The agreement assigns all intellectual property rights in feedback submitted by customers or Authorized Users, including ideas, concepts, and technical know-how, to Cognition without compensation or attribution. All feedback is treated as Cognition's confidential information.
This analysis describes what Windsurf's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
This provision establishes an assignment of intellectual property rights in all customer-submitted feedback, including suggestions, feature requests, and bug reports, to Cognition. The assignment is irrevocable and includes all downstream employees, contractors, and agents of the customer, and no compensation or attribution is required.
The updated terms indicate that Windsurf is now operating as the Cognition Platform under Cognition AI, Inc., replacing the prior Exafunction, Inc. structure. The revised terms state that prior terms continue to govern use for 30 days from the posting date (July 1, 2026), and that continued access after that period constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. Users who do not agree with the new terms are instructed to stop using or accessing the Services. The specific substantive changes to user rights, data collection, fees, or service functionality are not detailed in the provided change summary.
View change record →Under this clause, any feedback, suggestions, or improvement ideas submitted to Cognition through any channel are assigned to Cognition as intellectual property, and the customer retains no rights to compensation or attribution for such contributions. The clause also designates all submitted feedback as Cognition's confidential information.
Cross-platform context
See how other platforms handle Feedback Assignment Without Compensation and similar clauses.
Compare across platforms →"You hereby assign to Cognition, on behalf of itself and its employees, contractors and agents, all right, title, and interest in, and Cognition is free to use, without any attribution or compensation to any party, any ideas, know-how, concepts, techniques, or other intellectual property rights contained in the Feedback, for any purpose whatsoever. For the avoidance of doubt, Cognition is not required to use any Feedback. All such Feedback is deemed to be Cognition's Confidential Information.Excerpt from Windsurf's Terms of Service
(1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: Blanket IP assignment clauses for user-submitted feedback are common in software agreements and are generally enforceable under U.S.
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This provision establishes an assignment of intellectual property rights in all customer-submitted feedback, including suggestions, feature requests, and bug reports, to Cognition. The assignment is irrevocable and includes all downstream employees, contractors, and agents of the customer, and no compensation or attribution is required.
Under this clause, any feedback, suggestions, or improvement ideas submitted to Cognition through any channel are assigned to Cognition as intellectual property, and the customer retains no rights to compensation or attribution for such contributions. The clause also designates all submitted feedback as Cognition's confidential information.
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