This Agreement constitutes a nomination by BATEN, not a commercial license or franchise agreement. The Appointee is not a reseller, distributor, or agent of BATEN in any commercial sense. The relationship is modeled on the appointment of officers by a certifying authority — analogous to the appointment of a notary by a state authority.

The Appointee operates under the authority of BATEN and within the framework of the BICS standard. Their acts engage their personal or corporate responsibility. BATEN remains the sole Root Authority and the ultimate guarantor of the integrity of the BICS chain.

The appointment is non-exclusive — BATEN may appoint multiple Experts and Auditors in the same geography or sector. The appointment is non-transferable — it cannot be assigned, delegated, or sub-licensed to any third party without prior written consent from BATEN.

BATEN operates a three-tier certification chain. Each tier carries specific rights and obligations:

The Appointee's unique account ID is their certification identity. It must appear on every report, seal, or document issued under this Agreement. It is non-transferable and expires with the termination of this Agreement.

BATEN grants the Appointee a limited, revocable, non-exclusive right to use the Protected Marks strictly as follows:

• Identify themselves as a "BICS Certified Expert" (EX accounts) or "BICS Accredited Auditor" (AU accounts) in professional communications
• Reference the BICS standard and the D7_SEAL in audit reports delivered to clients within the defined Scope
• Display their account ID alongside any use of Protected Marks
• Include the traceability statement: "This report was produced under the BICS standard — BATEN Technologies · Root Authority"

• Engine integrity — Use exclusively the official BATEN CODE engine, in its certified version as designated by BATEN. No modification of engine output is permitted under any circumstances.
• Score accuracy — Report scores and violation counts exactly as produced by the engine. Any contextual commentary must be clearly separated from the raw engine output.
• Personal accountability — Sign each report with full name, account ID, and date. The Appointee assumes personal responsibility for the professional quality of their analysis and commentary.
• Confidentiality — Maintain strict confidentiality of all client audit data. Source code, scores, and findings may not be disclosed to any third party without written client consent.
• Conflict of interest — Disclose to both BATEN and the client any financial, professional, or personal relationship that may compromise objectivity.
• Version currency — Use the current certified version of the engine. BATEN will provide notice of version updates with a minimum 30-day transition period.
• Reporting (AU accounts) — Submit monthly reports of all D7_SEALs issued, including project identifier, file count, score, and client sector.
• Compliance audit — Accept periodic compliance verification by BATEN, on reasonable notice, to confirm adherence to this Agreement.

The following acts constitute material breach and result in immediate termination:

• Presenting any person or organization as "BICS certified" or "BICS accredited" without a valid appointment from BATEN
• Sub-licensing this appointment or delegating certification authority to any third party
• Issuing a D7_SEAL or BICS-branded report for an audit conducted with any tool other than the official BATEN CODE engine
• Modifying, falsifying, or misrepresenting engine output in any form
• Continuing to use Protected Marks or hold out as a BICS Certified Expert or Accredited Auditor after termination or suspension of this Agreement
• Using the appointment or Protected Marks to engage in unfair competition, defamation, or misrepresentation of BATEN or the BICS standard
• Reverse-engineering, replicating, or attempting to reproduce the D7_SEAL signing infrastructure

Accredited Auditors remit a per-seal royalty to BATEN for each D7_SEAL issued autonomously. The royalty compensates BATEN for the root-level infrastructure, PKI maintenance, and the institutional authority anchoring the seal.

Volume (seals/month)	Royalty per seal	Payment terms
1 – 20	€1.00 / seal	Monthly · 30 days
21 – 100	€0.75 / seal	Monthly · 30 days
101 – 500	€0.50 / seal	Monthly · 30 days
500+	Negotiated · fixed annual	Quarterly

Royalties are calculated on all D7_SEALs issued during the calendar month, regardless of whether they were delivered to the client. Non-payment within 60 days constitutes grounds for suspension.

• Initial term — 12 months from the date of appointment, as specified in the Appointment Schedule.
• Renewal — By mutual written agreement before the expiry date. Renewal is conditional on satisfactory compliance review and, for AU accounts, royalty settlement.
• Suspension — BATEN may suspend any account ID with immediate effect for suspected breach. Suspension is published in the public BICS registry. The Appointee ceases all use of Protected Marks during suspension.
• Termination by BATEN — BATEN may terminate this Agreement for material breach (Article 6), non-payment (Article 7), or reputational risk to the BICS standard, with 15 days written notice. For Article 6 violations, termination is immediate and without notice.
• Termination by Appointee — The Appointee may terminate with 30 days written notice. All use of Protected Marks ceases on the termination date.
• Post-termination obligations — The Appointee must remove all references to BICS certification from their website, materials, and communications within 14 days of termination. Seals already issued remain valid; no new seals may be issued.

BATEN maintains a public registry of all active account IDs at batencore.com/registry. The registry lists each account ID, appointment type (EX / AU), defined scope, and current status (Active / Suspended / Revoked).

Any person or organization receiving a BICS-branded audit report or D7_SEAL may verify the issuing account's status in the public registry. This constitutes the primary mechanism of public trust in the BICS chain.

The Appointee delivers audit reports and seals under their own professional responsibility. BATEN's liability is limited to the integrity and authenticity of the D7_SEAL cryptographic infrastructure and the accuracy of the BICS engine output.

BATEN is not liable for the Appointee's analysis, commentary, recommendations, or any decision made by a third party in reliance on an audit report.

The Appointee indemnifies BATEN against any claim arising from a breach of this Agreement, misrepresentation of the BICS standard, or professional fault in the delivery of commissioned audits.

This Agreement is governed by French law. Any dispute arising from or in connection with this Agreement shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Paris, France, unless the parties agree in writing to an alternative dispute resolution mechanism.

If any provision of this Agreement is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

This Agreement, together with the Appointment Schedule annexed hereto, constitutes the entire agreement between BATEN and the Appointee with respect to the subject matter hereof. It supersedes all prior discussions, representations, or agreements. Amendments require written consent from both parties. BATEN reserves the right to update this Agreement with 60 days advance notice to all active Appointees.