Enforcing licensing policies using an application wrapper

• US 10,198,560 B2
• Filed: 03/13/2015
• Issued: 02/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Original Assignee: Citrix Systems, Inc. (Cloud Software Group)
• Inventors: Wisgo, Jeffrey David
• Primary Examiner(s): Iwarere, Oluseye
• Assistant Examiner(s): Iwarere, Seye
• Application Number:
  US14/657,267
• Publication Number:
  US 20160267257A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,425 Days
• Field of Search: 713165, 726 1, 726 22, 709224
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/105 Arrangements for software license management or administration, e.g. for managing licenses at corporate level
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1078 Logging; Metering
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/12 Protecting executable software
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/04 Billing or invoicing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/184 Intellectual property management

Abstract

Methods, systems, computer-readable media, and apparatuses for enforcing licensing policies using an application wrapper are presented. In one or more embodiments, a computing device may monitor, using a first application wrapper of a first application on the computing device, usage of the first application. The first application wrapper of the first application may provide a policy enforcement layer between the first application and an operating system of the computing device, and the policy enforcement layer may control execution of the first application based on one or more mobile device management policies. Subsequently, the computing device may enforce, using the first application wrapper of the first application, one or more licensing policies on the first application at runtime based on the usage of the first application. In some embodiments, the policy enforcement layer may control execution of the first application by intercepting input to the first application, intercepting output from the first application, and intercepting function calls made by the first application.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

monitoring, by a first application wrapper of a first application on a computing device, usage of the first application, wherein the first application wrapper of the first application provides a policy enforcement layer between the first application and an operating system of the computing device, wherein the policy enforcement layer controls execution of the first application based on one or more mobile device management policies required by an enterprise organization to obtain access to one or more enterprise resources associated with the enterprise organization, and wherein the policy enforcement layer controls the execution of the first application based on the one or more mobile device management policies by selectively enabling or selectively disabling one or more features of the first application based on device state information monitored by the first application wrapper; and

enforcing, by the first application wrapper of the first application, one or more licensing policies on the first application at runtime based on the usage of the first application,

wherein enforcing the one or more licensing policies on the first application at runtime based on the usage of the first application comprises;

determining whether a license of a limited number of licenses for the first application is available for use by a user of the computing device;

based on determining that the license of the limited number of licenses for the first application is available for use by the user of the computing device, permitting the user of the computing device to use the first application;

based on determining that the license of the limited number of licenses for the first application is not available for use by the user of the computing device, placing the user of the computing device in a queue to use the first application until the license of the limited number of licenses for the first application becomes available; and

after placing the user of the computing device in the queue to use the first application, presenting, by the first application wrapper, a notification alerting the user of the computing device when the license of the limited number of licenses for the first application becomes available.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the policy enforcement layer controls the execution of the first application by intercepting input to the first application, intercepting output from the first application, and intercepting function calls made by the first application.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein enforcing the one or more licensing policies on the first application at runtime comprises allowing the first application to be used based on validating a license for the first application.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein enforcing the one or more licensing policies on the first application at runtime comprises preventing the first application from being used.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein enforcing the one or more licensing policies on the first application at runtime comprises prompting a user of the computing device to provide payment information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein enforcing the one or more licensing policies on the first application at runtime comprises generating billing information based on the usage of the first application.

7. The method of claim 6,

wherein usage of a first function of the first application is billed at a first billing rate,

wherein usage of a second function of the first application is billed at a second billing rate different from the first billing rate, and

wherein the first application wrapper of the first application tracks the usage of the first function of the first application and the usage of the second function of the first application to generate the billing information.

8. The method of claim 6,

wherein usage of the first application by a first user is billed at a first billing rate,

wherein usage of the first application by a second user is billed at a second billing rate different from the first billing rate, and

wherein the first application wrapper of the first application tracks the usage of the first application by the first user and the usage of the first application by the second user to generate the billing information.

9. The method of claim 6,

wherein usage of the first application by a first user is billed to a first division of the enterprise organization,

wherein usage of the first application by a second user is billed to a second division of the enterprise organization different from the first division of the enterprise organization, and

wherein the first application wrapper of the first application tracks the usage of the first application by the first user and the usage of the first application by the second user to generate the billing information.

10. The method of claim 1, comprising:

providing, by the first application wrapper of the first application, usage information to a license management server that is configured to generate billing information based on the usage information, the usage information identifying the usage of the first application.

