Last updated: July 14, 2026
Copyright © 2026 Necropolis Publishing, LLC
State of Georgia, United States of America
All rights reserved.
This End User License Agreement ("Agreement") is a legal contract between you ("Licensee" or "you") and Necropolis Publishing, LLC ("Licensor", "we", or "us") governing your use of the Lectern application and any associated documentation (collectively, the "Software"). By installing, copying, or otherwise using the Software, you agree to be bound by the terms of this Agreement. If you do not agree, do not install or use the Software.
The Software is offered under the following license tiers. Lectern is free for everyone to use, for any purpose, including professional and commercial work. The paid tiers unlock additional features (Pro) or allow organizations to support the Software's continued independent development (Supporter).
The Software's free tier is licensed at no cost for any purpose, personal or commercial, by individuals and organizations alike. You may use the free tier for your own writing, for freelance or contract work, for work performed within a company or organization, and for projects you intend to sell, publish, or otherwise monetize. No payment and no account are required.
The free tier includes the Software's core writing environment. Certain additional features are available only under a Pro license, as described in Section 1.2.
The Pro tier unlocks the Software's full set of features, including features not available in the free tier, in exchange for the applicable one-time purchase fee. A Pro license is granted per individual user and may be activated on a reasonable number of devices personally used by that individual. Pro may be used for any purpose, personal or commercial.
The Supporter tier is optional. The free and Pro tiers may be used for commercial and organizational work without a Supporter license.
If the Software benefits your organization, we encourage, but do not require, organizations of five (5) or more total personnel to purchase Supporter licenses, one per seat, to support the Software's continued development and to help keep Lectern independent and user-supported. A Supporter license unlocks the same features as Pro; it does not grant additional functionality. With your permission, organizations holding Supporter licenses may be recognized as supporters of the Software.
Purchasing Supporter licenses is a way to sustain independent software built by working writers. It is a choice, not an obligation.
Subject to your compliance with this Agreement and (where applicable) payment of the license fee, Licensor grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to install and use the Software in accordance with the tier you have selected.
You may not:
If you receive a license key for the Pro or Supporter tier, you agree to keep it confidential and not share it publicly. License keys are issued to a specific individual or organization and may be revoked if shared, leaked, abused, or used in violation of this Agreement.
Lectern does not collect, transmit, or store any user data on our servers. All of your documents, settings, and other content are stored locally on your device. We do not operate analytics or telemetry. The Software transmits data off your device in only two circumstances, each described below: features you choose to enable with your own third-party API keys (Section 4.1), and software update checks (Section 4.2).
The Software allows you to integrate with third-party services by entering your own API keys ("Third-Party Services"). As of the date of this Agreement, these integrations are OpenRouter (AI writing features) and Deepgram (Voice features). When you use an AI writing feature, the text that feature needs (for example, the passage being processed, any configured context, and, for semantic search, the document text being indexed) is transmitted to OpenRouter under your key. When you use Dictate, your microphone audio is transmitted to Deepgram for transcription; when you use Orate, the document text being read aloud is transmitted to Deepgram for speech synthesis. These integrations operate only when you initiate them and only with a key you have provided; no API key is included with the Software. By providing third-party API keys to the Software, you acknowledge and agree that:
The Software can check for updates by requesting a version manifest from Licensor's release distribution point (currently hosted on GitHub). An update check occurs only when you request one or when you have enabled automatic checking. It transmits the ordinary technical information inherent in any internet request (such as your IP address) to the hosting provider; it does not include your documents, settings, or other content.
The Software is licensed, not sold. Licensor retains all right, title, and interest in and to the Software, including all intellectual property rights therein. This Agreement does not grant you any rights to Licensor's trademarks, service marks, or trade names.
You retain all right, title, and interest in and to any content you create using the Software ("Your Content"). Licensor claims no ownership of Your Content.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. LICENSOR DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL BE ERROR-FREE, UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR FREE OF HARMFUL COMPONENTS. YOU ASSUME ALL RISK ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SOFTWARE.
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL LICENSOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, USE, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS AGREEMENT OR YOUR USE OF (OR INABILITY TO USE) THE SOFTWARE, REGARDLESS OF THE LEGAL THEORY ON WHICH THE CLAIM IS BASED AND EVEN IF LICENSOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
LICENSOR'S TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY UNDER THIS AGREEMENT SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO LICENSOR FOR THE SOFTWARE, OR (B) FIFTY UNITED STATES DOLLARS (US $50.00).
This Agreement is effective until terminated. Your rights under this Agreement will terminate automatically and without notice from Licensor if you fail to comply with any term hereof. Upon termination, you shall cease all use of the Software and destroy all copies in your possession or control. Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10 shall survive termination.
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Georgia, United States of America, without regard to its conflict of laws principles. Any dispute arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in the State of Georgia, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.
Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and Licensor regarding the Software and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous understandings.
Severability. If any provision of this Agreement is held to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
No Waiver. Failure by Licensor to enforce any right under this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of that right.
Updates. Licensor may update this Agreement from time to time. Continued use of the Software after an update constitutes acceptance of the revised Agreement.
Contact. Questions about this Agreement may be directed to Necropolis Publishing, LLC at contact@necropolispublishing.com.