 The original patent application was dated late 1992 in Australia and granted in the US in 1996 and covers a technology popularly known as product activation, try and buy software and machine locking.In 1993 Uniloc distributed "Try and Buy" versions of software for multiple publishers via a marketing agreement with IBM.An initial success was the sale of thousands of copies of a software package (First Aid, developed by Cybermedia) distributed on the front cover of "Windows Sources" magazine in 1994.