Ghost Protocol · Legal / COTA Brief

Updated 2026-07-23 · Confidential · Not legal advice
Ready to listen

Executive summary

You can pursue COTA on non-compete timing. The commercial package is drafted at v1.5.1 (local + Drive DOCX). Legal ops tooling is built. Your remaining work is practical: bind business insurance + COI, then a short counsel pass. Do not send the full MSA to COTA until those are ready.

Non-compete: GREEN MSA draft: v1.5.1 Insurance / COI: open Counsel: open Do not send to COTA yet

Best way to get up to speed (fast path)

90-minute plan: (1) listen to this page summary, (2) open STATUS + Drive folder, (3) email one insurance broker + one counsel, (4) keep talking to Jason on term-sheet story only — not full MSA dump.
  1. 10 min — Listen to the Executive summary on this page (button above).
  2. 15 min — Read STATUS on disk: ~/gp-legal/STATUS.md
  3. 15 min — Open Drive package (folder link below). Skim Term Sheet first, then MSA cover table only.
  4. 20 min — Insurance: email broker (template below). Goal = bind GL + E&O, then COI PDF.
  5. 15 min — Counsel: email lawyer with intake packet; ask for 2–6 hour “OK to negotiate” memo.
  6. 15 min — Rehearse fair-exit line for Jason: Acceptance → make-good → no hostage data.

What to open first (priority order)

  1. This page (exec + open items)
  2. ~/gp-legal/STATUS.md
  3. Drive COTA folder
  4. ~/gp-legal/handoffs/2026-07-22-cota-counsel-intake.md
  5. ~/gp-legal/references/vendor-kit-checklist.md
  6. Full MSA only when you have 30 quiet minutes: local COTA_Master_Agreement_POC_SOW.md v1.5.1

Where we are

TrackStatusNotes
Safety Vision non-competeDone / GREENLimitation ended ~Nov 1, 2025
Residual dutiesOngoingNo SV secrets; non-disparagement; don’t publish separation terms
COTA MSA packagev1.5.1 draftLocal MD + DOCX; Drive DOCX uploaded
Soft AI SLA (POC)AppliedCommercially reasonable 24×7; no auto credits on SOW-01
Entity address / titleFilled14327 Acorn Ridge Way, Cypress TX 77429; Managing Member
Business insurance + COIHITL openBind GL + E&O; request COI
Ohio / public counselHITL open2–6 hr review; intake ready
HTML Pages old siteRemovedgp-cota-msa deleted
Send full MSA to COTABlockedUntil you open the gate

What we accomplished

Your three open items — what to get & how to answer

1) Business insurance

Get: Policy for Ghost Protocol LLC — at minimum General Liability + Professional Liability (E&O). Ask broker about cyber, commercial auto, workers’ comp if employees.

How to answer broker:

Watch for: policy in personal name only; homeowners only; E&O missing for software; expired dates.

2) COI (Certificate of Insurance)

Get: One-page PDF after policy is bound. Save to ~/gp-legal/vendor-kit/COI/.

How to request: “Issue COI for Ghost Protocol LLC; include GL + E&O; later reissue with COTA as certificate holder if they require.”

Check: Insured = LLC name; current dates; limits match form answers (copy from COI — never invent).

3) Counsel (short review)

Get: 2–6 hour “OK to negotiate” memo — not a full rewrite.

Send them: MSA v1.5.1, risk memo, counsel intake under ~/gp-legal/handoffs/, Drive folder.

Ask focus: Ohio public entity; AI support language; indemnity/liability; insurance clause; Path E if they force COTA paper.

How to answer counsel: Not sent to COTA yet; high-trust relationship; fixed $24,900 POC; soft AI plane on SOW-01; Managing Member signs.

Commercial / legal posture (trust-preserving)

Fair-exit line for Jason: “Clear Acceptance → make-good sprint if needed → clean exit with no hostage data.”

Copy-paste templates

Broker email

Subject: Quote – Ghost Protocol LLC business insurance (tech + light on-site) Hi, I need work-related business insurance for Ghost Protocol LLC (Texas). Business: edge AI / video analytics software, VMS integration, occasional on-site install for transit/commercial customers (possible Ohio facility access). Please quote: 1) Commercial General Liability 2) Professional Liability / E&O (software & integration) 3) Guidance on cyber, commercial auto, workers’ comp if employees Also: common COI limits for public-agency vendor onboarding? Thanks, Dean Barrett — Managing Member d.barrett@ghostprotocol.us 14327 Acorn Ridge Way, Cypress, TX 77429

Counsel email

Subject: Limited review – GP LLC / COTA POC MSA (Ohio public agency) Hi, I'm Dean Barrett, Managing Member of Ghost Protocol LLC. Fixed-price POC (~$24,900) with Central Ohio Transit Authority. Draft not sent to COTA. Request: 2–6 hours, short “OK to negotiate” memo focusing on Ohio public-entity issues, AI support language, indemnity/liability, insurance clause, Path E if they force COTA paper. Docs: GP-COTA-MSA-SOW-2026-v1.5.1 + intake/risk memo (Drive / attach). Thanks, Dean — d.barrett@ghostprotocol.us

Full narrative (for listening / deep read)

Ghost Protocol legal and COTA commercial work is in a strong draft state. The Safety Vision non-compete and customer non-solicit ran for two years after November 1, 2023 and ended around November 1, 2025. You can pursue COTA on timing. Lifetime residual duties remain: do not use Safety Vision confidential information, do not disparage them, and do not publish separation agreement terms.

The COTA package is a Master Services Agreement plus SOW-01 Secure Entry at a binding fixed price of twenty-four thousand nine hundred dollars for a roughly thirty to forty-five day proof of concept. Support includes an AI agent plane with human tiers L0 through L3 included; L4 and L5 are optional. Version 1.5.1 softens AI plane metrics for the POC to commercially reasonable efforts without automatic service credits, which protects trust and avoids overpromising.

Ghost Protocol notice address from Texas formation documents is 14327 Acorn Ridge Way, Cypress, Texas 77429. Signatory title is Managing Member. Insurance language requires commercially reasonable general liability and professional liability with a certificate of insurance on request; dollar limits come from the real COI or COTA’s vendor schedule.

Legal ops live under the home directory gp-legal with agent skills for covenant review, opportunity gate, hygiene, contract draft and review, pre-send, and counsel brief. Google Drive holds the package folder; HTML public pages for the old MSA site were deleted.

Your remaining work: bind business insurance, obtain a COI, book a short Ohio or public contracts counsel review using the written intake. Until then, do not email the full MSA to COTA. You may still discuss partnership narrative and fair exit: clear Acceptance, make-good remediation, no hostage data.

Fastest path to be effective: listen to this summary, open STATUS.md, skim the term sheet on Drive, email broker and counsel the same day, keep Jason conversations on trust and scope while vendor kit completes.