Last updated: 1 November 2026
Bernivex is an artificial intelligence platform operated by Thistlegorm Forensic (“Thistlegorm”, “we”, “us” or “our”).
These Terms of Use and Privacy Policy govern your access to and use of Bernivex, including its website, AI services, document-upload features and quotation-request facilities.
By accessing or using Bernivex, you acknowledge that you have read and understood these Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
PART A — TERMS OF USE
1. About Bernivex
Bernivex is a specialist artificial intelligence platform designed to assist users in exploring forensic questions, understanding technical information, reviewing documents and preparing better questions.
Bernivex may assist users with activities including:
Bernivex may also enable users to request professional services from Thistlegorm Forensic.
2. AI Assistance Is Not a Professional Expert Opinion
Responses generated by Bernivex are produced using artificial intelligence. They do not constitute an expert report, expert opinion, forensic conclusion or professional opinion issued by Thistlegorm Forensic or any individual forensic consultant employed or engaged by Thistlegorm Forensic.
Use of Bernivex does not create a forensic consulting, expert witness, legal or other professional engagement between you and Thistlegorm Forensic.
A professional engagement with Thistlegorm Forensic will only arise when the relevant Thistlegorm Forensic entity formally accepts an instruction or assignment.
3. Accuracy and Limitations of AI
Artificial intelligence can make mistakes. Bernivex may produce information that is incomplete, inaccurate, outdated, misleading or based on an incorrect interpretation of information supplied by the user.
You should not assume that any response generated by Bernivex is factually or technically correct merely because it appears detailed or authoritative.
Important information should be independently checked and, where appropriate, reviewed by a suitably qualified professional.
4. No Substitute for Professional Investigation
Bernivex is intended to assist with the understanding and exploration of information. It is not a substitute for professional services that may require:
Where the circumstances require professional investigation or opinion, users should engage a suitably qualified professional.
5. Legal Proceedings and Expert Evidence
Bernivex may assist users in reviewing material, organising issues and preparing questions relating to litigation, arbitration or other proceedings.
However, information generated by Bernivex should not be treated as expert evidence or relied upon as a formal forensic conclusion.
Any material intended to be relied upon in legal proceedings should be independently reviewed by the appropriate lawyer, forensic expert or other qualified professional.
6. Your Responsibilities
You are responsible for:
You must not upload information that you are prohibited from disclosing.
7. Confidential, Privileged and Sensitive Information
You should exercise appropriate care before submitting confidential, legally privileged, commercially sensitive or personal information to an artificial intelligence service.
If you are a lawyer, expert, insurer, investigator or other professional, you remain responsible for complying with your own professional and confidentiality obligations when using Bernivex.
Bernivex does not determine whether information is legally privileged, confidential or suitable for disclosure.
8. Acceptable Use
You may use Bernivex only for lawful purposes.
You must not use Bernivex:
We may restrict, suspend or terminate access where we reasonably believe the service is being misused.
9. User Accounts
Certain Bernivex services may require an account.
You are responsible for maintaining the security of your login credentials and for activity undertaken through your account.
You should notify us if you believe your account has been accessed without authorisation.
We may introduce additional account-security measures where appropriate.
10. Uploading Documents
Bernivex may allow users to upload documents and other information for AI-assisted review.
You retain responsibility for the material you upload.
By uploading material, you confirm that you have the necessary rights, permission or lawful basis to provide that material for processing through Bernivex.
The ability of Bernivex to interpret a document does not mean that its analysis is complete or correct.
11. Requesting a Quotation
Bernivex may provide a facility to request a quotation from Thistlegorm Forensic.
Where you choose to submit a quotation request, information and documents specifically submitted or selected for that enquiry may be provided to the relevant Thistlegorm Forensic personnel for review.
Submitting a quotation request does not oblige Thistlegorm Forensic to accept an assignment.
A professional engagement will only commence after the scope, terms and applicable fees have been agreed and the assignment has been formally accepted.
12. Plans, Usage Limits and Payments
Bernivex may provide free and paid access plans.
Different plans may include limits relating to:
Plan features, pricing and usage limits may change from time to time.
Where a paid subscription is offered, applicable charges and billing terms will be displayed before purchase.
Professional forensic services provided by Thistlegorm Forensic are separate from Bernivex subscription charges and will be quoted separately.
13. Intellectual Property
Bernivex, its branding, website, software, design and associated materials are owned by or licensed to Thistlegorm Forensic, except where otherwise stated.
Nothing in these Terms transfers ownership of our intellectual property to you.
You retain any rights you hold in documents and information you upload to Bernivex.
14. Third-Party Technology
Bernivex uses third-party technology and service providers to provide certain platform functions, including artificial intelligence and technology infrastructure.
