, sector, jurisdiction, and circumstances, and obtain advice from a qualified professional when needed.

Reading this site, downloading a document, or sending an inquiry does not create an advisory, professional, fiduciary, or attorney-client relationship. Separate written terms govern a commissioned assessment.

Self-Assessment results reflect the answers you enter. They do not independently verify your evidence, establish compliance, or certify your controls.

Limits of the framework and site

The framework supports inquiry and assessment. It does not guarantee that AI systems are safe, that every risk will be identified, or that using the resources will satisfy a regulator or prevent a loss. You remain responsible for your governance decisions and how you apply the material.

We work to keep the published resources accurate and useful. The site may need maintenance or experience interruptions, and content may need correction. We do not promise uninterrupted availability or a particular governance outcome. Contact us about an error or access problem so we can address it.

To the extent permitted by law, the publisher and contributors are not liable for indirect or consequential loss arising from use of the published resources or site. This limitation does not exclude rights or remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded, or override commitments in a separate written assessment agreement.

Nothing in these terms removes our obligation to provide what you purchase or limits your applicable consumer rights.

Content updates

Laws, regulations, and standards change. Citations identify the sources used in a published version; check the current official text before relying on a legal or regulatory requirement.

The site’s presentation may change without notice. The framework itself is versioned: substantive changes are released as a new version, and citations identify the version relied on. A citation such as TAL 1.1 / VIS-3 keeps pointing to the words it relied on. Access to licensed versions is subject to your license and online access period.

Standards, trademarks, and independence

This is an independent publication. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, accredited by, sponsored by, or otherwise connected to any standards body, regulator, government agency, or certification scheme, and nothing here should be read as suggesting otherwise.

Where standards and legal instruments are cited, the citation identifies the source so that a reader can find it. No standard is reproduced here. Copyright in those instruments belongs to the bodies that publish them, some of them sell their texts, and you will need to obtain a copy from the publisher to read one in full. All trademarks and names referred to belong to their respective owners.

Mapping a control objective to a standard is an editorial judgment about where the subjects correspond. It is not a statement that following this framework achieves compliance with that standard, and it is not a certification of anything.

External links

Links to other sites are provided for reference. Those sites are not under the publisher’s control, and no responsibility is taken for their content, accuracy, or availability.

Publisher

Daniel Johns, publishing as The Assurance Line, is responsible for this site and the licenses described here. Notices and questions about these terms can be sent through the contact page.