A system and method distribute licenses for copyrighted material separate from the copyrighted material itself. A producer or "vendor" of copyrighted material registers the material with a License Provider. The License Provider returns an encryption code for the producer to attach to the materials which are in digital form. The vendor distributes that material to one or more users who purchase a license from the License Provider. The license includes an encryption key to decrypt the file containing the materials. The system and method incorporate security measures to prevent unlicensed use and distribution of the materials.