CHEAP Overlay License

Copyright (c) 2026 Cassi

Permission is hereby granted to any person obtaining a copy of this software

and associated files (the "Software") to use, copy, modify, and distribute it,

subject to the following conditions:

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DEFINITIONS

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"Publicly Distributed" means made available to any person outside the

recipient's own personal use, including but not limited to: publishing to a

code repository, offering a download, distributing as part of a stream setup

package, or sharing via any public or semi-public channel.

"Fork" means any copy of the Software that has been modified and Publicly

Distributed, regardless of the degree of modification.

"Derivative Work" means any work that incorporates, adapts, or is substantially

derived from the Software or any Fork thereof. A work is "substantially

derived" if it reuses a material portion of the Software's code, logic, or

structure — not merely its general concept or publicly documented behavior.

Reimplementations written independently from scratch are not Derivative Works.

"Commercial Use" means any use in which the Software, a Fork, or a Derivative

Work is itself the product being sold, licensed, or monetized — including but

not limited to: selling the Software or a modified version of it; bundling it

into a paid product or service; offering it as a component of a commercial

SaaS or hosted platform; or using it as the primary draw or functional

centerpiece of a product or service from which revenue is derived. Commercial

Use does not include using the Software as a tool while producing content that

generates income (see Section 6), nor does it include incidental use of the

Software alongside unrelated commercial activity.

"Documented Consent" means written confirmation from the relevant party,

retained in a reasonably accessible form (e.g., a GitHub issue, email, or

public message thread), that they agree to the described use of their work.

"Attribution" means crediting the original project and its author(s) by name

in a location reasonably visible to users or recipients of the software —

such as the repository README, an About screen, or distributed documentation.

"Full Attribution" means crediting a specific contributor at the point of their

contribution — as close to the incorporated work as practical. For code, this

means an inline comment directly above or within the relevant block or

function. For other incorporated work, it means a changelog entry, commit

message, or equivalent source-proximate record. A name appearing only in a

general acknowledgements list does not constitute Full Attribution. Full

Attribution says: this specific thing came from this specific person.

Where a block or function has been materially contributed to by multiple

people over time, Full Attribution may credit the most recent substantive

author with a reference to version history (e.g., "last substantive author:

[Name]; see git log for full lineage"). This is the minimum acceptable form

when contribution lineage is genuinely complex; it does not excuse omitting

attribution entirely.

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1. ATTRIBUTION

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All copies, Forks, and Derivative Works must retain this license and provide

Attribution to the original project:

CHEAP Overlay by Cassi

https://github.com/DaCassi/CHEAPOverlay

Where a Fork incorporates contributions from other parties (see Section 3),

those contributors must receive Full Attribution for their incorporated work.

All Attribution and Full Attribution credit is retained in perpetuity and may

not be removed by any downstream redistribution.

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2. FORK NAMING

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Any Publicly Distributed Fork or Derivative Work must be named in the format:

Cassi's Hyperspecific Extremely Arbitrary Portable Overlay [Your Name] Edition

where [Your Name] is replaced with the forker's own name, handle, username,

or other public identifier. For forks maintained by a team or organization,

[Your Name] may be a shared team name, organization name, or group identifier

— provided it clearly identifies who is responsible for the fork. [Your Name]

is not an arbitrary project title; it identifies the fork maintainer(s).

The full name may be abbreviated to "CHEAPO [Your Name] Edition" in UI

elements and filenames. The full name must appear in the repository description

or README.

Fork maintainers are expected to stand behind their modifications. This naming

convention ensures users can distinguish the original project from derivative

versions and clearly identify who is responsible for a given fork's behavior.

It reflects the same principle that runs throughout this license: people should

not be separated from the work they created or maintain.

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3. RIGHT OF INCORPORATION AND CONTRIBUTOR PROTECTIONS

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The original author (Cassi) reserves the right to merge, adapt, or incorporate

any Fork or Derivative Work — in whole or in part — into the main CHEAP Overlay

project, subject to the following conditions:

(a) Documented Consent from the fork maintainer must be obtained before any

incorporation of their work begins. The original author will not proceed

without it. Consent is specific to the work described at the time it is

given; it does not extend to future work or to uses not described in the

original request.

By giving Documented Consent, the fork maintainer warrants that they have

the authority to authorize incorporation of the submitted work — including

any contributions made to their fork by others. It is the fork

maintainer's responsibility to ensure they hold or have obtained the

necessary rights from their own contributors before granting consent. The

original author relies on this warranty in good faith and bears no

liability for disputes arising from a fork maintainer's failure to clear

their contributors.

(b) Full Attribution will be given to the contributing fork maintainer for

all incorporated features or changes. Credit must appear at the point of

incorporation — not only in a general acknowledgements list.

(c) Incorporation does not transfer ownership of the contributor's work. The

contributor retains authorship credit in perpetuity. No downstream

redistribution, relicensing, or modification of the main project may

remove, obscure, or reassign credit for incorporated contributions.

(d) A contributor's name, handle, or identity may not be used to imply

endorsement of any Fork, Derivative Work, or release they did not

participate in. The existence of a prior contribution does not constitute

ongoing endorsement.

(e) If a contributor requests correction of a misattribution — credit given

in error, credit omitted in error, or credit that misrepresents the scope

of their contribution — the maintaining party must make a good-faith effort

to correct it in a timely manner.

(f) Contributors may request removal of their name from the project at any

time. Upon such a request, their name will be removed from active-facing

attribution (README, UI, documentation) while a factual record of the

contribution may be retained in commit history or changelogs solely for

the purpose of code provenance.

