Interestingly, Native Instruments understands that friction creates piracy. By offering a free Player that can run licensed libraries (but cannot edit them), they convert a percentage of pirates. Once a producer falls in love with a library, they often buy it to get rid of the 45-minute timer. The patcher delays that conversion but does not prevent it entirely.
As of 2025, the “Kontakt 661 Patcher” is largely . Here is why: kontakt 661 patcher