Your use of Bernivex may therefore involve processing by third-party service providers acting in connection with the operation of the platform.
We select and configure service providers according to the operational requirements of Bernivex, but we do not control every aspect of third-party systems.
15. Availability of the Service
We aim to keep Bernivex available and functioning reliably, but continuous or uninterrupted availability cannot be guaranteed.
We may modify, suspend, update or discontinue parts of the service where reasonably necessary for maintenance, security, technical, operational or commercial reasons.
16. Limitation of Liability
To the extent permitted by applicable law, Thistlegorm Forensic will not be responsible for loss arising solely from reliance on AI-generated information without appropriate independent verification.
Users remain responsible for decisions made on the basis of information generated through Bernivex.
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where such exclusion or limitation is prohibited by law.
17. Suspension and Termination
We may suspend or terminate access to Bernivex where:
18. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time.
The most recent version will be published on the Bernivex website together with the date of the latest update.
Continued use of Bernivex following an update will be subject to the revised Terms.
19. Governing Law
These Terms will be governed by the laws applicable to the Thistlegorm Forensic entity operating Bernivex or providing the relevant service, unless otherwise stated in an applicable agreement. Specific professional assignments may be subject to separate engagement terms and governing-law provisions.
PART B — PRIVACY POLICY
20. Our Approach to Privacy
We are committed to protecting our users and their data.
Bernivex is designed with security, privacy and responsible data handling in mind.
This Privacy Policy explains how information may be collected, used and processed when you use Bernivex.
21. Information We May Collect
Depending on how you use Bernivex, we may collect or process information including:
Account Information
Such as:
Information You Provide
Such as:
Technical Information
Certain technical information may be generated when you use the service, including information required for security, operation, troubleshooting and performance monitoring.
Subscription and Transaction Information
Where paid services are offered, information associated with subscriptions and transactions may be processed.
Payment information may be handled by an external payment provider rather than being directly stored by Bernivex.
22. How We Use Information
Information may be used to:
23. AI Processing
Bernivex uses third-party artificial intelligence technology to process user requests and generate responses.
Accordingly, information submitted through Bernivex may be transmitted to and processed by the technology providers used to operate the AI service.
We will describe material third-party processing arrangements where required by applicable law and will configure such services in accordance with the operational and privacy requirements adopted for Bernivex.
24. Documents and Conversations
Documents and information uploaded to Bernivex may be processed for the purpose of responding to your request.
You should only upload material that you are authorised to provide.
The way conversations and uploaded files are retained may depend on the relevant service, account configuration and technical requirements of the platform.
Where information is submitted as part of a quotation request, a copy may be retained with that enquiry for the purpose of reviewing and administering the request.
25. Quotation Requests
Information submitted through a Request a Quotation facility may be made available to appropriate Thistlegorm Forensic personnel for the purpose of:
Submission of a quotation request is separate from ordinary AI interaction with Bernivex.
26. Sharing of Information
We may share information where reasonably necessary with:
We do not disclose user information unnecessarily.
27. Data Security
We use reasonable technical and organisational measures intended to protect information processed through Bernivex.
However, no internet-based platform or electronic storage system can guarantee absolute security.
Users should take appropriate precautions when deciding what information to submit through the platform.
28. Data Retention
Information will be retained only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, subject to operational, contractual, professional and legal requirements.
Different categories of information may be subject to different retention periods.
Information associated with a professional Thistlegorm Forensic assignment may be subject to separate professional record-retention requirements.
29. International Processing
Some technology providers supporting Bernivex may process information in countries other than the country in which the user is located.
Where required, appropriate measures will be used in relation to international processing or transfers of personal information.
30. Your Rights
Depending on the laws applicable to you, you may have rights relating to your personal information, which may include rights to:
These rights may be subject to legal exceptions or record-retention obligations.
31. Cookies and Similar Technologies
Bernivex and its website may use cookies or similar technologies where required for functionality, security, authentication, preferences or service operation.
Where legally required, users will be provided with appropriate choices regarding non-essential cookies.
32. Children's Privacy
Bernivex is not intended to be used independently by children unless such use is expressly permitted and appropriately supervised.
We do not knowingly seek to collect personal information from children in circumstances where doing so would be unlawful.
33. Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy as Bernivex develops or where legal, technical or operational requirements change.
The current version and its effective date will be published on the Bernivex website.
Contact Us
For questions regarding these Terms of Use, privacy, your account or the handling of your information, please contact support@thistlegormforensic.com
Important Notice
Bernivex provides AI-assisted information and does not itself provide a formal expert opinion. Where professional forensic investigation, assessment or expert evidence is required, an appropriate professional engagement with Thistlegorm Forensic must be established separately.