(g) If a third party demonstrates in good faith that their work was

incorporated into the main project without their consent — whether due to

a fork maintainer exceeding the scope of their warranty under 3(a) or any

other cause — the original author will make a prompt, good-faith effort to

remove the disputed work. Acting to remedy such a situation is not an

admission of wrongdoing; it is the expected response.

This right of incorporation does not extend to third parties. Only the original

author (Cassi) holds this right.

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4. LICENSE PRESERVATION

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Any Fork or Derivative Work must be Publicly Distributed under this exact

license, unmodified. You may not sublicense, relicense, or distribute the

Software or any Fork under different terms. You may not add restrictions beyond

those stated here, nor remove any existing ones.

This ensures that the conditions of this license — including Attribution,

naming, and incorporation rights — cannot be stripped by downstream

redistribution.

The original author (Cassi) reserves the right to publish revised versions of

this license for future releases of CHEAP Overlay. Revised versions will apply

only to releases made under them. Existing Forks and releases distributed under

a prior version of this license are not automatically subject to revised terms.

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5. NON-COMMERCIAL

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Commercial Use of this Software, any Fork, or any Derivative Work is prohibited

without explicit written permission from the original author (Cassi).

Prohibited uses include, but are not limited to:

- Selling the Software or a modified version of it.

- Bundling the Software into a paid product or subscription.

- Offering the Software as a component of a paid or commercial service.

- Commercial redistribution of the Software or any Fork.

- Using the Software as a vehicle to sell another product or service.

- Operating a SaaS or hosted platform built on the Software.

The following uses are explicitly permitted, including when they generate income:

- Live streaming on any platform (Twitch, YouTube, Kick, etc.).

- Monetized video content, sponsored streams, or similar content creation.

- Educational use, including courses and tutorials.

- Charitable or nonprofit use.

- Tournament or competitive event use.

- Personal, private use.

Commercial Use includes, but is not limited to, the examples above. Where a use is not listed, the determining factor is whether the primary purpose is commercial advantage or monetary compensation derived from the software itself.

The key distinction: using the Software as a tool to make content is permitted.

Making the Software itself the product is not.

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6. MODIFICATION MARKING

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Any Fork must include a publicly accessible "What's Changed" section — in the

repository README or a dedicated document linked from it — describing all

substantial modifications made relative to CHEAP Overlay. This section must be

reasonably maintained as the Fork evolves.

A Fork may not represent itself as the original CHEAP Overlay project or imply

official endorsement by the original author.

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7. PRIVACY

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The purpose of this section is transparency about data practices. It is not

intended to constrain which applications the Software supports.

The original CHEAP Overlay reads process memory from supported rhythm game

applications solely to detect in-game state (such as star power or overdrive

activation). It does not collect, store, or transmit any data. All

communication is local (localhost only).

Any Fork that reads process memory, collects data, or communicates externally

must include a publicly accessible Privacy Disclosure, maintained in the

repository README or a dedicated document linked from it, documenting:

(a) Which processes are inspected, and for what purpose.

(b) What data is collected, if any.

(c) Whether any data is stored, and where.

(d) Whether any data is transmitted, and to whom.

(e) Any telemetry, analytics, or remote communications present in the Fork.

This disclosure must be updated as the Fork's behavior changes. It applies

regardless of which applications the Fork supports — including but not limited

to YARG, Guitar Hero: World Tour Definitive Edition, Clone Hero, RB3DX, or any

future supported targets.

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8. TERMINATION

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Any violation of this license automatically and immediately terminates your

rights to use, copy, modify, or distribute the Software. Upon termination, you

must immediately cease all distribution and remove any publicly distributed

copies or builds under your control. Private personal copies already in your

possession are not subject to a destruction requirement, but you may not

redistribute or build upon them following termination.

The original author (Cassi) reserves the right to reinstate your license at her

discretion if the violation is corrected.

Also, violating these terms makes you a real meanie and you should feel bad

about it.

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9. NO WARRANTY

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THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS," WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR

IMPLIED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES, OR

OTHER LIABILITY ARISING FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE.

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PLAIN ENGLISH SUMMARY (not a substitute for the above)

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Here's what this license actually means in plain language:

USE IT FREELY. You can use CHEAP Overlay to stream, make videos, run

tournaments, or just play games. Even if you're monetized. That's the whole

point — it's a tool, use it like one.

FORK IT, BUT OWN IT. You can modify and share your own version, but you have

to call it "CHEAPO [Your Name] Edition" and keep this license on it. If you

change stuff, say what you changed. Don't pretend it's the original.

GIVE CREDIT. If you build on this project, say so. If the original author

incorporates your contributions, she'll credit you specifically — not just

throw your name in a list at the bottom.

NO SELLING IT. You can't take this software and sell it, bundle it into a

paid product, or build a business on top of it without asking first. Use it

as a streamer tool? Fine. Make it your product? Not without a conversation.

CONTRIBUTORS ARE PROTECTED. If your code or work gets incorporated upstream,

your credit stays there. You can't be misrepresented, and you can ask to

have your name removed at any time. Your contribution doesn't mean you

endorse whatever comes next.

NO CORPORATE EXTRACTION. This was made for the rhythm game community. It

should stay useful to that community. The license is designed to prevent

someone from scooping it up and turning it into something you'd have to pay

for or that harvests your data.

IF YOU VIOLATE IT. Your rights terminate automatically. You have to take down

anything you've publicly distributed. You don't have to throw your computer

in a lake, but you can't keep sharing it. Also, you are a real meanie and you

should feel bad about it.

Basically, don't sell it, don't claim it's your own, and if you contribute, OWN IT!