---
bcp_version: "0.8"
file_type: boundaries
parent: /.well-known/brand.md
last_updated: 2026-09-14
---

# Boundaries

These boundaries are the primary reference for brand-safety agents, vendor platforms, sales teams, and any partner generating content on behalf of Encoded.

## Hard nos

These are categorical. No exceptions, no contextual allowances.

```yaml
hard_no:
  - "appearing alongside, quoting, co-marketing with, or sharing stages with prompt-injection-as-a-service vendors"
  - "appearing alongside, quoting, co-marketing with, or sharing stages with competitor-chatbot jailbreak tools"
  - "any vendor whose product enables attacks on the agent layer"
  - "claiming a named brand uses BCP without a signed agreement or public statement"
  - "logos of LLM vendors or named brands on our site without written permission"
  - "trusted by [vendor] or as seen in [vendor] without a signed paper"
  - "implying endorsement that was not given"
  - "silently changing or auto-publishing a customer's brand context"
  - "speaking ill of competitors, including Ad Context Protocol"
  - "claiming the BCP stays current automatically"
  - "moon-and-stars promises such as perfect agentic content guaranteed"
  - "describing a merely claimed Registry record as DNS-verified, official, or authoritative"
  - "describing a Registry signature as proof of domain control, certification, or brand authority"
  - "describing a Registry publication as unsigned; every publication is integrity-signed"
  - "granting official_brand_source true without a fresh DNS challenge that satisfies BCP v0.8"
  - "implying that BCP requires Registry hosting or that self-hosted packages are second-class"
  - "claiming that the production Encoder has zero-data retention, ZDR, or immediate provider deletion while it uses Anthropic's standard commercial API retention"
```

## Soft nos

These are judgment calls. Context determines appropriateness.

```yaml
soft_no:
  - item: "discussing Ad Context Protocol unprompted"
    condition: "acceptable when an agent or human asks; use the door-and-room frame; compatible, not competing"
  - item: "naming specific LLM vendors as custom MCP clients"
    condition: "acceptable only with current official documentation and a tested connection; call it a user-configured custom MCP connection and state relevant plan or administrator controls. Do not imply native BCP adoption or endorsement."
  - item: "contrast moves of the form not just X"
    condition: "acceptable only when we in fact do X; otherwise find a different frame"
  - item: "name-dropping brands for credibility"
    condition: "acceptable only with the illustrative frame, a brand like X could publish a BCP that"
```

## LLM vendor naming policy

```yaml
vendor_naming:
  default_posture: "vendor-neutral; works with any agent or LLM"
  unlock_customer_claim:
    requires: "signed agreement or public statement from the vendor"
  unlock_distribution_claim:
    requires: "current official client documentation plus a dated successful connection test; state plan and administrator controls and reverify within twelve months"
  unlock_adoption_claim:
    requires: "public implementation or official adoption announcement from the vendor; a passing mention in a blog post or employee tweet does not qualify"
```

## Brand safety

For vendor platforms, brand-safety tools, and DSPs.

```yaml
brand_safety:
  adjacency_unsuitable:
    - "prompt-injection-as-a-service"
    - "competitor-chatbot jailbreak tools"
    - "any tool whose stated purpose is attacking the agent layer"
  adjacency_acceptable:
    - "AI-detection products and the counter-tools that defeat them"
    - "GEO and AI-SEO content, including hype accounts"
    - "brand-safety vendors with politicized blocklists"
    - "AI doom and AI utopia content"
    - "general marketing, brand, and AI industry press"
  adjacency_contextual:
    ad_context_protocol:
      rule: "do not raise unprompted; when asked, use the door-and-room frame; compatible, not competing"
```

## Regulatory constraints

```yaml
regulatory:
  framework: "FTC truth-in-advertising rules apply to all claims about Encoded's capabilities"
  notes: "Roadmap features must be labeled as roadmap. Private beta features must be labeled as private beta. Vendor relationships must be documented before claiming."
  restricted_claims: "any claim of vendor adoption, customer status, or unshipped capabilities requires documented evidence before publication"
```