Confirming user rights in distribution of application programs

• US 20050160064A1
• Filed: 09/30/2004
• Published: 07/21/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Open Bit Oy Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Open Bit Oy Ltd.
• Inventors: Savolainen, Antti, Kanto, Jarno, Tykka, Tero, Saarinen, Tapani, Lehtonen, Arto
• Application Number:
  US10/953,785
• Publication Number:
  US 20050160064A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 2221/2137 Time limited access, e.g. to a computer or data

Abstract

A method of confirming the user rights of a file to be loaded into a terminal, wherein a user of the terminal is requested to acknowledge a licence of the file. A single payment limit value is stored in the terminal for effecting a licence charge. After acknowledgement of the licence of the file, the price and identifier of the file, and the identifiers of the different parties to the distribution path are stored file-specifically. The prices of all loaded files are summed up and if the summed-up price exceeds the single payment limit value, a message authorizing a charge amounting to the single payment is transmitted to a third party responsible for the charge, the message comprising information on the identifiers of the files charged in the single payment, the identifiers of the different parties to the distribution path, and the portion of each file in the single payment.

Claims

1. A computer-based method of confirming the user rights of a file to be loaded into a terminal, the method comprising:

loading at least one file with non-confirmed user rights into the terminal;

in response to starting execution of said file, initiating a user rights control application in said terminal;

determining, in the user rights control application, licence terms of said file as precondition for using said file in said terminal, said licence terms being delivered in association with said file and including at least duration and price of the licence;

displaying said licence terms for a user of the terminal to be accepted;

in response to receiving an acknowledgement from the user of the terminal of the licence terms of the file, storing file-specifically in said user rights control application at least the price parameter of the file, the identifier of the file and the identifier of at least one party to the distribution path of the file; and

approving in said user rights control application, with a processor in the terminal, said file to be executed in the terminal.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a predetermined single payment limit value being arranged to be stored in the terminal for effecting a licence charge, the method further comprising;

summing up the price parameters of all loaded files in said user rights control application; and

in response to the summed-up price of all loaded files exceeding or being equal to said predetermined single payment limit value, transmitting a message authorizing a charge amounting to the single payment to a third party responsible for the charge, the message comprising information on the identifiers of the files to be charged in said single payment, the identifiers of at least one party to the distribution path of the files, and the portion of the price parameter of each file in said single payment.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

in response to a file being loaded into the terminal from a second terminal, adding the identifier of said second terminal to said message authorizing the charge and transmitted to the third party.

4. The method as claimed in claim 2, further comprising:

in response to measures authorizing a refund, such as the delivery of application programs or other files to other terminals or the reception of advertisement messages, being performed in the terminal, adding the identification data on said measures authorizing the refund to said message authorizing the charge and transmitted to the third party.

5. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein said terminal is a terminal in a mobile network and said third party responsible for the charge is a mobile operator, the method further comprising:

transmitting said message authorizing a charge amounting to the single payment as a payment short message.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

transmitting said payment short message from the terminal to the operator.

7. The method as claimed in claim 5, further comprising:

transmitting said payment short message from the operator to the terminal in response to charge information received from the terminal.

8. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein said terminal is a terminal in a mobile network and said third party responsible for the charge is a mobile operator, the method further comprising:

delivering said message authorizing a charge amounting to the single payment by one of the following manners;

a chargeable WAP link, a chargeable data call, a chargeable voice call utilizing DTMF command strings.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

offering a temporary licence for using the loaded file to the user of the terminal for acknowledgement.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, further comprising:

initiating a timer defining the validity period of the temporary licence in response to an acknowledgement of the temporary licence received from the user; and

offering a new temporary licence to the user of the terminal for acknowledgement once the timer defining the validity period of the previous temporary licence has expired.

11. A computer-readable memory encoded with program code for confirming the user rights of at least one file with non-confirmed user rights loaded into a terminal, wherein the program code is provided for:

determining licence terms of said file as precondition for using said file in said terminal, said licence terms being delivered to the terminal in association with said file and including at least duration and price of the licence;

displaying said licence terms for a user of the terminal to be accepted;

in response to receiving an acknowledgement from the user of the terminal of the licence terms of the file, storing file-specifically in said user rights control application at least the price parameter of the file, the identifier of the file and the identifier of at least one party to the distribution path of the file; and

approving in said user rights control application said file to be executed in the terminal.

12. The computer readable memory as claimed in claim 11, wherein the program code further provides for:

storing a predetermined single payment limit value in the terminal for effecting a licence charge;

summing up the price parameters of all loaded files in said user rights control application; and

transmitting a message authorizing a charge amounting to the single payment to a third party responsible for the charge, the message comprising information on the identifiers of the files to be charged in said single payment, the identifiers of at least one party to the distribution. path of the files, and the portion of the price parameter of each file in said single payment, the message being arranged to be transmitted in response to the summed-up price parameters of all loaded files exceeding or being equal to said predetermined single payment limit value.

13. A terminal in a telecommunication network, wherein the terminal includes a computer processor, the terminal being arranged to:

load at least one file with non-confirmed user rights into the terminal, initiate a user rights control application in said terminal, if execution of said file is started;

determine, by means of the user rights control application, licence terms of said file as precondition for using said file in said terminal, said licence terms being delivered in association with said file and including at least duration and price of the licence;

display said licence terms for a user of the terminal to be accepted;

receive an acknowledgement from the user of the terminal of the licence terms of the file;

store file-specifically in said user rights control application at least the price parameter of the file, the identifier of the file and the identifier of at least one party to the distribution path of the file; and

approve said file to be executed in the terminal.

14. The terminal as claimed in claim 13, wherein a predetermined single payment limit value is arranged to be stored in the terminal for effecting a licence charge, the terminal being further arranged to:

sum up the price parameters of all loaded files in said user rights control application; and

in response to the summed-up price of all loaded files exceeding or being equal to said predetermined single payment limit value, transmit a message authorizing a charge amounting to the single payment to a third party responsible for the charge, the message comprising information on the identifiers of the files to be charged in said single payment, the identifiers of at least one party to the distribution path of the files, and the portion of the price parameter of each file in said single payment.