Last updated June 22, 2026
These Terms of Service (the "Terms") are a legally binding agreement between you and Pattern Build, LLC, the owner of the Column trademark and intellectual property ("Pattern Build," "Column," "we," "us," or "our"). By creating an account, clicking "I agree," or accessing or using Column (the "Service"), you agree to these Terms. If you are agreeing on behalf of an organization (the "Customer"), you represent that you are authorized to bind that organization, and "you" refers to that organization.
The Service is intended for businesses — primarily content and communications agencies that create thought-leadership and professional content on behalf of executives, founders, investors, consultants, and other subject-matter experts ("Clients" or "Represented Persons"). The Service is not directed to consumers for personal, household, or family use.
These Terms incorporate by reference our Privacy Policy, our AI Usage Policy, and, where applicable, our Data Processing Addendum and any order form or written agreement signed by the parties (each an "Order"). If an Order conflicts with these Terms, the Order controls for that Order.
3.1 Registration. You must provide accurate account information and keep it current. You are responsible for all activity under your account and for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials.
3.2 Workspaces and tenancy. Each Customer's Workspace is logically isolated. Where the same Represented Person is served by more than one agency, each agency's Workspace and its Voice Profiles, Customer Content, and Output are independent, and we do not share data across Workspaces. We do not use one Customer's Customer Data to generate Output for another Customer.
3.3 Authorized Users and roles. You may invite Authorized Users and assign roles and permissions made available in the Service. You are responsible for your Authorized Users' compliance with these Terms. Where you enable access for a Represented Person, you remain responsible for that access and for the lawful basis for it.
3.4 Acceptable use. You will not, and will not permit any Authorized User to: (a) use the Service in violation of law or third-party rights; (b) upload malware or attempt to breach security or access another Customer's data; (c) reverse engineer or scrape the Service except to the extent that restriction is prohibited by law; (d) resell or provide the Service to third parties except to provide services to your own clients in the ordinary course; or (e) use the Service in violation of the AI Usage Policy.
This Section 4 is fundamental to the Service. Because you upload materials about, and generate content in the name and style of, Represented Persons, you are the party in the best position to confirm that you have the necessary rights and permissions.
4.1 Rights and permissions. You represent and warrant that, for all Customer Content you upload and all Output you generate, request, or publish, you hold all rights, licenses, consents, permissions, and authority necessary to: (a) upload, process, and store the Customer Content in the Service; (b) create and use a Voice Profile of each Represented Person; (c) generate and publish Output in the name and style of each Represented Person; and (d) grant the licenses in Section 6.
4.2 Represented-Person authorization. You represent and warrant that you have obtained authorization from each Represented Person (or from a party authorized to grant it on their behalf) to create content in that person's name and style and to publish it through the channels you use. You will retain records of such authorization and provide them to us on reasonable request.
4.3 Recordings and transcripts. You represent and warrant that any call recording, interview recording, or transcript you upload was created and obtained lawfully, including with the consent of all parties where required by applicable wiretap or two-party/all-party consent laws. You acknowledge that the Service is not designed to, and you will not use it to, process voiceprints or other biometric identifiers, and you will not upload such identifiers.
4.4 No third-party confidential information. You will not upload confidential information, trade secrets, or personal data of any third party that you are not authorized to disclose. You are responsible for redacting or excluding material you are not permitted to share.
4.5 Platform compliance. Where you connect or publish to third-party platforms (including LinkedIn), you will comply with those platforms' terms. You acknowledge that Column integrates with such platforms only through their official APIs, that we do not authorize or perform scraping or unsanctioned automation, and that we are not responsible for any platform's enforcement actions (including account suspension) resulting from your use.
4.6 Human review. You acknowledge that Output is an AI-generated draft that may contain errors, omissions, or fabricated statements, and you agree that a human will review and approve all Output before it is published. You are solely responsible for verifying the accuracy of, and for the decision to publish, any Output.
5.1 AI-generated content. The Service uses artificial intelligence, including third-party large language models, to generate Output. AI Output may be inaccurate, incomplete, or not unique, and may not reflect current facts. The Service is a drafting aid; it does not provide professional advice and is not a substitute for human judgment. Your use of AI features is also governed by the AI Usage Policy.
5.2 No training on your data. We do not use Customer Data to train, fine-tune, or improve any machine-learning model, whether ours or a third party's, except where you expressly opt in. Our AI subprocessors are contractually bound not to use Customer Data to train their models and to operate under zero- or short-retention terms. This commitment is described further in the AI Usage Policy.
