A licensing system and method for deploying digital content is provided. A client system can download the digital content from the server and, if a valid license for the content is also found on the server, software may be permitted to run digital content. The license is stored in a location that is separate from the content. The license can be located using the URL address of the content. The system can locate the license on the server and determine whether the license covers the content. Content that is covered by the license can be processed and rendered. The content can be any form of digital media, such as a computer application.