Parallel Media Encoder License Terms

Effective: 9 October 2026
Terms version: 2026-12

The short version

Parallel Media Encoder’s Free tier is licensed for personal, educational, and evaluation use. Using it as part of paid work or inside a business requires a Pro license for every Mac on which it runs. A Pro license is a one-time, per-Mac license; it is not a subscription. The details below control if this summary and the full terms differ.

1. Who these terms are with

These License Terms (the Terms) are an agreement between 1001261179 ONTARIO INC., operating as Parallel Media Encoder (PME, we, us, or our), and the person or organization accepting them (you or Customer).

If you accept for an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind it. In that case, you and Customer mean the organization. If you lack that authority, do not accept for it.

Contact: https://parallelmediaencoder.com/contact/

2. Acceptance and eligibility

You accept these Terms by selecting an agree button in the app or by using an explicit terms-acceptance command in the command-line tool. Downloading the installer, viewing these Terms, or merely receiving a license key does not by itself record acceptance.

You must be legally capable of entering a binding contract. If you do not accept these Terms, do not use the Software.

3. Definitions

• Commercial Use means use for or in connection with a business, profession, paid engagement, or other revenue-generating activity, whether or not a particular output is separately billed.
• Device means one computer that meets the published system requirements.
• Documentation means the user documentation PME publishes for the Software.
• Educational Use means use by a student or educator for teaching, learning, or coursework, and approved use in an institution-owned teaching lab under section 5.
• Evaluation Use means limited use to decide whether the Software fits a workflow. It may include testing with real or client material, but ends when the Software becomes a regular part of producing or delivering work.
• Free tier means the no-charge, feature-limited edition of the Software.
• Personal Use means use for your own non-commercial projects without payment or other compensation.
• Pro license means a paid or otherwise expressly issued license that enables Pro features on the number of Devices stated in the order or license certificate.
• Software means the Parallel Media Encoder macOS app and its included command-line, service, automation, and integration components, excluding Third-Party Components.

4. License grant

Subject to these Terms, PME grants Customer a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable except as expressly allowed below, and non-sublicensable license to install and use the Software and Documentation.

4.1 Free tier

You may use the Free tier only for Personal Use, Educational Use, and Evaluation Use. Commercial Use requires a Pro license even if the use stays within the Free tier’s technical feature limits.

Examples of Commercial Use include:

• work performed as an employee, freelancer, contractor, sole proprietor, or company;
• use by a production company, broadcaster, agency, post-production facility, nonprofit carrying on commercial activity, or another organization in its operations; and
• processing commercial material on a shared workstation, render node, or server.

4.2 Pro license

Each Pro license permits any authorized user of Customer to use the Software on one Device at a time for any lawful purpose, including Commercial Use. It is assigned to the Device, not to an individual user. A shared edit suite therefore needs one license, while one user operating the Software on two Devices needs two licenses.

Customer may move a license to a replacement Device by deactivating it on the old Device, which releases that Device’s place under the license, before activating it on the replacement. If the old Device is unavailable, PME may release it on request.

A Pro license is perpetual for the Software version covered by the purchase and does not become a subscription. It does not promise that any future update or version will be released. Updates PME designates for the purchased product are included. PME may offer a future version or separately identified product for an additional fee; doing so does not terminate Customer’s right to keep using the covered version.

5. Education, volume orders, and special licenses

Students and educators may use the Free tier on their own Devices for Educational Use. PME may issue no-charge education keys for institution-owned Devices used mainly for teaching. An education key may unlock Pro features but does not permit Commercial Use, including work by an institution unit that bills clients.

Studios and teams need one Pro license for each Device. An order form, invoice, purchase order accepted by PME, license certificate, or other written agreement may specify the number of Devices and additional terms. If it conflicts with these Terms, the document signed or expressly accepted by PME controls for that order.

6. Technical requirements and license validation

The Software currently requires macOS 14.5 or later and Apple silicon. Published system requirements may change for future versions.

Pro activation and periodic validation require an internet connection. In the current version, the Software sends PME’s license server the license key, an identifier derived from the Device’s hardware identifier (a one-way hash, not the hardware identifier itself), the Device’s computer name, model and macOS version, the Software version, and the version of these Terms accepted on the Device. It does so when a license is activated or deactivated, and afterwards about once a day, at launch or while the Software runs, to renew the Device’s validation record. PME uses this information to validate licenses, to apply the number of Devices a license permits, and to show which Devices use a license so that a Device can be released. For a license key purchased through Gumroad, PME’s server confirms the key with Gumroad. The Privacy Policy describes these activities and is incorporated by reference for notice purposes.

Each successful validation lets the Software confirm the license on that Device without a connection for up to 30 days, or until the license’s own end date if sooner. If the Software cannot validate for more than 30 days, it may temporarily restrict Pro features until validation succeeds. This technical control does not shorten the term of a valid Pro license. Contact PME if a valid license cannot be validated.

7. Restrictions

Except where applicable law permits the activity despite this restriction, you must not:

• use the Free tier for Commercial Use;
• use one Pro license on more Devices at the same time than the order permits;
• disclose, publish, sell, rent, lease, sublicense, or transfer a license key or the Software to another person or organization;
• copy, modify, translate, or create derivative works of the Software;
• reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, discover source code or non-public interfaces, or circumvent a technological protection measure, license check, or feature gate;
• remove or alter proprietary, attribution, or license notices; or
• use the Software to violate law or another person’s rights.

