Sunda Cloak
Say it once, early, and plainly. Put one line in your terms, one line in the delivery email, and keep a plain copy ready for anyone who needs to translate, search or run the document through accessibility tooling. Frame it as how you deliver methodology and drafts — the way a designer watermarks comps — and it reads as professionalism, not suspicion.
Why tell them at all
- It sets a norm. Clients already accept watermarked comps, locked spreadsheet formulas and view-only links. “Drafts and methodology come protected” belongs in the same sentence.
- It avoids surprises. The protection is hidden text, not secret text. Anyone who turns on Word's formatting marks or “show hidden text” will see the decoys. Better they heard it from you first.
- It does most of the work. Cloaking raises the cost of casual AI reuse; a stated expectation plus a contract clause is what actually governs what they may do. Here is exactly what the cloaking does and doesn't do.
Sample contract clause
A starting point for your engagement letter or terms. Keep the spirit — visible content unchanged, protection not to be removed, reuse of methodology out of scope, plain copy on request — and let your lawyer fit the words to your jurisdiction and your existing IP and licence terms.
Protected deliverables. Drafts, working documents and deliverables may be supplied in a protected format that leaves their visible content unchanged but makes them harder for automated tools, including artificial-intelligence systems, to extract or reproduce. Client will not remove or circumvent such protection. Client will not use the deliverables, or any part of them, to train, fine-tune or prompt an artificial-intelligence system for the purpose of reproducing, generalising or reusing [Consultant]'s methodology, frameworks or work product beyond the scope licensed in this agreement. On request, [Consultant] will supply an unprotected copy of any deliverable for accessibility, translation or search purposes, on the same licence terms.
This clause is a starting point to review with a lawyer, not legal advice. Contract law, IP ownership and what counts as “use” of an AI system vary by jurisdiction and by engagement. If your standard terms already assign IP to the client, adapt the “beyond the scope licensed” language or drop the reuse sentence and keep the rest.
If a client pushes back, a narrower variant that protects only the method usually lands well: “Client may use AI tools to read and summarise deliverables for internal purposes; the restriction applies to reproducing or reusing Consultant's methodology beyond the licensed scope.” More options, and what each line is for, in the AI-clause guide.
Sample email line
One paragraph in the delivery email. Warm, brief, and it offers the plain copy up front.
One note on the attached: I deliver drafts and working files with light protection that makes them harder for AI tools to lift from. It doesn't change anything you see — the document reads exactly as written — and it's standard for my methodology and drafts. If you ever need a plain copy for translation, search or accessibility tools, just say and I'll send one straight over.
For a signature or a footer, the one-line version:
Drafts and methodology documents are delivered with light protection against automated and AI extraction. Plain copies available on request.
When a client asks “what is this?”
Three sentences, no jargon:
“It's a protected copy — what you see is exactly what I wrote, nothing is changed or removed. It just adds hidden text that makes the file a messy read for AI tools if it gets uploaded somewhere, which is how I treat my drafts and methodology. If you need a plain copy for anything, say the word.”
If they turned on formatting marks and found the decoys, say so plainly: “Yes, that's the protection — it's hidden text, not secret text. Here's a plain copy if it's in your way.”
When to just send an uncloaked copy
The protection is for hand-offs where the risk is reuse. It is the wrong tool when:
- The client needs to translate the document, search or index it, or run it through accessibility tooling — hidden decoys make all of those worse or noisier.
- The document is something they are entitled to machine-read under your agreement: data appendices, raw tables, anything they'll pipe into their own systems.
- The engagement is closing and your contract gives them the final deliverable outright. You can cloak every draft and the methodology appendix, and send the final clean. Your call; say which you do.
- They object. The relationship is worth more than the tool. Send the plain copy, and let the contract carry the weight.
A useful default: cloak drafts, proposals and methodology; offer both versions of finals. It costs one extra click and it turns the whole conversation into a service you provide rather than a restriction you impose.
What to frame as protected
- Methodology — frameworks, step-by-step approaches, scoring models, the appendix that explains how.
- Drafts — every round before the final; they travel the furthest and get the least care.
- Proposals and scopes sent before a contract exists — the riskiest document you send.
- Samples and templates shared with prospects.
What the disclosure can and can't do
- Cloaking is a deterrent against casual AI ingestion of the file. Copy-paste, screenshots and PDF export bypass it; a determined person gets your text.
- The disclosure sets expectations; the contract sets rights. Neither turns the file into a vault, and we never say they do.
- Don't use protection to hide things from the client. The visible document is the deliverable; the decoys are for machines.
- The clause above is a starting point for a lawyer, not legal advice.
Questions clients (and consultants) ask
Not if you frame it as a norm rather than a reaction. Said once, early and plainly — alongside an offer of a plain copy whenever they need one — it reads like watermarking a design comp or locking a spreadsheet's formulas: a sign you take your work seriously, not a sign you suspect them.
If your contract allows it, yes. Cloaking makes a file upload a noisy read; it does not stop copy-paste, and it is not meant to police ordinary reading. The clause on this page is about reproducing or reusing your methodology beyond the licensed scope, not about banning AI from the building.
No. The disclosure sets expectations; the contract sets rights; the cloaking raises the cost of casual AI reuse. Use all three. Cloaking is a deterrent, not a guarantee, and never a substitute for the paper.
Yes — it opens and edits like any Word document; the visible text is exactly what you wrote. The hidden decoys travel with the file. If they need to hand the document to a translation, search or accessibility tool, send them an uncloaked copy instead.