I think that was to cut down on code sharing, as then you’d have to call Ambrosia and renew it & they could check if it had been renewed already
bit silly, if you had a group you’d arrange for only one to call and then share the renewed code. but since the codes are valid for ~10 years (255 fortnights) maybe you’d forget by expiration time
ah, they had a renewal server that the software would call periodically, so if it was down your license would still be valid for 10 more years