Terms of Service

Last Updated: April 19, 2026

1. The Atmosphere Engine Platform

Atmosphere Engine ("the Platform," "we," "us") operates a crowdfunding marketplace where independent software developers ("Creators") can present their projects to the public ("Backers") for direct financial support. The Platform is not a store. It is a launchpad for software that may be in active development.

⚠️ Critical Understanding: When you back a project on Atmosphere Engine, you are acting as an Angel Investor deploying early-stage capital into the development pipeline of a software product. You are NOT purchasing a finished product. Delivery timelines, feature sets, and final outputs may change during the build phase.

2. Angel Allocations (Not Rewards)

Creators may offer "Angel Allocations" to backers at various pledge tiers. These allocations represent the Creator's stated intention to deliver specific deliverables upon project completion. Allocations are NOT guaranteed purchases and are subject to the inherent risks of software development.

Approved Angel Allocation types include:

A compiled copy of the finished software (`.exe`, `.zip`, installer)
Access to the raw, unencrypted source code
Early beta access or "Alpha Pass" preview periods
Private Discord channels or 1-on-1 implementation sessions with the Creator
API key whitelisting for backend access

🚫 Strictly Prohibited Allocations: Creators may NEVER offer equity, stock options, profit-sharing agreements, revenue splits, DAO governance tokens, cryptocurrency dividends, or any instrument that constitutes a financial security. Any campaign found violating this policy will be immediately terminated, all funds returned to backers, and the Creator permanently banned.

3. The All-or-Nothing Funding Model

Atmosphere Engine operates on a strict all-or-nothing funding model. If a campaign does not reach its stated funding goal within the designated campaign window (15, 30, 45, or 60 days), no backer is charged and all payment authorizations are released.

If a campaign successfully reaches its goal, all authorized payments are captured simultaneously. The Platform retains a 12.5% service fee, and 87.5% is transferred to the Creator's connected Stripe account.

4. The 90-Day Fulfillment Window

Upon successful funding, Creators have 90 calendar days to upload their final deliverable payload to the Atmosphere Engine servers. If a Creator fails to deliver within this window:

All backer funds are automatically refunded in full
The Creator's account receives a permanent fulfillment strike
Three strikes result in permanent platform expulsion

5. Zero-Trust Code Verification

All executable files uploaded to the Platform undergo a verification process in our sandboxed environment. Software that contains malware, spyware, cryptocurrency miners, keyloggers, or any other malicious payload will be immediately rejected and the Creator's account terminated.

6. Backer Disputes

If a backer believes that the delivered product materially differs from what was described in the campaign manifesto, they may file a dispute within 14 days of payload delivery. The Atmosphere Engine team will review both the original campaign claims and the delivered product to determine if a partial or full refund is warranted.

7. Creator Verification Tiers

To protect backers from high-risk campaigns, Creators are subject to progressive trust levels:

🟢 New Creator: First campaign, funding cap limited to $10,000
🟣 Verified Creator: 1+ successful deliveries, cap raised to $50,000
🟡 Elite Creator: 3+ successful deliveries, unlimited funding cap

8. Intellectual Property

Creators retain full ownership of all intellectual property associated with their projects. By listing on Atmosphere Engine, Creators grant the Platform a non-exclusive license to display campaign materials (images, videos, descriptions) for promotional and archival purposes.

9. Limitation of Liability

Atmosphere Engine acts solely as an intermediary platform connecting Creators and Backers. We do not guarantee the quality, functionality, or fitness of any software project listed on the Platform. Backers acknowledge that all pledges carry inherent risk.

10. Contact

For legal inquiries, disputes, or compliance questions, contact: legal@atmosphereengine.com