Method and system for limiting the use of user-specific software features

• US 20050060266A1
• Filed: 06/02/2004
• Published: 03/17/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: DeMello, Marco A., Zeman, Pavel, Yaacovi, Yoram
• Granted Patent: US 7,861,306 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/57
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2137 Time limited access, e.g. to a computer or data

Abstract

A server architecture for a digital rights management system that distributes and protects rights in content. The server architecture includes a retail site which sells content items to consumers, a fulfillment site which provides to consumers the content items sold by the retail site, and an activation site which enables consumer reading devices to use content items having an enhanced level of copy protection. Each retail site is equipped with a URL encryption object, which encrypts, according to a secret symmetric key shared between the retail site and the fulfillment site, information that is needed by the fulfillment site to process an order for content sold by the retail site. Upon selling a content item, the retail site transmits to the purchaser a web page having a link to a URL comprising the address of the fulfillment site and a parameter having the encrypted information. Upon following the link, the fulfillment site downloads the ordered content to the consumer, preparing the content if necessary in accordance with the type of security to be carried with the content. The fulfillment site includes an asynchronous fulfillment pipeline which logs information about processed transactions using a store-and-forward messaging service. The fulfillment site may be implemented as several server devices, each having a cache which stores frequently downloaded content items, in which case the asynchronous fulfillment pipeline may also be used to invalidate the cache if a change is made at one server that affects the cached content items. An activation site provides an activation certificate and a secure repository executable to consumer content-rendering devices which enables those content rendering devices to render content having an enhanced level of copy-resistance. The activation site “activates” client-reading devices in a way that binds them to a persona, and limits the number of devices that may be activated for a particular persona, or the rate at which such devices may be activated for a particular persona.

Claims

1. A method of enabling the use of a digital work on plural computing devices, said method comprising the acts of:

receiving, from a computing device, a request to enable the use of said digital work on said computing device, said request comprising first data indicative of a user, said digital work being associated with said user and requiring the presence of second data on said computing device in order to be used on said computing device; and

if a limit associated with said user has not been reached, providing said second data to said computing device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said limit comprises a restriction on the number of computing devices which said user may enable for use of said digital work.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said limit comprises a restriction on the rate at which said user may enable computing devices to use said digital work.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said limit comprises a time-dependent number of computing devices on which use of said digital work may be enabled, wherein said time-dependent number is the sum of:

a first predetermined number of computing devices on which use of said digital work may be enabled during a first time period; and

the product of a second number and a third number, wherein said second number is the number of second time periods that have commenced or elapsed since the end of said first time period, and said third number is a number of computing device on which use of said digital work may be enabled for each of said second time periods.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said time-dependent number is capped at a maximum value if said sum exceeds said maximum value.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said digital work comprises text, and wherein use of said digital work comprises displaying said text on one of said plural computing devices.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said digital work comprises multimedia content, and wherein use of said digital work comprises rendering said multimedia content on one of said plural computing devices.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said multimedia content comprises music, video, animations, or pictures.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said digital work is created subsequent to the provision of said second data to said computing device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said second data comprises a first cryptographic key, which enables use of said digital work.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said second data further comprises a second cryptographic key, wherein said first and second cryptographic keys are the private and public keys, respectively, of an asymmetric key pair, wherein said digital work comprises encrypted content and a decryption key which decrypts said encrypted content, and wherein at least a portion of said second data including said second cryptographic key is uploadable to a content provider whereby said decryption key may be included in said digital work in a form encrypted by said second cryptographic key.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said second data comprises information indicative of said user.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein said first data is durably stored on said computing device so as to permit the enduring use of said digital work on said computing device.

15. A computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions to perform the method of claim 1.

6. (cancelled).

16. A method of activating software installed on plural computing devices, said method comprising the acts of:

receiving, from a first computing device, a first request to activate said software installed on said first computing device, said request comprising information indicative of a user, said software having an activated state and a non-activated state;

determining that an activation limit associated with said user has not been reached; and

providing first activation data to said first computing device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said software comprises content-rendering software, wherein said software renders a first class of digital works without regard to whether it is in the activated state, and wherein said software renders a second class of digital works only when it is in the activated state.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said first and second classes of digital works comprise textual content, and wherein said software comprises text-rendering software.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein said first and second classes of digital works comprise multimedia content, and wherein said software comprises multimedia-rendering software.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said multimedia content comprises music, video, animations, or pictures.

21. The method of claim 16, wherein said software in some manner processes a class of digital works, wherein each of said digital works in said class comprises encrypted content and a decryption key which decrypts said encrypted content, said decryption key being included in said digital work in an encrypted form decryptable with a cryptographic key, and wherein said first activation data comprises said cryptographic key.

