SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR LINKING PRE-INSTALLED SOFTWARE TO A USER ACCOUNT ON AN ONLINE STORE

• US 20130019234A1
• Filed: 09/29/2011
• Published: 01/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Pardehpoosh, Pedraum R., Federighi, Craig M., Feldman, Daniel I., Quirk, Gregory T., Matthew, Jack R., Lee-Kang, Jackie, Ciudad, Jean-Pierre, Gromek, Monika E., Burkholder, Thomas K., Pu, Daniel Emil, Gharabally, Sam, Verosub, Ellis Marshall, Hwang, Yoon Sub
• Granted Patent: US 10,158,635 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 717/170
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/121 Restricting unauthorised execution of programs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/128 involving web programs, i.e. using technology especially used in internet, generally interacting with a web browser, e.g. hypertext markup language [HTML], applets, java
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6272 by registering files or documents with a third party
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2117 User registration
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/61 Installation
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3672 initialising or reloading thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0876 based on the identity of the terminal or configuration, e.g. MAC address, hardware or software configuration or device fingerprint
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits

Abstract

Disclosed herein are systems, methods, and non-transitory computer-readable storage media for associating an application that was pre-installed on a computer with a user account on an online store. A system configured to practice the method presents an application available for download, receives a request to download the application to a computing device, determines that the application is a pre-installed application, presents an authorization prompt configured to request user authorization to link the application with a user account, receives the user authorization, generates a unique hardware identifier associated with the computing device, determines that the application is linkable based upon the unique hardware identifier, and links the adoptable application with the user account when the adoptable application is linkable.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving a request from a computing device to update an application installed on the computing device;

determining, by a server, that the application installed on the computing device has an update available;

notifying the computing device that the application has an update available;

receiving, from the computing device, user authorization to link the application with a user account associated with the computing device;

in response to receiving the user authorization, receiving, from the computing device, a unique hardware identifier associated with the computing device;

determining that the application has not been linked with any user account based upon the unique hardware identifier associated with the computing device; and

linking the application with the user account, wherein linking the application with the user account allows the application and updates to the application to be downloaded to one or more computing devices associated with the user account.

2. The method of claim 1,

wherein the request includes a stub receipt associated with the application, the stub receipt including a version number and a name associated with the application.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein determining that the application has update available comprises:

searching an application database for the application; and

comparing the version number of the application with a second version number of a second application stored on the application database, wherein the second application is the update of the application.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the application has not been linked to any user account comprises:

querying a uniqueness table for the unique hardware identifier; and

determining that the application has not been linked with any user account when the unique hardware identifier is found in the uniqueness table.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein linking the application with the user account comprises:

associating the application with the user account; and

updating a uniqueness table to include the unique hardware identifier.

25. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining that the client device was purchased with the application already installed.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the unique identifier is associated with hardware of the computing device.

4-6. -6. (canceled)

9. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions which, when executed by a computing device, causes the computing device to perform steps comprising:

receiving communications from a client device, the communications including a user selected option configured to update an application installed on the client device and a unique hardware identifier based upon hardware metadata associated with the client device;

determining that the application has not been linked to any user account based upon the unique hardware identifier;

linking the application with the user account, wherein linking the pre-installed application with the user account allows the application and updates to the application to be downloaded to one or more computing devices associated with the user account; and

transmitting, to the client device, an approval message notifying the client device that the application has been linked with the user account.

10. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, further comprising:

determining, that the application installed on the client device has an update available based on metadata associated with the application, wherein the metadata is part of the communications received; and

notifying the client device that the application has an update available.

11. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the metadata includes a stub receipt associated with the application.

12. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the metadata includes a manifest associated with the application.

14. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein notifying the client device includes presenting, on a web page, a user-selectable option to update the application.

15. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein determining that the application has not been linked to any user account comprises:

querying a uniqueness table for the unique hardware identifier to determine whether the application has been linked to any user account.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein determining that the application has not been linked to any user account comprises querying a configurations database to determine whether an original configuration of the computing device included the application.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 9, wherein linking the application with the user account comprises:

associating the application with the user account; and

updating a uniqueness table to include the unique hardware identifier, the uniqueness table including another unique hardware identifier that is associated with another electronic device having another pre-installed application, the another pre-installed application having been linked with another user account.

13. (canceled)

18. A method, comprising:

receiving a user request to update an application installed on a computing device;

determining, by a server, that the application has an update available;

notifying the computing device that the application has an update available;

determining that the application has not been linked to any user account based upon a unique hardware identifier associated with hardware of the computing device; and

linking the application with the user account, wherein linking the application with the user account allows the application and updates to the application be downloaded to the at least one computing device associated with the user account.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the unique hardware identifier is based upon one or more hardware components of the computing device.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the unique hardware identifier is based upon a logic board serial number and an Ethernet hardware address.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein determining that the application has not been linked to any user account comprises:

receiving, from the computing device, the unique hardware identifier; and

querying a uniqueness table for the unique hardware identifier to determine whether the application has been linked to any user account.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein determining that the application has not been linked to any user account comprises:

receiving, from the computing device, the unique hardware identifier; and

querying a configurations database with the unique hardware identifier to determine whether an original configuration of the computing device included the application.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein linking the pre-installed application with the user account comprises:

associating the pre-installed application with the user account; and

removing metadata associated with the pre-installed application from a manifest stored on the client device, the manifest being configured to list applications that have not been linked to any user account.

24. A system, comprising:

a memory configured to store;

a uniqueness table configured to store unique hardware identifiers associated with electronic devices having pre-installed applications,

an applications database storing applications and application updates available for distribution, and

a configurations database configured to store an original configuration of a client device, the original configuration of the client device including a representation of an application that was installed on the client device prior to purchase of the client device and a unique hardware identifier identifying the client device; and

a processor configured to;

receive a request from a client device to update an application installed on the client device, wherein the application is not linked with a user account associated with the client device,

determine that the application has not been linked with any user account by querying the uniqueness table for the unique hardware identifier to determine whether the client device has previously adopted the application and querying the configurations database for the unique hardware identifier to determine whether the original configuration of the client device includes the application, and

link the application with the user account.

26. (canceled)