Patchd License Agreement

Version 1.0

Patchd, 1404 SW Market St #706, Lee's Summit, MO 64063, United States

1. What this is

This Agreement is between you and Patchd, the trading name of Dickey Media LLC, a Missouri limited liability company ("Patchd", "we", "us", "our"). It governs your use of the pre-release version of the Patchd software (the "Software").

Please read this before you install it. Review carefully Section 3, Section 7, Section 11, and Section 12. Section 3 says what the Software installs and changes on your computer; Section 7 says what it downloads and what it sends us; Sections 11 and 12 say what happens if it goes wrong.

You must be at least 16 years old to use the Software. If you are under 18, a parent or guardian must also agree to this Agreement, and they are responsible for your use of the Software. By accepting, you confirm that this is true.

Our Terms of Service (https://patchd.studio/terms) also apply to your Patchd account, the Patchd community, and anything you buy, and our Privacy Policy (https://patchd.studio/privacy) describes what we collect and why.

2. What you may and may not do

We grant you a personal, limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-assignable license to install and use the Software on computers you own or are authorized to administer, for your personal use or internal business use. You may not sublicense, assign or transfer it.

What your plan includes is described at https://patchd.studio/pricing. You may not bypass, disable or work around any plan limit or license check, or share your account's plan with anyone else.

Please download the Software only from patchd.studio. The Software installs a kernel-mode driver, and a copy from anywhere else may not be ours.

You are free to talk about Patchd publicly. You may stream with it, record with it, review it, post screenshots and video of it, say what you think of it, and tell people what is broken.

You may not reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the Software, except where that restriction is prohibited by law. You may not remove or alter any notices in it. You may not use it for anything unlawful, and you may not use it to impersonate a real person in a way intended to deceive.

3. What the Software installs and changes on your computer

We want this to be impossible to miss, because most software does not do this and you should know before you agree.

The Software installs a kernel-mode audio driver. That is software that runs inside Windows itself rather than as an ordinary application. It is how the Software creates the virtual audio devices that make routing possible. Installing it requires administrator permission and Windows will ask you for it.

The Software creates virtual audio devices on your system. After installation you will see new playback and recording devices in Windows that were not there before.

The Software changes your Windows sound settings. To route audio it will set its own devices as your default playback and recording devices, and it changes how sound moves between your applications and your hardware.

This can interrupt audio in other programs. Your existing setup in OBS, your DAW, your games, your conferencing software and anything else that uses sound may need reconfiguring, and may behave differently while the Software is installed.

Uninstalling. You can remove the Software at any time through Windows Settings. Uninstalling removes the application and the driver and restores your Windows default audio devices. If an uninstall leaves anything behind, tell us and we will help you remove it; that is a bug and we want to know.

4. This is unfinished software

The Software is pre-release. It is not the finished product and it is not of release quality. The Software works with your hardware, your drivers and other people's software. As a result:

It will contain defects, and some of them we do not know about yet.
It may crash, produce unexpected audio, drop out, or stop working.
It may interrupt or degrade a live stream, a recording, a call or a performance.
It may lose settings or configurations you have made.
Features may change, break or be removed without notice.
We are not obliged to release the finished product at all, or to include any feature you see in the beta.

Do not rely on the Software for anything you cannot afford to have go wrong. If you are being paid to be on air, if you are recording something you cannot recreate, or if the session matters, use a setup you already trust.

5. Support

We will try to help, but we do not promise a response time and we do not promise a fix. Support for the beta is best effort.

6. Feedback

If you send us feedback, suggestions, bug reports, feature ideas, recordings demonstrating a problem, or anything similar, including in the Patchd community ("Feedback"), you give us a perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicensable and transferable right to use it for any purpose, including building it into the Software and into other products, without payment, attribution or obligation to you.

You keep ownership of what you send. This clause is about our freedom to act on it, not about taking it from you. We ask this because a beta exists to collect exactly this kind of input, and we cannot build a product while tracking who first suggested what.