22. The method of claim 16, further comprising the acts of:

receiving, from a second computing device, a second request to activate said software installed on said second computing device, said second request comprising information indicative of said user;

determining that said activation limit associated with said user has been reached; and

denying activation of said software on said second computing device.

23. The method of claim 16, further comprising the act of providing a secure repository to said first computing device, said secure repository being in at least some way dependent upon said first computing device.

24. The method of claim 16, wherein said activation limit comprises a restriction on the number of activations of said software that said user may request.

25. The method of claim 16, wherein said activation limit comprises a restriction on the rate at which said user may activate said software.

26. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions to perform the method of claim 16.

27. A method of activating software on plural computing devices, said method comprising the acts of:

receiving, from a first computing device, a first request to activate first software installed on said first computing device with respect to a first user;

determining that an activation limit associated with said first user has not been reached; and

activating said first software with respect to said first user;

wherein said first software renders at least a first class of digital works without regard to whether said first software has been activated, and a second class of digital works only if said first software has been activated with respect to said first user.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein each of said first and second classes of digital works comprises textual content.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein each of said first and second sets of digital works comprises multimedia content.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein said multimedia content comprises music, video, animations, or pictures.

31. The method of claim 27, further comprising the acts of:

receiving, from a second computing device, a second request to activate second software installed on said second computing device with respect to said first user;

determining that an activation limit associated with said first user has been reached; and

denying activation of said second software;

wherein said second software renders at least said first class of digital works without regard to whether said second software has been activated, and said second class of digital works only if said second software has been activated with respect to said first user.

32. The method of claim 27, further comprising the acts of:

receiving, from said first computing device, a second request to activate said first software with respect to a second user;

determining that an activation limit associated with said second user has not been reached; and

activating said first software with respect to said second user;

wherein said first software further renders a third class of digital works only if said first software has been activated with respect to said second user.

33. The method of claim 27, wherein at least some items in said second class are created subsequent to activation of said first software.

34. The method of claim 27, wherein said activation limit comprises a restriction on the number of activations that said first user may request.

35. The method of claim 27, wherein said activation limit comprises a restriction on the rate at which said first user may activate software.

36. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions to perform the method of claim 27.

37. A method enabling the use of an enhanced feature available on plural computing devices, said method comprising the acts of:

receiving, from a first computing device, a first request to enable said enhanced feature on said first computing device;

determining that a limit has not been reached;

enabling the use of said enhanced feature on said first computing device;

wherein said first computing device has at least some non-enhanced features usable regardless of whether said enhanced feature is enabled, and wherein said limit is selected from the group consisting of;

a restriction on the number of computing devices on which said enhanced feature may be enabled, and a restriction on the rate at which computing devices may be enabled to use said enhanced feature.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein said enhanced feature is associated with a user, wherein said limit is associated with said user, and wherein said first request comprises information indicative of said user.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein said information comprises a username and password, and wherein said method further comprises the act of querying a namespace authority to validate said username and password.

40. The method of claim 37, wherein said enhanced feature comprises rendering a first class of digital works, and wherein said non-enhanced features comprise rendering a second class of digital works.

41. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions to perform the method of claim 37.

42. A method of activating software for use by a persona on a limited number of computing devices, said method comprising the acts of:

receiving said persona'"'"'s credentials;

authenticating said credentials by querying a namespace authority;

requesting first information from the remote computing device;

determining a number of activations of the software within a first period of time in accordance with the persona'"'"'s credentials and first information requested from the remote computing device; and

if the number of activations is less than a maximum number of activations within said first period of time, then;

generating an activation certificate that includes second information related to the persona'"'"'s credentials; and

uploading said activation certificate to the remote computing device to activate the software residing on the remote computing device such that operation of the software is associated with the persona'"'"'s credentials.

43. The method of claim 42, further comprising the act of increasing said maximum number after the elapse of a second period of time.

44. The method of claim 42, wherein said software renders a first set of digital works without regard to whether said activation certificate is present on said remote computing device, and wherein said software renders a second set of digital works associated with said persona only if said activation certificate is present on said remote computing device.

45. The method of claim 42, wherein said activation certificate comprises a first cryptographic key associated with said persona, and wherein each digital work in said second class comprises encrypted content and a decryption key which decrypts said encrypted content, and wherein the decryption key contained in each item in said second class is included in the item in a form encrypted by said first cryptographic key.

46. The method of claim 42, wherein said activation certificate is in some manner resistant to usage on a computing device different from said remote computing device.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein at least some data in said activation certificate is encrypted with a first cryptographic key, and wherein said remote computing device is equipped with a set of computer-executable instructions which applies said first cryptographic key, said set of computer-executable instructions being in some manner dependent for their correct execution on their presence on said remote computing device.

48. A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions to perform the method of claim 42.