Abstract: A system is described for controlling the distribution of licensed software. The system includes a license registration database which may be contacted by a user using a web browser, e-mail, or another approach, to provide to that system a registration key. The registration key is obtained by the user from the vendor of the software product, who in turn records it in the license registration database. In response to the registration key, the license registration database unlocks the software, allowing use of the software by the user on the user's system. By incorporating into the request from the user unique information about the user's system, distribution of the software beyond the user's system is limited or precluded, as specified by the vendor.