METHOD FOR PROTECTING A SOFTWARE LICENSE, SYSTEM FOR SAME, SERVER, TERMINAL, AND COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM

• US 20110265186A1
• Filed: 12/16/2009
• Published: 10/27/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2008
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: SK Telecom Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: SK Telecom Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Nam, Giseon, Kim, Minseok, Shin, Jungkeum, Kwon, Oin, Oh, Sehyun, Kim, Sung
• Application Number:
  US13/142,011
• Publication Number:
  US 20110265186A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/123 by using dedicated hardware, e.g. dongles, smart cards, cryptographic processors, global positioning systems [GPS] devices

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to software license protection method, system, and medium readable by server, terminal, and computer. The present disclosure provides a software license protection terminal comprising: a terminal communicator operated in association with a coupled dongle type token; a terminal controller for operating and controlling certain software by checking whether the token has the requisite seculet to run the software and if so, transmitting to the token an executive instruction to run the seculet, and receiving the executive result from the token to activate the specific software; and a terminal storage for storing the software. The disclosure achieves overcoming software vulnerabilities to reverse engineering to keep the customers from inconveniences of authentication inconveniences with typical online dependency.

Claims

1. A software license protection terminal comprising:

a terminal communicator operated in association with a coupled dongle format token;

a terminal controller for operating and controlling certain software by checking whether the token has a requisite seculet to run the software and if so, transmitting to the token an executive instruction to run the seculet, and receiving the executive result from the token to activate the specific software; and

a terminal storage for storing the specific software.

2. The software license protection terminal of claim 1, wherein the seculet is a program comprised of requisite components to run the specific software.

3. The software license protection terminal of claim 2, wherein the seculet comprises:

an identity section including at least one of character string, description, icon image, and unique number data for establishing the identity of the seculet;

a code section including the executive instruction run in the token;

a permanent data section for storing permanent data used as a reference; and

a dynamic data section for storing history information from executing the seculet.

4. The software license protection terminal of claim 1, wherein the user terminal asks the token for information of an identity path of the seculet when the latter is required in the process of running the specific software, and upon receiving the identity path information from the token the user terminal recognizes the presence of the seculet at the token.

5. The software license protection terminal of claim 1, wherein the terminal controller performs to authenticate the token when it verifies that the specific software and the token have a common encoding scheme through transceiving encoded or decoded messages via a shared key between them.

6. The software license protection terminal of claim 1, wherein the terminal controller transmits an input parameter and the executive instruction to the token based on the information of the seculet or the identity path, loads the seculet from the token onto an executable memory area, and then performs setting the input parameter to receive the executive result of executing a pertinent code.

7. A software license protection server comprising:

a server communicator operated in association with a user terminal;

a server controller for checking whether there is a dongle format token at the user terminal when it has a purchase of specific software, and if the token is present, encoding and transmitting a requisite seculet to run the specific software to the token; and

a server storage for storing at least one of the specific software and the seculet for information.

8. The software license protection server of claim 7, wherein the server controller does the seculet encoding in at least one method of a substitution, transposition, rotor machine, private key, and public key.

9. The software license protection server of claim 7, wherein the server controller confirms decoding and storing of the seculet by the token and then completes the software purchase.

10. A software license protection system comprising:

a user terminal for operating and controlling certain software at the presence of a requisite seculet to run the software by transmitting an executive instruction to run the seculet, and upon receipt of the executive result activating the software; and

a token storing the seculet and being capable of coupling in a dongle format to the user terminal for transmitting the seculet to the user terminal, and upon receiving the executive instruction relaying the executive result of loading the seculet onto an executable memory area.

11. The software license protection system of claim 10, wherein the token comprises:

a storage for storing a plurality of the seculet; and

a microprocessor for calculating and controlling the seculets through executing thereof.

12. A software license protection method comprising:

executing a specific software;

checking for the presence of a seculet to run the specific software in an associated token, and if the seculet is present, transmitting an executive instruction for executing the seculet to the token; and

upon receipt of the result of executing the seculet activating the software.

13. The software license protection method of claim 12, wherein the step of transmitting executive instruction comprises:

asking the token for information of an identity path of the seculet when it is required in the process of executing the software; and

upon receiving the identity path information from the token recognizing the presence of the seculet at the token.

14. The software license protection method of claim 13, further comprising after the seculet recognizing, authenticating the token with a verification that the specific software and the token have a common encoding scheme through transceiving encoded or decoded messages via a shared key between them.

15. The software license protection method of claim 12, wherein the step of transmitting executive instruction comprises transmitting an input parameter and the executive instruction to the token based on the information of the seculet or the identity path.

16. The software license protection method of claim 12, wherein the step of activating the software loads the seculet from the token onto an executable memory area, and then performs setting the input parameter to receive the executive result of executing a pertinent code.

17. A computer readable medium which encodes a computer program that implements the software license protection method in one-of claims 12 to 16 claim 12.

18. A computer readable medium which encodes a computer program that implements the software license protection method in claim 13.

19. A computer readable medium which encodes a computer program that implements the software license protection method in claim 14.

20. A computer readable medium which encodes a computer program that implements the software license protection method in claim 15.

21. A computer readable medium which encodes a computer program that implements the software license protection method in claim 16.