Please do not send us anything confidential, anything belonging to someone else, or anything you are not free to give us on these terms.

7. Your data

The Software processes your audio on your computer. It does not record your audio or send it to us, and it contains no analytics, advertising, telemetry or crash-reporting component. It does use the internet, and this section lists every connection the Software itself makes. Like any internet connection, each one lets the server it reaches see your computer's IP address. Plugins you load into the Software, and the Windows components it runs on, are other companies' software and may make connections of their own.

The Software makes these connections automatically:

Update check. Each time you launch the Software, it asks patchd.studio whether a newer version exists. The request carries the Software's version, your operating system and your processor type, and no identifier.

Update download. When a newer version exists, the Software downloads its installer from dl.patchd.studio in the background. This is on by default, and you can turn it off in Settings. Nothing is installed until you choose to install it.

Voice models. Each time you launch the Software, unless you have removed its voices, it reads the list of voice packs from dl.patchd.studio, and it downloads any pack that is missing or out of date, without asking first. On first run that is every pack: several hundred megabytes of voice models and the program libraries that run them. These requests carry no identifier.

Your acceptance of this Agreement. When you accept this Agreement in the Software, it sends us the time you accepted, this Agreement's version and a fingerprint (a SHA-256 hash) of its text, the Software's version, and that you checked the box, using your computer's sign-in key so the record is tied to your account. If sending fails, it tries again each time you launch it until it succeeds. If you decline, nothing is sent.

Your account. While you are not signed in, the Software loads the sign-up form from patchd.studio each time you launch it. While you are signed in, it checks your plan with patchd.studio shortly after each launch, using a key stored on your computer, and each check updates our record of when that computer last checked in and from which IP address.

The Software makes these connections only when you choose:

Signing in and creating an account. When you sign in, the Software sends the email address and password you enter, and the Software's version and build channel. We keep a record of each computer you sign in from, with the version and build channel of the Software on it and its IP address, and the Software stores a key on your computer that keeps you signed in. When you create an account, the Software sends the email address, username and password you enter, whether you want marketing email from us, and that you accepted this Agreement and the Terms of Service and read the Privacy Policy. When you sign out, the Software deletes the key from your computer and asks us to revoke it. We keep the record of that computer, marked as signed out.

The Patchd community. When you open the community in the Software, it reads questions and replies from patchd.studio, including any search you type, and your own questions, using your computer's sign-in key. When you post a question or a reply, or react to one, it sends what you wrote or your reaction and your choice of whether to show your username; a question also carries its category and the Software's version. When you open a thread in your web browser, the Software asks patchd.studio for a one-time link that signs your browser in to your account. What you post is public, as described in our Terms of Service.

Updates, voices, your plan and links you open. Opening the updates page in Settings checks for a newer version, and opening your plan in Settings checks your plan. Downloading or installing an update from there or from the update notice, and downloading voices from Settings, use the same connections as the automatic ones above. Links in the Software that lead to patchd.studio or to Paddle, the merchant of record for Patchd plans, open in your web browser, which makes its own connection.

Diagnostic reports. If your account was created in the United States, the Software can send us a diagnostic report. A report is sent only when you click "Send report to Patchd" in Settings, or "Send report" on the notice the Software shows when it detects a problem with your audio. The notice only asks: nothing is sent until you click. It contains the time it was made, the Software's version and build type, your operating system and processor type, the note you write, a record of how setup went, the names of the sections of your settings file, its format version, when your mixer setup was last saved, how large that save is and when it was moved from older storage (never the setup itself), the voice packs you have installed, and the Software's log for the current run and the previous one. The log includes your audio device names and folder paths, and it can include the file location of an application the Software remembers whose program has since been deleted. You can read a report before sending it by clicking "Show me what is sent". The report is put together again when you send it, so it can include log lines written after you looked. It also names each program playing sound through Patchd's own playback devices, by its file name only, for example Discord.exe.

Your audio device names are kept, because a device name is very often the entire answer to an audio problem and a report without them is usually useless to us. Note that a device you have personalized may contain your own name.

