terms.

1. who can use stitch

stitch is for people 18 and over. by creating an account you confirm you are 18 or older. stitch starts at The New School and is open to creatives anywhere; a verified badge only means you signed in with a newschool.edu email. we can't let you use stitch if you're under 18 or if we've removed your account before.

2. your account

you sign in with a code we email you. keep your email account safe: anyone who can read it can get into your stitch account. use your real name and only post work you made or helped make. one account per person. you can delete your account at any time from settings; that removes your profile, work, requests and messages. finished projects keep a "former member" line in your place so your teammates keep their credits.

3. your work stays yours

you keep all rights to the work you upload: your photos, your profile, your projects, your messages. by posting something on stitch you give us permission (a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license) to store it, show it inside stitch and on credits pages, make smaller copies of it so it loads fast, and let other members see it as stitch is meant to work. that permission is only so stitch can work; we don't sell your work or use it in ads. it ends when you delete the content or your account, except for the copies that stay on finished projects' credits (section 4) and copies that other people already saved or shared. don't upload work you don't have the right to share.

4. projects, credits and recommendations

when a project is finished, everyone on the team is credited by role on their profiles and on a public credits page. the project's lead is credited as the lead. a credit says who did what; it does not transfer ownership of anything. who owns the photos, the film, the designs, or anything else a team makes together, and how pay or rights are split, is between you and your team: say it up front, in the project or the team chat, and put it in writing if it matters. recommendations you write are public and should be honest. the private "would you work with them again?" answers are never shown to anyone and are used only to run stitch.

stitch is not a party to any agreement between members and does not enforce or mediate them. if you have a dispute with another member, it's between you and them; we may help where we can, but we don't have to, and we're not responsible for the outcome.

5. projects are not jobs

stitch connects people who want to make things together. it does not employ anyone and no project on stitch is employment, a contract for work or an agency placement by stitch. project leads are not our employees or agents, and members are not theirs because of a project. whether a project is paid, how much, and by whom is set by the lead and agreed between the team; stitch doesn't handle money and doesn't guarantee anyone gets paid. if your project involves pay, you're each responsible for any taxes, permits and laws that apply to you.

6. meeting in person

most projects on stitch happen in real life. when you meet someone from stitch, you do it at your own risk. we don't run background checks and we can't vouch for anyone beyond what the verified badge says (a newschool.edu email). a few things that help:

• look at their profile, work and credits first, and ask questions in the team chat before you commit.
• meet in a public place for a first shoot or meeting, and in daylight when you can.
• tell a friend where you're going, who you're meeting and when you expect to be back.
• bring someone with you to a shoot in a private space, or ask that others from the team are there.
• keep your own way home. don't rely on a ride from someone you've just met.
• if something feels off, leave. you don't owe anyone an explanation.
• never send money to someone you met on stitch, and be wary of anyone who asks for it or for your personal documents.
• if you are in danger, call 911 first. then report the person to us.

stitch is not responsible for what members do offline, including at shoots, meetings and events arranged through stitch, and not for anything that happens between members. that responsibility is yours and theirs.

7. how we keep people safe

stitch has zero tolerance for objectionable content and abusive people. no harassment, threats, hate, scams, spam, fake profiles, or sexual or violent content. no posting other people's work as your own. no using stitch to collect people's details, send bulk messages, or do anything illegal. we review every report within 24 hours and remove content that breaks these rules, and suspend or remove the accounts behind it. you can report a person, a project, a photo or a message, and block anyone: open their profile (or long-press a message) and tap ···. blocked people can't see you anywhere on stitch. messages only happen inside a project's team chat.

8. when we can suspend or remove an account

we can suspend or remove your account, or take down content, at any time if we reasonably believe you've broken these terms, put someone at risk, broken the law, or if we have to by law or to keep stitch running. where we can, we'll tell you why and let you reply by email. if an account is removed, finished projects keep a "former member" line so the rest of the team keeps their credits. we can also change, pause or stop parts of stitch, or stitch altogether; if we stop it, we'll give you reasonable notice and a way to get your work out.

