Licensing
RetroRecord is software owned by Maple Linens Inc., which runs its software practice as MapleFintech. It is licensed to the people and organisations who use it. It is never sold, and no part of it changes hands when an organisation offers it under its own name and branding.
Who owns the software?
Maple Linens Inc. and its licensors. That covers the iPhone app, the server, the database design, the interfaces, the designs, the written material, and the RetroRecord name and logo. It is protected by the Copyright Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-42). Open-source parts we use keep their own licences. Every right we do not expressly grant stays with us.
Do we get the source code?
No. RetroRecord is delivered as a service we host, with a finished iPhone app from the App Store. We do not hand over source code, builds, containers, server access or database access. The one thing that is unavoidable: a web page has to send your browser the code it needs to display itself, and that code is still ours.
If we put our own name on it, do we own it?
No. A white-label licence lets an organisation offer RetroRecord to its own members under its own name, branding and domain, for that organisation's own business. It is a licence to use the software, limited to the licence term, not transferable and not sublicensable. Ownership does not move.
Can our developers, or another company, maintain it?
No. Hosting, updates, fixes, changes, maintenance and support are carried out only by Maple Linens Inc. or by someone we have authorised in writing. A licensed organisation may not pass that work to its own developers or to another supplier, or give anyone access for that purpose.
Using the settings the product gives you — your branding, your members, your songs, lyrics and record photos — is configuration, not maintenance. That is yours to do whenever you like, and you never need to ask us.
How do we buy it?
You don't buy the software — you licence it. We sign a written agreement with you for a term, and you pay a subscription for the right to use the hosted platform under your own brand for that term. The fees, the term, renewal and notice live in that agreement. Signing up for an ordinary RetroRecord account is not a licence and carries no white-label rights. Write to us and we will put an agreement in front of you.
Can we use our own web address?
Yes. You point your own address (for example app.yourcompany.com) at our servers with a CNAME record, and the platform recognises it and loads your branding — your logo, your colours, the product name your members see, and your support links. Your administrators set all of that themselves from their dashboard, whenever they like, without asking us.
Can we keep the data in our own database?
Yes, where your agreement includes it. You enter your database's connection details once in a secure setup step; we test the connection, store the details encrypted, and from then on the software reads and writes your members' content in your database.
Who is responsible if our database goes down?
You are, and that is the trade for keeping the data on your own infrastructure. Because the database is yours, you own the data outright and can take a copy at any moment — and you are responsible for keeping it running, backed up, secure and compliant with the laws that apply to what you store. Our software is the part that processes it over the connection you gave us. We are not liable for your database being unreachable, slow, misconfigured or lost, and the service cannot serve your members while it is down.
Who installs the updates?
We do, centrally, for everyone. Fixes, security patches and new features reach your members without you installing or scheduling anything. That is also why only we, or someone we authorise in writing, may host, change, maintain or support the software — one codebase, maintained in one place, is what makes those updates safe to roll out.
And if the data sits on our servers instead?
It is still yours. The songs, lyrics, photos and recordings added through your account belong to whoever added them, and you can ask us for a copy at any time. The difference is that we then carry the responsibility for keeping that database running, backed up and secure. See the Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use.
Where is this written down?
In the Terms of Use, under "Ownership of the software, licence and maintenance". An organisation licensing RetroRecord also signs its own agreement with us; where that agreement expressly says something different, it governs.
Questions about licensing: [email protected].