Your Windows account name and your computer name are removed before the report leaves your machine, wherever they appear as a word, if they are at least three characters long, and so is the location of your Windows user folder. Nothing else is removed, so anything personal in a device name, another folder name or your note stays in the report.

Diagnostic reports are deleted automatically 90 days after we receive them. You can ask us to delete one sooner using the reference code the Software gives you.

Full detail, including what the Software reads about the applications running on your computer, is in our Privacy Policy at https://patchd.studio/privacy, which forms part of this Agreement. The Software never sends us the list of applications running on your computer.

8. How long this lasts

This Agreement starts when you accept it and continues until either of us terminates it.

You may stop at any time by uninstalling. We may end your use of the Software at any time and for any reason, including with no reason. If we do, you must stop using the Software and uninstall it immediately. If we end it for any reason other than your breach of this Agreement or the Terms of Service while you have a paid plan, we will refund, through Paddle, the unused part of a subscription, or the price of a lifetime plan.

9. Who owns Patchd

We do. This Agreement gives you permission to use the Software and nothing else. All intellectual property in the Software stays ours, and nothing here transfers ownership of it to you.

10. Paid plans

Studio and any other paid plan, when on sale, are sold by Paddle (Paddle.com Market Ltd.), our reseller and merchant of record, under Paddle's buyer terms. Prices, renewal, cancellation and refunds are in our Terms of Service and our Refund Policy (https://patchd.studio/refund). A subscription renews automatically until you cancel it. A lifetime plan lasts for the lifetime of the Patchd product, not of any one version.

11. NO WARRANTY

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, PATCHD DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL WORK, WILL WORK WITH YOUR HARDWARE OR OTHER SOFTWARE, WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE, WILL NOT LOSE DATA, OR THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, so some of the above may not apply to you. Where an implied warranty cannot be disclaimed, it is limited to the shortest period allowed by law.

12. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, PATCHD WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, GOODWILL, DATA, RECORDINGS, CONTENT, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, SPONSORSHIP OR AUDIENCE, OR FOR ANY INTERRUPTION OF A STREAM, BROADCAST, RECORDING SESSION, PERFORMANCE OR CALL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SOFTWARE, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SOFTWARE WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID FOR IT, INCLUDING THROUGH PADDLE.

IF A COURT HOLDS THAT LIMIT UNENFORCEABLE, OUR LIABILITY IS INSTEAD LIMITED TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, AND THE REST OF THIS SECTION REMAINS IN FORCE.

Nothing in this Agreement excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so parts of this section may not apply to you.

Further, you are responsible for and agree to indemnify and hold Patchd harmless for any and all losses, liability, or damages arising out of, or incurred in connection with, your use of the Software pursuant to this Agreement.

13. Your responsibility to us

You shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Patchd and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents, and representatives (collectively the "Patchd Indemnitees", and each a "Patchd Indemnitee"), from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, suits, proceedings, damages, losses, liabilities, judgments, settlements, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorney's fees) arising out of or relating to (a) your breach of this Agreement; (b) your use of the Software in violation of this Agreement; or (c) any misuse of, unauthorized access to, or unauthorized use of the Software by you or through your computer, account or credentials. Your obligations under this section shall apply regardless of whether such claims are based in whole or in part on the negligence of a Patchd Indemnitee, except to the extent determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to have resulted from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of such Patchd Indemnitee.

14. Governing law and disputes

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Missouri, United States, without regard to its conflict of laws rules. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply.

You and we agree to try to resolve any dispute informally first by contacting each other. If that fails, any dispute will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Jackson County, Missouri, and you and we each consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

Nothing in this section prevents either of us from seeking injunctive relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to protect intellectual property rights.

If you are a consumer and the law of the country where you live gives you the right to bring a dispute in its courts, or protections this Agreement cannot take away, nothing in this section removes them.

15. Export and sanctions

You may not use or export the Software in violation of United States export laws or sanctions. You confirm that you are not located in a country subject to a US government embargo, and that you are not on any US government restricted party list.

