Abstract: Presented herein is a system for preventing the unauthorized use of a mold, said system comprising a mold comprising at least two cooperating mold sections that are required by a mold cycle; and a lock assembly operatively associated with said mold; wherein, when the mold is mounted on a molding machine and the lock assembly is in the locked position, the system allows disabling at least one of the components required to complete a mold cycle. According to some embodiments, the lock assembly may further comprise an electronic control that may be accessed remotely or locally or both. According to some embodiments, the system may further comprise a counter operatively associated with the lock assembly.