I have activated the account with the activation key and is now valid for 12 months. what happens after this period? do I get another activation key or is an upgrade cost necessary?
If it a free license you don’t need to worry. You can simply re-issue another one if it expired or lost.
If it a Pro license, that means you’re no longer applicable to upgrading of newer version when it comes out. You can still use your existing version, but not newer version. You need to pay a small fee for extending another 1-year Pro license.