5.3 Limited operational use. We may access and process Customer Data only as necessary to provide, secure, support, and maintain the Service — for example, to operate your Workspace, troubleshoot issues you report, prevent abuse, and produce aggregate operational and usage metrics that do not identify you, any Represented Person, or the content of your Customer Data. We do not use Customer Data to train models, and we do not sell Customer Data.
5.4 Changes to the Service. We may modify, add, or discontinue features. We will not make changes that materially degrade the core Service during a paid subscription term without a comparable replacement or a pro-rata refund for the affected portion.
6.1 Your ownership of Customer Content. As between the parties, you own all right, title, and interest in your Customer Content. You grant Pattern Build a limited, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, process, transmit, display, and create derivative representations of Customer Content solely to provide, secure, and support the Service to you. This license ends when the relevant Customer Content is deleted, except for the limited operational and backup retention described in our Privacy Policy.
6.2 Output. As between the parties, you own the Output you generate through the Service, and Pattern Build assigns to you all right, title, and interest (if any) that Pattern Build may hold in such Output, to the extent such rights exist and are legally assignable.
6.3 Acknowledgment regarding AI-generated material. You acknowledge that material generated solely by artificial intelligence may not be eligible for copyright or other intellectual-property protection under applicable law, and that whether any Output is protectable may depend on the creative contributions a human makes to it (for example, your editing, selection, and arrangement before publication). Pattern Build makes no warranty that any Output is protectable, original, or non-infringing, and you are responsible for reviewing Output before use.
6.4 Voice Profiles. As between you and the Represented Person, ownership of a Voice Profile is governed by your agreement with that person. As between you and Pattern Build, the Voice Profile created in your Workspace is part of your Customer Data, and Pattern Build claims no ownership of it. Voice Profiles are not portable between Workspaces through the Service except where we expressly provide an export or transfer feature; absent such a feature, a Voice Profile remains in the Workspace in which it was created. We will honor verified deletion requests as described in Section 9 and the Privacy Policy.
6.5 Our intellectual property. Pattern Build and its licensors own all right, title, and interest in the Service, including its software, models (other than third-party models), and the look and feel, and all related intellectual property. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable right to access and use the Service during your subscription, subject to these Terms.
6.6 Feedback. If you provide suggestions or feedback, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use it to improve the Service, without obligation to you. Feedback does not include, and this license does not cover, your Customer Data.
7.1 Fees. You will pay the fees for the plan or seats described at sign-up or in your Order. Unless stated otherwise, fees are billed in advance and are non-refundable except as required by law or expressly stated in these Terms.
7.2 Plans and seats. Subscriptions may be sold per workspace, per seat, by usage, or by enterprise plan. We may change prices for a renewal term on prior notice; changes do not affect the current paid term.
7.3 Taxes. Fees are exclusive of taxes. You are responsible for applicable taxes other than taxes on our net income.
7.4 Non-payment. We may suspend the Service for overdue amounts after reasonable notice.
8.1 Term. These Terms apply while you have an account or any active subscription.
8.2 Suspension. We may suspend access where reasonably necessary to address a security risk, a violation of Section 4 or the AI Usage Policy, a legal requirement, or non-payment. We will limit the scope and duration of any suspension to what is reasonably necessary.
8.3 Termination. Either party may terminate for material breach not cured within thirty (30) days of notice. You may terminate by cancelling your subscription. We may terminate or decline to renew on notice at the end of a term.
8.4 Effect of termination. On termination, your right to use the Service ends. You may export your Customer Data during a ninety (90) day period after termination. After that period, we will delete Customer Data from production systems within the timeframe described in the Privacy Policy, subject to backup expiration and any legal retention obligation.
9.1 Roles. For personal data in Customer Content, you act as the controller (or "business") and Pattern Build acts as the processor (or "service provider"). Our processing is governed by the Data Processing Addendum, which is incorporated into these Terms where applicable law requires it or where the parties sign it.
9.2 Data-subject and individual requests. Because you control the Customer Content, requests from Represented Persons or other individuals to access, correct, or delete their data should be directed to and handled by you. We will provide self-service controls and reasonable assistance to help you respond, and we will act on your documented instructions. Where we receive a request directly, we will refer the individual to you, except where applicable law requires us to act.
9.3 Deletion controls. The Service provides controls to delete an individual Represented Person, a Voice Profile, specific Output or Customer Content, or an entire Workspace. When you delete Customer Data, we will remove it from production systems within the timeframe stated in the Privacy Policy, and it will expire from encrypted backups on our regular backup cycle.
