A method of collecting the personal details of a person who has just installed some software. This allows the software vendor to confirm that the single user clause of the software licence is adhered to.
Many products ask for online registration with an alternative postal registration. Sometimes the registration process requires the user to enter a licence key. This is usually a large set of characters to be typed into the product to allow it to work or to allow all of its features to work. Sometimes the software can run for a limited time without registration under a trial period. Some less scrupulous companies ask for additional details that they sell to marketing firms.