PORTABLE PARAMETER-BASED LICENSING

• US 20100333212A1
• Filed: 06/25/2009
• Published: 12/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Foster, David J., Carpenter, Todd L., Abzarian, David
• Application Number:
  US12/491,280
• Publication Number:
  US 20100333212A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/29
• 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 21/53 by executing in a restricted environment, e.g. sandbox or secure virtual machine
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2149 Restricted operating environment
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2463/101 applying security measures for digital rights management data processing systems or methods, specially adapted for commerce, e.g. marketing, shopping, billing, auctions or e-commerce G06Q30/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0853 using an additional device, e.g. smartcard, SIM or a different communication terminal cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication involving additional secure or trusted devices H04L9/3234
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources

Abstract

Portable parameter-based licensing techniques are described. These techniques allow licenses to be decoupled from any particular host device and utilized in a portable and flexible fashion. In at least some embodiments, license data that includes a license to use computer-related functionality can be stored in a secure execution environment. The secure execution environment can be provided by a suitable secure execution environment hosting device(s) (SEHD), such as a portable flash memory device for instance. The license data in the secure execution environment can then be utilized to authorize use of the computer-related functionality, according to the license, on any number of host devices not responsible for providing the secure execution environment. As a result, the owner of the license can use the computer-related functionality without being restricted to any particular host device.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable storage media embodying computer-executable instructions which, when executed, implement a method comprising:

obtaining license data from a licensing entity;

storing the license data in a secure execution environment, wherein the license data comprises a license for software;

authenticating the secure execution environment with a host device, wherein the secure execution environment is provided by one or more devices other than the host device; and

authorizing a usage of the software on the host device based at least in part on the license data securely stored in the secure execution environment.

2. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 1, wherein the obtaining comprises:

authenticating the secure execution environment with the licensing entity;

responsive to the authenticating the secure execution environment with the host device, receiving encrypted license data in the secure execution environment; and

decrypting the encrypted license data to obtain the license data.

3. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

authenticating the secure execution environment with the licensing entity; and

responsive to the authenticating the secure execution environment with the host device, permitting the licensing entity to modify the license data.

4. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 1, wherein the authorizing comprises one or more of:

validating that the license permits the usage;

metering the usage;

or

exporting a new license for the software to the host device.

5. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 4, wherein the metering comprises one or both of:

providing, for each of one or more time periods, permission to the host device to use the software;

or

incrementally decrementing, for individual time periods, an available scope of usage of the license.

6. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 5, wherein the providing comprises:

periodically receiving a confirmation signal from the host device while the secure execution environment is communicatively linked with the host device; and

responsive to the periodically receiving, periodically providing an authorization signal to the host device for each of the one or more time periods.

7. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 4, wherein the exporting comprises:

generating the new license for the software with a new available scope of usage equal to or less than an available scope of usage of the license;

modifying the available scope of usage of the license according to the new available scope of usage; and

supplying the host device with the new license.

8. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 1, wherein the one or more devices other than the host device comprise a portable memory device configured to be communicatively linked with the host device.

9. A device comprising:

one or more storage media configured to securely store license data comprising a license to use computer-related functionality; and

a portable licensing module configured to authorize, based on the license data securely stored on the one or more storage media, a usage of the computer-related functionality on a host device configured to be communicatively linked with the device.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the device comprises a flash memory device configured to be removeably attached to the host device to communicatively link with the host device.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein the computer-related functionality is related to one more of:

a software application;

an operating system;

a software application upgrade;

or

an operating system upgrade.

12. The device of claim 9, wherein the portable licensing module is configured to authorize the usage by one or more of:

validating that the license permits the usage;

metering the usage;

or

exporting a new license for the computer-related functionality to the host device.

13. The device of claim 12, wherein the metering comprises one or both:

providing, for each of one or more time periods, permission to the host device to use the computer-related functionality;

or

incrementally decrementing, for individual time periods, an available scope of usage of the license.

14. The device of claim 12, wherein the exporting comprises:

generating the new license, wherein the new license is associated with a new available scope of usage equal to or less than an available scope of usage of the license;

decrementing the available scope of usage of the license according to the new available scope of usage; and

supplying the host device with the new license.

15. The device of claim 9, wherein the portable licensing module is configured to obtain the license data by:

authenticating the device with a licensing entity;

responsive to the authenticating, receiving encrypted license data; and

decrypting the encrypted license data to obtain the license data.

16. One or more computer-readable storage media embodying computer-executable instructions which, when executed, implement a method comprising:

authenticating license data of a first device to a second device, wherein the license data describes an available scope of usage for software and is securely stored on the first device; and

for each of one or more time periods, providing permission to the second device to use the software based at least in part on the license data.

17. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 16, wherein the providing permission comprises:

periodically receiving a confirmation signal from the second device while the first device is communicatively linked with the second device; and

responsive to the periodically receiving, periodically providing an authorization signal to the second device.

18. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 16, wherein the method further comprises incrementally decrementing, for each of the one or more time periods, the available scope of usage.

19. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 16, wherein the available scope of usage is defined by one or more of:

time increments of available software usage;

available software feature levels;

or

one or more pre-defined usage tracking units.

20. The one or more computer-readable storage media of claim 16, wherein the first device comprises a portable memory device configured to be removeably attached to the second device to communicatively link with the second device.