All license questions are best put to the maker.
However you make a fine case for why so much is written about backups of your systems as well as keeping your registration numbers on a few cards for the day you need to re-start from a disaster.
I wish I had the answer for you but it's their software and their rules.
Bob
With the failure of my HDD which held QB Pro 5.0 and all my QB data files, and QB's refusal to give me a registration number so that I can reload QB Pro 5.0, I am left with no choice but to install a newer version of QB. Since I want to load it on an XP machine, and my other machine runs Win 7, the most recent version which can be loaded on either OS is QB Pro 2012. I can get a copy of 2012 from a friend who no longer uses it, but am concerned I will not be able to register it, leaving me no better off than I am now. Does QB allow a new registration and what hoops do we have to go through to get it done? Don't want to contact Intuit with this question because they have stonewalled me on re-registering my old version. Thanks.

Chowhound
Comic Vine
GameFAQs
GameSpot
Giant Bomb
TechRepublic