Terms of Service

Effective: April 5, 2026 · Last updated: April 5, 2026

These terms govern your use of sovereign-bench.com (the "Service"), operated by Kuykendall Industries LLC ("we," "us," "our"), Boise, Idaho. By accessing or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. The Service

Sovereign Bench is a behavioral benchmark for AI language models. The Service allows you to run benchmark evaluations, receive automated scoring from independent judge models, view and export results, and optionally submit results to a public leaderboard. The Service also provides a programmatic API for automated benchmark submission.

2. Accounts and Tiers

2.1 Account Required

An account is required to run benchmarks. You must provide a valid email address and create a password. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activity under your account.

2.2 Free Tier

Free accounts include:

• Running benchmarks via the web interface
• Viewing and downloading results
• Submitting results to the public leaderboard
• Limited API access (1 submission per hour)

Free-tier benchmark runs expire after 30 days. You must download your data before expiry to retain it. We are not responsible for data loss due to expiry.

2.3 Paid Tier (Sovereign)

Sovereign accounts unlock additional features including but not limited to: higher API rate limits, batch submissions, priority scoring, permanent run storage, private runs, custom judge panels, webhook notifications, regression alerts, and full historical data export. The specific features available are described on the account page and may change over time.

Payment is a one-time fee processed by Stripe. By purchasing, you agree to Stripe's terms of service. Pricing is displayed at the time of purchase.

2.4 Refunds

Contact us within 14 days of purchase for a full refund. After 14 days, refunds are at our sole discretion. Account deletion does not automatically trigger a refund.

3. API Access

3.1 Alpha Status

The Sovereign Bench API is currently in alpha. Endpoints, request formats, rate limits, and response schemas may change without notice. We make no guarantees of backward compatibility during the alpha period. Production systems should not depend on the API's current behavior remaining stable.

3.2 API Keys

API keys are issued per-account and grant programmatic access to the Service. You are responsible for keeping your API keys secure. Do not share API keys or embed them in client-side code. We are not liable for unauthorized access resulting from compromised API keys. You may revoke keys at any time from your account page.

3.3 Rate Limits

API access is subject to rate limits that vary by tier. Exceeding rate limits will result in HTTP 429 responses. Systematic attempts to circumvent rate limits may result in account suspension.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

• Submit fabricated, manipulated, or cherry-picked model responses
• Submit responses from a different model than the one specified
• Automate submissions in a way that overloads the Service or degrades it for others
• Attempt to access other users' data, accounts, or benchmark results
• Reverse-engineer or circumvent the scoring pipeline, rate limits, or access controls
• Use benchmark scores to make defamatory claims about AI model providers without proper context and attribution
• Scrape or bulk-download benchmark data beyond what the API and export tools provide
• Use the Service for any purpose that violates applicable law
• Submit content that is hateful, obscene, harassing, or that violates the rights of others

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms, without notice or refund in cases of egregious abuse.

5. Benchmark Scores and Accuracy

5.1 Automated Scoring

Scores are generated by open-source judge models running on independent infrastructure. Scores are automated opinions, not objective measurements. They reflect the judgment of these specific models against published rubrics at a specific point in time.

5.2 No Guarantee of Accuracy

We do not guarantee that benchmark scores are accurate, complete, fair, or representative of an AI model's overall quality or fitness for any purpose. Scores may vary between runs, may be influenced by prompt phrasing, and may not capture all relevant behavioral dimensions. Scores should be interpreted as one data point among many and should not be the sole basis for any business, purchasing, or policy decision.

5.3 Not Endorsement or Defamation

Benchmark scores do not constitute our endorsement or criticism of any AI model or provider. A low score does not mean a model is "bad" — it means the model exhibited specific behavioral patterns that the rubric penalizes. Users who publicly share scores are responsible for providing appropriate context.

5.4 Prompt and Rubric Changes

Prompts and rubrics may be updated at any time. Historical scores may not be directly comparable to scores generated under updated prompts. The prompt version used for each run is recorded and displayed.

5.5 Leaderboard

By submitting results to the public leaderboard, you consent to the public display of your model name, version, provider, scores, difficulty level, tester handle, and date. You may remove your results from the leaderboard at any time. We reserve the right to remove leaderboard entries that we determine were generated through fabrication, manipulation, or violation of these terms.

6. Intellectual Property

6.1 Our Content

The Sovereign Bench site code, design, brand, scoring pipeline, and prompt dataset are the property of Kuykendall Industries LLC. All rights reserved. The benchmark methodology, scoring architecture, and associated frameworks are original contributions by Montgomery Kuykendall.

6.2 Your Content

You retain ownership of the model responses you submit. By submitting responses, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to process, store, score, and display those responses as part of the Service (including scoring, results pages, and public leaderboard display if you opt in). This license survives account deletion for responses that have been made public on the leaderboard.

6.3 Research Use

Aggregate, anonymized data from public leaderboard submissions may be used for research purposes and published. Individual non-public responses are never shared without consent.

7. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

We do not warrant that:

• Benchmark scores are accurate, reliable, or reproducible
• The Service will be uninterrupted or error-free
• The scoring pipeline or judge models will be available at any given time
• Scores reflect the definitive quality of any AI model
• The API will maintain backward compatibility
• Data will not be lost due to system failures

8. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, KUYKENDALL INDUSTRIES LLC, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, including but not limited to: reliance on benchmark scores for business decisions, reputational harm to AI model providers, loss of data, loss of profits, or damages arising from use of the API.

Our total aggregate liability for any claim arising from the Service is limited to the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim, or $50 USD, whichever is greater.

9. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Kuykendall Industries LLC, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from: (a) your use of the Service; (b) your violation of these terms; (c) your submission of content that infringes on the rights of third parties; or (d) your public use or distribution of benchmark scores.

10. Third-Party Services

The Service integrates with:

• Supabase — database and authentication (terms)
• Stripe — payment processing (terms)
• Together AI — judge model inference (terms)
• Vercel — hosting (terms)
• Plausible Analytics — privacy-friendly analytics (privacy)

Your use of the Service is subject to the terms and privacy policies of these providers.

11. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your access at any time for violation of these terms, abuse of the Service, or any other reason at our sole discretion. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately. We will make reasonable efforts to allow data export before termination, except in cases of egregious abuse.

12. Dispute Resolution

12.1 Governing Law

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

12.2 Arbitration

Any dispute arising from these terms or the Service shall be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The arbitration shall take place in Ada County, Idaho. The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding.

12.3 Class Action Waiver

You agree that any dispute resolution will be conducted on an individual basis and not as a class action, consolidated action, or representative action. You waive any right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration against Kuykendall Industries LLC.

12.4 Small Claims Exception

Either party may bring qualifying claims in small claims court in Ada County, Idaho, as an alternative to arbitration.

13. Changes to These Terms

We may update these terms at any time. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance. For material changes, we will make reasonable efforts to notify active account holders via email.

14. Severability

If any provision of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

15. Entire Agreement

These terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Kuykendall Industries LLC regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements.

16. Contact

For questions about these terms:

Kuykendall Industries LLC
Boise, Idaho
Email: support@sovereign-bench.com
Web: kuykendall.industries