TIME-BASED LICENSES

• US 20090254482A1
• Filed: 04/07/2008
• Published: 10/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Ho, Shek Lun, Vadlamani, Viswanath, Toshev, Kalin, Gunyakti, Caglar, Ivanov, Lazar Ivanov
• Application Number:
  US12/099,137
• Publication Number:
  US 20090254482A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/59
• 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: Y04S 40/20 Information technology specific aspects, e.g. CAD, simulation, modelling, system security

Abstract

A method and a system are provided for issuing a number of different types of time-based licenses associated with software products. The system may include an activation server, which may maintain licensing information in a licensing database, and a licensing platform, which may request issuance and renewal of time-based licenses. Each of the time-based licenses may be associated with respective product keys and may have a number of configurable parameters, which may make the time-based licenses suitable for a number of different licensing business models. The licensing business models may include, but not be limited to, a non-renewable evaluation license, a renewable trial license, a one-time promotion license, and a subscription license. In some embodiments, a configurable parameter may indicate an amount of time for a grace period after a time-based license would have normally expired.

Claims

1. A machine-implemented method for licensing a software product, the machine-implemented method comprising:

generating a time-based license from among a plurality of types of time-based licenses in response to receiving a request for the time-based license, each of the plurality of types of time-based licenses having a plurality of configurable parameters, a combination of the plurality of types of time-based licenses and the plurality of configurable parameters being capable of accommodating a plurality of licensing business models; and

sending the time-based license to an originating processing device of the request for the time-based license.

2. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

at least one of the types of time-based licenses is renewable; and

at least one of the types of time-based licenses is nonrenewable.

3. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of configurable parameters include a parameter indicating a number of activations per processing device.

4. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

each of the types of time-based licenses is associated with a range of product keys, and

the plurality of configurable parameters include a parameter indicating a number of processing devices that can activate a time-based license using a same product key.

5. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of configurable parameters for at least some of the types of time-based licenses include a parameter indicating a number of activations before an automatic transition to a perpetual license.

6. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

each of the types of time-based licenses is associated with a range of product keys, and

the plurality of configurable parameters include a parameter indicating whether a product key associated with respective time-based licenses is changeable.

7. The machine-implemented method of claim 1, wherein:

each of the types of time-based licenses is associated with a range of product keys, and

the plurality of configurable parameters include a first parameter indicating a first date before which a respective time-based license is invalid and a second parameter indicating a second date after which the respective time-based license is invalid.

8. A processing device for generating a time-based license in response to receiving a request for the time-based license, the processing device comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory connected to the at least one processor, the memory comprising;

instructions for generating the time-based license, a type of the time-based license being based on a product key included in the request for the time-based license, the generated time-based license having a plurality of configurable parameters defining a plurality of properties of the generated time-based license, a combination of the plurality of types and the plurality of configurable parameters being capable of accommodating a plurality of licensing business models, and

instructions for sending the generated time-based license to a second processing device that originated the request for the time-based license.

9. The processing device of claim 8, wherein:

time-based licenses are associated with a respective product key,

time-based licenses of at least a first one of a plurality of types permit a change of the associated respective product key, and

time-based licenses of at least a second one of the plurality of types permit renewal of respective time-based licenses without a change of associated respective product keys.

10. The processing device of claim 8, wherein the memory further comprises:

instructions for changing properties of a time-based license by changing configurable parameters of the time-based license on a per-product-key basis or on a per-time-based-license-type basis.

11. The processing device of claim 8, wherein the memory further comprises instructions for renewing a validity interval of a time-based license according to at least one configurable parameter of the time-based license.

12. The processing device of claim 8, wherein the memory further comprises instructions for enforcing selective properties of the time-based license as defined by the plurality of configurable parameters.

13. The processing device of claim 8, wherein the memory further comprises instructions for changing a type of a license from a first type to a second type.

14. The processing device of claim 8, wherein the memory further comprises instructions for changing a time-based license to a perpetual license based on a number of activations of the time-based license.

15. A tangible machine-readable medium having instructions recorded thereon for at least one processor, the instructions comprising:

instructions for validating and using a received time-based license of any one of a plurality of types, the time-based license having a plurality of configurable parameters defining properties of the time-based license; and

instructions for displaying, an amount of time before a valid time-based license expires.

16. The tangible machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions for providing a user interface to permit a user to enter time-based license commands and to view information with respect to a time-based license.

17. The tangible machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions further comprise instructions for displaying to a user a message warning of an impending license expiration at predetermined time periods before a time-based license expires.

18. The tangible machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions further comprise:

instructions for granting a right to use a fully enabled software product associated with the time-based license when the time-based license has remaining time, and

instructions for not granting the right to use the fully enabled software product when the time-based license has no remaining time.

19. The tangible machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions further comprise:

instructions for displaying information regarding a time-based license, and

instructions for executing the instructions for displaying an amount of time before a valid time-based license expires, at a predetermined time period before expiration of the valid time-based license.

20. The tangible machine-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions further comprise:

instructions for providing an application program interface for an application to request activation of a time-based license.