9. copyright: if your work is on stitch without your permission

we respect creators' rights and follow the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). if you believe something on stitch copies your work without permission, send a notice to our copyright agent with:

• your name, address, phone number and email;
• a description of the work you say is copied, and where it can be seen;
• the link to the content on stitch you want removed (a profile, project, credits page or photo);
• a statement that you believe in good faith the use isn't allowed by the owner, their agent or the law;
• a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the notice is accurate and that you're the owner or allowed to act for them;
• your physical or electronic signature.

copyright agent: Nevyn Technologies Inc., attn: copyright agent · contact@joinstitch.app · [mailing address]

when we get a complete notice we remove or disable the content and tell the person who posted it. if you posted it and believe it was removed by mistake, you can send us a counter-notice with the same details, a statement under penalty of perjury that you believe it was a mistake, and your agreement to the jurisdiction of the federal court for your address (or Delaware if you're outside the US). if the person who complained doesn't tell us within 10 business days that they've gone to court, we may put the content back. we remove the accounts of people who repeatedly post work that isn't theirs. knowingly sending a false notice or counter-notice can make you liable for damages.

10. what we don't promise

stitch is provided "as is" and "as available". we work hard to keep it up and useful, but we don't promise it will always work, be error-free, be secure, or fit your purpose, and we don't promise that any project will happen, be paid, or turn out well, or that anything a member says about themselves is true. to the fullest extent the law allows, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, title and non-infringement. some places don't allow some of these disclaimers, so parts of this may not apply to you.

11. limits on what we're liable for

to the fullest extent the law allows, stitch, Nevyn Technologies Inc. and the people who run it are not liable to you for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost income, lost work, lost data or lost opportunities, arising from stitch or from anything a member does on or off stitch, even if we were told it could happen. if we are liable to you for anything connected with stitch, our total liability is limited to the greater of what you paid us in the past 12 months (stitch is free, so usually nothing) or 100 US dollars. nothing here limits liability that the law doesn't let us limit, such as for fraud or for harm we cause on purpose.

12. if someone makes a claim because of you

if your content, your conduct on or off stitch, or your breach of these terms leads someone to make a claim against stitch, Nevyn Technologies Inc. or the people who run it, you agree to cover the costs that come from it (including reasonable legal fees) and to help us defend ourselves. we'll tell you about the claim, let you take part in the defence, and won't settle it in a way that admits fault on your behalf without asking you.

13. disputes: talk to us first, then arbitration

please read this part carefully: it affects your rights.

talk to us first. if you have a problem with stitch, email contact@joinstitch.app with your name, what happened and what you'd like us to do. we'll do the same before starting anything against you. we both agree to try to sort it out informally for 60 days.

arbitration. if we can't, any dispute between you and stitch or Nevyn Technologies Inc. about these terms or your use of stitch will be settled by binding individual arbitration run by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, not in court. the Federal Arbitration Act governs this section. the arbitrator decides everything, including whether a claim can be arbitrated, and can award what a court could. arbitration happens by video or phone, or in Delaware if a hearing in person is needed, or where you live if you ask. if the AAA's fees for starting a consumer case are more than the court filing fee would be, we'll pay the difference, unless the arbitrator finds your claim was frivolous.

exceptions. either of us can bring an individual claim in small claims court instead. either of us can ask a court to stop someone copying or misusing intellectual property, or to stop unauthorised use of stitch.

no class actions. you and stitch each agree to bring claims only in your own name, not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, consolidated or representative action, and the arbitrator can't combine your case with anyone else's or award relief for a group. if this paragraph is found unenforceable for a claim, that claim goes to court instead, and the rest of this section still applies to the others.

your way out. you can opt out of arbitration and the class-action waiver by emailing contact@joinstitch.app within 30 days of first creating your account, with your name, the email on your account and the words "opt out of arbitration". the rest of these terms still apply.

time limit. a claim has to be started within one year of when it came up, or it's waived, unless the law says otherwise.

14. which law applies

these terms and any dispute connected with stitch are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules, except where the Federal Arbitration Act applies. for anything that isn't arbitrated, you and we agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in Delaware, except that either of us may use small claims court where you live. if you live somewhere whose law gives you rights these terms can't take away, you keep them.

15. changes to these terms

we may update these terms. if the change matters, we'll tell you in the app or by email at least 14 days before it takes effect, and the "last updated" date below changes. if you keep using stitch after that, you accept the new terms; if you don't agree, delete your account before they take effect. changes to section 13 don't apply to a dispute that's already begun.

16. the small print

these terms, with our privacy notice, are the whole agreement between you and stitch about using stitch. if a court or arbitrator finds part of them unenforceable, the rest still applies. if we don't enforce something right away, we can still enforce it later. you can't transfer your account or these terms to anyone else; we may transfer them to a company that takes over stitch, and we'll tell you if we do. stitch is an independent app, not affiliated with or endorsed by The New School.

questions or reports

write to contact@joinstitch.app. we read everything.