A big part of the problem with software is their licensing verification systems.
I would also be VERY annoyed if this happened to me too.

Surely a simple system where the user explains to the software company what has happened, and the software company sends and email back to that person with a new key would solve the whole problem.

The greed and lack of trust that some software companies show towards their clients is also regrettable. You would like to think a software company would be grateful that a person decided to purchase their software and would go out of their way to help them out.

The software company I work for is probably too liberal in their approach and too trusting. I expect they are often ripped off. But the end result is heaps of happy customers who then go out and sing its praises to other potential customers. In the end, been ripped off on a few licenses doesn't matter when compared to the flood of new licenses it then sells. Personally I wouldn't be so trusting, but I have learnt some very valuable lessons from my boss of recent