These restrictions do not limit rights that cannot lawfully be excluded, including any applicable rights relating to interoperability, security research, maintenance, repair, or backup copies.

8. Your media and output

You retain your rights in media, presets, instructions, and output.

The Software processes media locally. You are responsible for checking output before delivery and for retaining source media and backups.

9. Ownership and third-party components

PME and its licensors own the Software and Documentation. These Terms grant a license, not a sale or transfer of intellectual-property rights. PME reserves rights not expressly granted.

The Software includes or interoperates with open-source and proprietary components (Third-Party Components). Their own notices and licenses are available at https://parallelmediaencoder.com/acknowledgments/ and in Settings → Acknowledgements. Those terms govern the Third-Party Components; these Terms govern PME’s Software. Nothing in these Terms restricts rights granted by an open-source license.

Third-party names and marks belong to their owners. Unless the acknowledgements say otherwise, use of or compatibility with a third-party product does not imply affiliation, endorsement, or certification.

10. Updates, support, and availability

PME may provide updates through the app. You are responsible for installing updates and maintaining compatible hardware, operating systems, and third-party dependencies. PME may change or discontinue the Free tier or online services, subject to applicable law and without terminating an already granted perpetual Pro license for the covered version.

Support is provided on a reasonable-efforts basis without a guaranteed response or resolution time unless PME agrees otherwise in writing.

11. Prices, taxes, and refunds

Prices, currency, taxes, payment terms, delivery details, system requirements, and any additional charges are shown at checkout or on PME’s quote or invoice. Purchases made on PME’s website are processed by Stripe, with Link (a Stripe company) as merchant of record, under the checkout terms and payment methods shown there. Earlier online purchases were processed by Gumroad under its checkout terms. Purchases invoiced directly by PME are governed by that invoice, quote, or order form, which states the price, taxes, payment terms, and number of Devices; PME delivers the license keys once payment is received.

Refunds are governed by the Refund Policy and any non-waivable rights under applicable law. Nothing in these Terms removes a statutory right to cancel, obtain a refund, or pursue another remedy.

12. Termination

These Terms continue until terminated. You may terminate by ceasing all use and deleting all copies within your control.

Your rights under the Free tier end if you materially breach these Terms. PME may suspend or terminate a Pro license for a material breach only after giving notice and a reasonable opportunity to cure when the breach can be cured, except for fraud, unlawful key sharing, deliberate circumvention, or a chargeback or refund that reverses the purchase. Mandatory consumer rights and refund rights continue to apply.

On termination, stop using and delete the affected Software and keys. Sections 7 through 9 and 12 through 17 survive to the extent their nature requires.

13. Disclaimer of warranties

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Software, Documentation, updates, and support are provided “as is” and “as available.” PME disclaims warranties and conditions not expressly stated in these Terms, including implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement, and that the Software will be uninterrupted or error-free.

Some jurisdictions do not allow some exclusions. This section does not exclude a warranty, condition, guarantee, or remedy that applicable law does not permit PME to exclude.

14. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, PME and its directors, officers, employees, contractors, and licensors will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for loss of profit, revenue, business, goodwill, data, media, or work, arising from or related to the Software or these Terms, even if advised that such loss was possible.

15. Changes to these Terms

The terms version and effective date appear at the top. PME may amend these Terms for future downloads, purchases, or acceptances. Material changes will be presented for affirmative acceptance before they apply to continued use.

An amendment will not retroactively reduce a perpetual Pro license’s paid device count, permitted Commercial Use, or covered version without Customer’s express agreement.

16. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable there, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Subject to the next paragraph, the courts located in Toronto, Ontario have exclusive jurisdiction.

Nothing in this section deprives a consumer of the protection of mandatory law or a forum that cannot validly be waived in the consumer’s jurisdiction.

17. General

These Terms, the documents incorporated by reference, and any controlling order document are the entire agreement about the Software. If part of them is unenforceable, it will be enforced to the maximum lawful extent and the rest will remain in effect. Failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. Headings are for convenience only.

You may not assign these Terms or transfer a Pro license to another person or organization without PME’s written consent. PME may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, reorganization, sale of substantially all relevant assets, or operation of law, provided the assignment does not reduce a consumer’s non-waivable rights.

Notices to PME must be sent through the contact page above and should identify the order or license involved. PME may send operational or legal notices to the email address associated with a purchase or display them in the Software, subject to applicable law.

Studios, teams, and schools

One Pro license per Mac, for any use including commercial work. A shared edit suite needs one license however many editors use it; one editor with two Macs needs two. A standard Pro key activates one Mac. A volume license can cover several Macs with one key: each Mac takes one of its seats, and Settings → License shows how many are in use. To move a license, choose Deactivate This Mac in Settings → License on the old Mac, which frees its seat, then activate it on the new one. If the old Mac is unavailable, activate on the new Mac anyway: when every seat is in use, Settings → License lists the Macs holding them, each with Replace (pme license release from the command line). You can also contact us and we can release it.

• Studios and teams. Use the contact form and say how many Macs and whether the invoice needs a PO number. You receive one invoice, a license certificate that states the Device count, and a volume license key with a seat for each Mac (or one key per Mac, if you prefer).
• Schools and training programs. Students and educators may use the Free tier on their own Macs. For institution-owned teaching Macs, request education keys through the contact form with the institution name and the number of Macs. Education keys unlock Pro features but do not permit Commercial Use (section 5).