Apparatus and associated method for downloading an application with a variable lifetime to a mobile terminal

• US 20040160911A1
• Filed: 02/11/2004
• Published: 08/19/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RPX Corporation
• Original Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Kaszonyi, Gabor, Zilliacus, Martin
• Granted Patent: US 8,856,266 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1077 Recurrent authorisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2137 Time limited access, e.g. to a computer or data
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72403 with means for local support of applications that increase the functionality
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/959 Network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99953 Recoverability
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99954 Version management

Abstract

Apparatus, and associated method, provides for downloading an application with a selectable lifetime from an application database to a mobile terminal. The mobile terminal user'"'"'s identification information and the selected lifetime for the application are stored in an application-license database. When the user seeks to download the same application on a subsequent occasion the user is able to download that application for a reduced fee if lifetime remains from when the application was first downloaded. In addition, the application may be configured to delete or uninstall itself from the mobile terminal when the selected lifetime for the application expires.

Claims

1. A method for downloading an application to a mobile terminal from an application database, the application database containing at least a first application wherein the at least one application has a selectable lifetime during which the application is executable, said method comprising:

choosing an application of the at least one application contained at the application database the application to download to the mobile terminal;

selecting the selectable lifetime of the chosen application during which the application is to be executable;

downloading the chosen application from said application database to said mobile terminal; and

storing indicia of said selectable lifetime in an application-license database.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the operation of paying a fee for the chosen application wherein the fee for the chosen application is a function of said selected lifetime.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the operations subsequent to said step of storing of:

subsequently choosing the application previously chosen during said first operation of choosing and previously downloaded during said operation of downloading;

determining whether time remains within the selectable lifetimes selected during said operation of selecting; and

again downloading the application from said application database and storing said application in said mobile terminal if a determination is made during said step of determining that time remains in the selectable lifetime.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising the operation of paying a fee for said operation of again downloading the application that is a function of the time remaining in the selectable lifetime.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the operation of configuring the chosen application to be deleted from the mobile terminal when the selected lifetime for the chosen application expires.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the operation of deleting the application from the mobile terminal when said selected lifetime expires.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the chosen application is programmed to delete itself from the mobile terminal when said selected lifetime expires.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the operations of:

querying said application-license database to obtain the lifetime for the chosen application;

determining if said selectable lifetime for the application has expired; and

deleting the application from the mobile terminal if said selectable lifetime has expired.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the operation of choosing an application further comprises the operations of:

accessing a website; and

selecting a link to the chosen application.

10. The method of claim 2 wherein said lifetime includes an unlimited lifetime.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein if the user has selected an unlimited lifetime for the chosen application the user may download the application to additional mobile terminals without incurring additional fees.

12. The method of claim 3 wherein the operation of determining comprises the operation of comparing said chosen application and said selected lifetime to said indicia of said selectable lifetime in said application-license database to determine if time remains within the selectable lifetime selected during said operation of selecting.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the selectable lifetime of the chosen application is preprogrammed in the application.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein the selectable lifetime of the chosen application is programmed after the selectable lifetime is selected.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising the operation of configuring the chosen application to be deleted from the mobile terminal memory when the selected lifetime for the chosen application expires, wherein deletion responsive thereto removes a portion of said chosen application from the mobile terminal.

16. In a communication system having a mobile terminal capable of communicating by way of a radio link with network infrastructure, the mobile terminal having memory for at least one application, an improvement of apparatus for downloading an application to the mobile terminal, said apparatus comprising:

an application database coupled to the network infrastructure, said application database containing at least a first application downloadable to the mobile terminal, the application having a selectable lifetime during which the application is executable;

a detector coupled to the network infrastructure, said detector for detecting a request generated by the mobile terminal to have a selected application of the at least first application contained at said application database downloaded, said detector for obtaining the application from said application database, said detector for downloading the application to the mobile terminal for said selected lifetime; and

an application-license database coupled to the network infrastructure, said application-license database for storing said selected lifetime.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 further comprising a downloading server, said downloading server coupled to said detector, said downloading server coupled to said application database, and said downloading server coupled to said application-license database.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said downloading server configures said downloadable application to delete itself from the mobile terminal when said lifetime expires.

19. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said downloading server is configured to compare said request generated by the mobile terminal for downloading an application to said selected lifetime for said application stored in said application-license database, said downloading server downloads said application to the mobile terminal for a reduced fee if said requested application has lifetime remaining.

20. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said downloadable application is preprogrammed with said lifetime, wherein said downloadable application deletes itself from the mobile terminal when said lifetime expires.

21. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said lifetime expires as a function of a selected number of transactions.

22. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein said lifetime expires as a function of a selected time.