9.4 Disputes between you and a Represented Person. We are not a party to, and will not adjudicate, ownership or contractual disputes between you and a Represented Person. As account owner, you control product decisions within your Workspace, and we will act on your instructions, except that we will comply with applicable law (including any binding legal requirement to act on an individual's statutory privacy rights). We encourage you to address ownership and authorization in your agreement with each Represented Person.
Each party may receive confidential information of the other. The receiving party will use it only to perform under these Terms and protect it with reasonable care. Your Customer Data is your confidential information. Confidentiality obligations do not apply to information that is public through no fault of the receiving party, independently developed, or required to be disclosed by law (with notice where permitted).
11.1 Mutual. Each party warrants it has authority to enter these Terms.
11.2 Service warranty. We will provide the Service in a professional manner consistent with industry standards.
11.3 Disclaimer. EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY STATED, THE SERVICE AND ALL OUTPUT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND ANY WARRANTY THAT OUTPUT WILL BE ACCURATE, COMPLETE, ORIGINAL, PROTECTABLE, OR FIT FOR PUBLICATION. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWING AND VERIFYING OUTPUT BEFORE USE.
12.1 By you. You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Pattern Build and its affiliates and personnel from and against any third-party claim, and any resulting losses, damages, liabilities, costs, and reasonable attorneys' fees, arising from or related to: (a) your Customer Content; (b) your Output and its publication or use; (c) your breach of Section 4 (including lack of rights, consents, or authorizations, unlawful recordings, or upload of third-party confidential information); (d) your violation of a third-party platform's terms; or (e) your violation of law or these Terms.
12.2 By us (IP indemnity). We will defend, indemnify, and hold you harmless from a third-party claim alleging that the Column Service itself, as provided by us and used in accordance with these Terms, infringes that third party's intellectual-property rights, and we will pay damages finally awarded or amounts in a settlement we approve. This obligation does not apply to, and we have no liability for, claims arising from: (i) Customer Content; (ii) Output, or the combination, modification, publication, or use of Output; (iii) your breach of Section 4; (iv) use of the Service in violation of these Terms or with non-Column products; or (v) Represented-Person identity, voice, likeness, or publicity claims. As your sole remedy, we may modify or replace the Service or terminate the affected use and refund prepaid, unused fees.
12.3 Procedure. The indemnified party will promptly notify the indemnifying party, allow it to control the defense (without settling in a way that imposes obligations on the indemnified party without consent), and cooperate reasonably.
13.1 Exclusion of indirect damages. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NEITHER PARTY WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, OR GOODWILL, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY.
13.2 Cap. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, EACH PARTY'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID FOR THE SERVICE IN THE NINETY (90) DAYS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE LIABILITY.
13.3 Exceptions. The cap and exclusions do not apply to: your payment obligations; your indemnification obligations under Section 12.1; either party's breach of confidentiality; or liability that cannot be limited by law.
PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT REQUIRES DISPUTES TO BE RESOLVED BY BINDING ARBITRATION AND WAIVES CLASS ACTIONS.
14.1 Informal resolution. Before filing, the parties will try in good faith to resolve any dispute for thirty (30) days after written notice.
14.2 Binding arbitration. Any dispute not resolved informally will be settled by binding arbitration administered by JAMS under its applicable rules, before a single arbitrator, seated in Orange County, California (proceedings may be conducted remotely). Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.
14.3 Class-action waiver. Disputes will be arbitrated only on an individual basis. The parties waive any right to participate in a class, collective, or representative action.
14.4 Carve-outs. Either party may (a) bring an individual claim in small-claims court, and (b) seek injunctive or other equitable relief in court to protect its intellectual property or confidential information.
14.5 Governing law. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules, and, for arbitrable matters, the Federal Arbitration Act governs the arbitration provisions.
15.1 Changes to these Terms. We may update these Terms. We will post the updated version and, for material changes, provide reasonable notice. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance. If you object to a material change, your remedy is to stop using and cancel the Service.
15.2 Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our consent, except to a successor in a merger or sale of substantially all assets. We may assign to an affiliate or successor.
15.3 Entire agreement; severability; no waiver. These Terms (with incorporated policies and any Order) are the entire agreement. If any provision is unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. Failure to enforce is not a waiver.
15.4 Force majeure. Neither party is liable for delays or failures due to events beyond its reasonable control.
15.5 Notices. Legal notices to us: legal@hicolumn.com, Attn: Legal, Pattern Build, LLC, 30 N Gould St, Ste R, Sheridan, WY 82801. Notices to you may be sent to your account email.
15.6 Relationship. The parties are independent contractors. Nothing creates a partnership, agency, or joint venture.
15.7 Contact. Questions about these Terms: support@hicolumn.com.