PACE Anti-Piracy has developed software licensing and authorization systems since 1985, and its iLok key is the format professional audio settled on. Rather than tying a licence to a particular computer, iLok stores it on a portable key that the software checks at launch. Hundreds of manufacturers authorize to the system, so one key can hold licences from dozens of different companies at once, and a machine failure never strands a licence on a dead drive. The current third generation holds over 1,500 licences, three times the capacity of the previous version, in a split and crack proof metal case roughly an inch and a half long. It ships in USB-A and USB-C versions so it plugs directly into desktop machines and modern laptops alike, and it stays fully backward compatible with second generation software requirements. PACE also provides iLok License Manager for moving and activating licences, and the Zero Downtime program for replacing licences on a lost or stolen key.