short points on software registration and product activation
Answers
Product activation is a license validation procedure required by some proprietary computer software programs. Product activation prevents unlimited free use of copied or replicated software. Unactivated software refuses to fully function until it determines whether it is authorized to fully function. Activation allows the software to stop blocking its use. An activation can last "forever", or it can have a time limit, requiring a renewal or re-activation for continued use.
In one form, product activation refers to a method invented by Ric Richardson and patented (U.S. Patent 5,490,216) by Uniloc where a software application hashes hardware serial numbers and an ID number specific to the product's license (a product key) to generate a unique installation ID. This installation ID is sent to the manufacturer to verify the authenticity of the product key and to ensure that the product key is not being used for multiple installations.
Explanation:
Software developers like Microsoft, Adobe, etc. only allow is users to try their products for a limited period or with less features. Software registration means that the user will have to pay for full version and register himself with a serial number to use the full product. The activation of the serial number is known as product activation. Hope it helps!