A locking programming interface (LPI) which prevents piracy of device-related user software. An LPI Code is generated from a variety of different parameters, including a software product ID, a Production Key, and a number of device-specific parameters for the device that the user software supports. The LPI Code is burned into a memory of the device using a Production Utility process which utilizes the Production Key supplied by the software manufacturer. When the user software is installed in a host machine such as a user's computer system, the software performs basic device validation and then validates the LPI Code burned into the device against codes embedded into the user software.