11. The method of claim 1, comprising:

monitoring, by a second application wrapper of a second application on the computing device, usage of the second application, wherein the second application wrapper of the second application provides a second policy enforcement layer between the second application and the operating system of the computing device, the second policy enforcement layer controlling execution of the second application based on a second set of one or more mobile device management policies; and

enforcing, by the second application wrapper of the second application, a second set of one or more licensing policies on the second application at runtime based on the usage of the second application.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein enforcing the one or more licensing policies on the first application at runtime based on the usage of the first application comprises:

after presenting the notification alerting the user of the computing device when the license of the limited number of licenses for the first application becomes available, causing the license of the limited number of licenses for the first application to be reassigned to a next user in the queue to use the first application when the user of the computing device does not begin using the first application within a limited amount of time.

12. A computing device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

memory storing computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing device to;

monitor, by a first application wrapper of a first application on the computing device, usage of the first application, wherein the first application wrapper of the first application provides a policy enforcement layer between the first application and an operating system of the computing device, wherein the policy enforcement layer controls execution of the first application based on one or more mobile device management policies required by an enterprise organization to obtain access to one or more enterprise resources associated with the enterprise organization, and wherein the policy enforcement layer controls the execution of the first application based on the one or more mobile device management policies by selectively enabling or selectively disabling one or more features of the first application based on device state information monitored by the first application wrapper; and

enforce, by the first application wrapper of the first application, one or more licensing policies on the first application at runtime based on the usage of the first application,

wherein enforcing the one or more licensing policies on the first application at runtime based on the usage of the first application comprises;

determining whether a license of a limited number of licenses for the first application is available for use by a user of the computing device;

based on determining that the license of the limited number of licenses for the first application is available for use by the user of the computing device, permitting the user of the computing device to use the first application;

based on determining that the license of the limited number of licenses for the first application is not available for use by the user of the computing device, placing the user of the computing device in a queue to use the first application until the license of the limited number of licenses for the first application becomes available; and

after placing the user of the computing device in the queue to use the first application, presenting, by the first application wrapper, a notification alerting the user of the computing device when the license of the limited number of licenses for the first application becomes available.

13. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the policy enforcement layer controls the execution of the first application by intercepting input to the first application, intercepting output from the first application, and intercepting function calls made by the first application.

14. The computing device of claim 12, wherein enforcing the one or more licensing policies on the first application at runtime comprises allowing the first application to be used based on validating a license for the first application.

15. The computing device of claim 12, wherein enforcing the one or more licensing policies on the first application at runtime comprises preventing the first application from being used.

16. The computing device of claim 12, wherein enforcing the one or more licensing policies on the first application at runtime comprises prompting a user of the computing device to provide payment information.

17. The computing device of claim 12, wherein enforcing the one or more licensing policies on the first application at runtime comprises generating billing information based on the usage of the first application.

18. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the memory stores additional computer-readable instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing device to:

provide, by the first application wrapper of the first application, usage information to a license management server that is configured to generate billing information based on the usage information, the usage information identifying the usage of the first application.

19. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to:

monitor, by a first application wrapper of a first application on the computing device, usage of the first application, wherein the first application wrapper of the first application provides a policy enforcement layer between the first application and an operating system of the computing device, wherein the policy enforcement layer controls execution of the first application based on one or more mobile device management policies required by an enterprise organization to obtain access to one or more enterprise resources associated with the enterprise organization, and wherein the policy enforcement layer controls the execution of the first application based on the one or more mobile device management policies by selectively enabling or selectively disabling one or more features of the first application based on device state information monitored by the first application wrapper; and

enforce, by the first application wrapper of the first application, one or more licensing policies on the first application at runtime based on the usage of the first application,

wherein enforcing the one or more licensing policies on the first application at runtime based on the usage of the first application comprises;

determining whether a license of a limited number of licenses for the first application is available for use by a user of the computing device;

based on determining that the license of the limited number of licenses for the first application is available for use by the user of the computing device, permitting the user of the computing device to use the first application;

based on determining that the license of the limited number of licenses for the first application is not available for use by the user of the computing device, placing the user of the computing device in a queue to use the first application until the license of the limited number of licenses for the first application becomes available; and

after placing the user of the computing device in the queue to use the first application, presenting, by the first application wrapper, a notification alerting the user of the computing device when the license of the limited number of licenses for the first application becomes available.