Hey there, great questions. We do not currently expose the seed for LND, but are planning to in an upcoming release because people are wanting it.

The reason we made this decision originally is because exposing the seed is unnecessary and misleading. It leads people people to believe that writing down the seed is enough. It is not. To properly back up a lightning node, you need to back the seed AND the static channel backup. These are both included when you create a backup on your Start9 device.

There is currently no reason to register a product key with Start9. But in the future, when we embue these unique keys with value in the form of white glove support, discounted pricing, etc, then yes, we will offer a way for DIY people to pay a small fee to sign up if they want. Totally optional of course