I’m just putting this here in case it is of use to someone stuck with an Invalid Licence message when starting a new installation of Sony’s Catalyst Browse or Prepare software. Typically you get this error if you are migrating the operating system to anew computer via a backup or have uninstalled and then re-installed one of the Catalyst products.

On a Mac

Press and hold Shift + Command (?) while launching the application from the application folder. 

You should then be prompted to log in to your Sony Creative Software account, after which the activation should proceed as normal.

If that does not correct this issue, you may need to remove the licence files from you system.

Locate this folder:

/Users/Shared/

This folder contains files that corresponding to the Catalyst products installed on your system and will have the extension .LICENSE. Delete the .license files and retry the online registration process.

Please note that the .license files are hidden. To make them visible, press Shift + Command (?) + Period (.) 

On a Windows PC.

Press and hold Shift + the Windows key while launching the application.

This should open a window prompting you to log in to your Sony Creative Software account to activate your software as normal.

If that does not correct this issue, you may need to manually remove the licence files from your system.

Locate the following folder:

C:\ProgramData\Sony\

This folder contains files that correspond with the Catalyst products you have installed on your system and they will have the extension .LICENSE. Delete the .license files and retry the online registration process.

The ProgramData folder is a hidden folder. If you can’t see it, you will need to adjust your Folder Options to allow hidden files, folders, and drives to be displayed.