16. Changes to this Agreement

We will not change this Agreement by silent update. If we revise it, we will give the new version a new version number and present it to you in full, with a fresh acceptance, the next time you launch the Software. Changes apply only going forward. If you do not accept a new version, you may continue to use the version of the Software you already have, or uninstall.

17. Electronic acceptance

You agree to enter into this Agreement electronically, and that your acceptance by checking the box and clicking the button that follows it has the same legal effect as a handwritten signature. You may save a copy of this Agreement that you can print, or copy its text, from the acceptance screen at any time, and it remains available inside the Software under Settings.

18. General

Assignment. We may assign or transfer this Agreement, in whole or in part, including to a successor in a merger, acquisition, restructuring or sale of the business or its assets. You may not assign or transfer it.

If any part of this Agreement is held unenforceable, the rest stays in force and that part is limited to the minimum extent necessary.

Our failure to enforce any part of this Agreement is not a waiver of it.

Sections 6 (feedback), 9 (ownership), 11 (no warranty), 12 (limitation of liability), 13 (indemnity), 14 (governing law and disputes), and this Section 18 survive the end of this Agreement.

This Agreement, together with the Terms of Service and the Privacy Policy, is the entire agreement between you and us about the Software, and replaces any earlier understanding about it. If this Agreement and the Terms of Service disagree about the Software, this Agreement governs.

If any term of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction or is adjudicated in any other forum which has jurisdiction over disputes arising out of this Agreement, to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the validity, legality, and enforceability of the remainder of this Agreement shall not be impaired thereby.

19. Third-party software

Parts of the Software are made by others and are licensed to us under their own terms. They are listed, with their notices, in the file THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.txt that is installed with the Software. If a term of this Agreement conflicts with the license of one of those parts, that license controls for that part.

Installer. The Software's installer is built with NSIS, whose LZMA compression module is licensed under the Common Public License 1.0. On behalf of all contributors to NSIS, we disclaim all warranties and conditions, express and implied, including warranties or conditions of title and non-infringement and implied warranties or conditions of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, and we exclude all liability for damages, including direct, indirect, special, incidental and consequential damages such as lost profits. Any term of this Agreement that differs from the Common Public License 1.0 is offered by Patchd (Dickey Media LLC) alone and not by any other party. The source code of NSIS, including the LZMA module, is available from us on request at hello@patchd.studio and at https://nsis.sourceforge.io/Download.

Driver. The Patchd virtual audio driver is derived from Microsoft's SysVAD sample, which is licensed under the Microsoft Public License. We provide the driver to you only in compiled form, under this Agreement, which is a license that complies with the Microsoft Public License. This Agreement gives you no right to use the name, logo or trademarks of Microsoft or any other contributor to that sample. The driver is licensed as is, you bear the risk of using it, and the contributors give no express warranties, guarantees or conditions. To the extent your local law permits, the contributors exclude the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. You may have additional consumer rights under your local laws, which this Agreement cannot change. If you bring a patent claim against any contributor to the driver over patents you claim the driver infringes, your patent license from that contributor ends automatically.

Microsoft Visual C++ runtime. The Software includes the Microsoft Visual C++ runtime files msvcp140.dll, msvcp140_1.dll, vcruntime140.dll and vcruntime140_1.dll, copyright Microsoft Corporation. Microsoft and its suppliers own these files and keep all rights in them. You may use them only as part of the Software. You may not distribute them, work around any technical limit in them, or reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble them, except to the extent applicable law allows despite this limit. To the fullest extent permitted by law, Microsoft and its suppliers make no warranty about these files and are not liable for any damages arising from them.

No warranty for third-party software. We make no warranty about third-party software, and its owners and contributors have no liability to you for it, to the fullest extent permitted by law.

20. Contact

Patchd (Dickey Media LLC)

1404 SW Market St #706

Lee's Summit, MO 64063

United States

General: hello@patchd.studio

Privacy: privacy@patchd.studio