Method of and apparatus for protecting and upgrading software using a removable hardlock

• US 6,023,763 A
• Filed: 04/23/1997
• Issued: 02/08/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fisher Controls International LLC (Emerson Electric Company)
• Original Assignee: Fisher Controls International LLC (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Ryan, Patrick O., Grumstrup, Bruce F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Beausoliel, Jr., Robert W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Shaw, Brian H.
• Application Number:
  US08/842,050
• Time in Patent Office: 1,021 Days
• Field of Search: 713/200, 380/3, 380/4
• US Class Current: 726/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/105 Arrangements for software license management or administration, e.g. for managing licenses at corporate level
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/123 by using dedicated hardware, e.g. dongles, smart cards, cryptographic processors, global positioning systems [GPS] devices

Abstract

A software protection method and apparatus uses a removable hardlock to prevent the unauthorized installation and/or use of a licensed software program. The removable hardlock, when supplied to a user, stores an access variable indicating the number of licenses available for the software program. During installation of the software program on a computer, the removable hardlock is inserted into an external port of the computer and the access variable is read to determine if any licenses for the software program are still available. If so, the software program is installed on the computer in a manner that allows the software program to be run on the computer when the removable hardlock is removed from the external port of the computer. The access variable on the removable hardlock is then decremented to indicate that one of the previously available licenses has now been used. However, when the access variable on the removable hardlock indicates that no further licenses are available, the software program is installed on the computer in a manner that prevents the software program from being implemented on the computer when the removable hardlock is removed from the external port of the computer.

Claims

1. A software protection system adapted to enable implementation of a software program on a computer having an external port, the software protection system comprising:

a removable hardlock adapted to be inserted into the external port of the computer, said removable hardlock including an access variable set to one of a plurality of values; and

an installer that installs the software program on the computer when the removable hardlock is inserted into the external port of the computer, including;

means for reading the access variable, and

means for conditioning the software program to prevent the software program from being implemented on the computer when the access variable is set to a first value and the removable hardlock is removed from the external port and to allow the software program to be implemented on the computer when the access variable is set to a second value and the removable hardlock is removed from the external port.

2. The software protection system of claim 1, further including a hardlock interface including means for detecting when the removable hardlock is inserted into the external port and means for enabling the software program to be implemented by the computer when the detecting means detects that the removable hardlock is inserted into the external port.

3. The software protection system of claim 1, wherein the installer includes means for changing the value of the access variable on the removable hardlock when the conditioning means conditions the software program to allow the software program to be implemented by the computer when the removable hardlock is removed from the external port.

4. The software protection system of claim 3, wherein the changing means changes the value of the access variable from the second value to the first value.

5. The software protection system of claim 3, wherein the changing means decrements the access variable value.

6. The software protection system of claim 1, wherein, at any particular time, the value of the access variable indicates the number of further computers on which the software program can be installed and then implemented without the removable hardlock inserted into an external port of the further computers.

7. The software protection system of claim 1, wherein the software program is an upgrade program and wherein the value of the access variable indicates the number of further computers on which the upgrade program can be installed and then implemented without the hardlock inserted into an external port of the further computers.

8. The software protection system of claim 1, wherein the removable hardlock is adapted to be inserted into the external port of the computer when the computer has an installed program installed thereon,

wherein the software program is an upgrade program,

wherein the removable hardlock includes a further variable that stores a first set of parameters identifying a base program with which the upgrade program can be installed, and

wherein the installer includes means for comparing a second set of parameters identifying the installed program with the first set of parameters to determine if the first and second sets of parameters match and means for preventing installation of the upgrade program on the computer when the first and second set of parameters do not match.

9. The software protection system of claim 8, wherein the removable hardlock includes another variable relating to the upgrade program and wherein the installer includes means for storing values associated with the another variable in the computer when the upgrade program is installed on the computer.

10. The software protection system of claim 1, wherein the removable hardlock includes a set of further variables relating to the identification of the computer and the installer includes means for obtaining values relating to the identification of the computer and means for storing the obtained values in the removable hardlock as the set of further variables.

11. The software protection system of claim 1, wherein the access variable indicates a first number of different computers on which the software program can be installed, and further including a de-installer that de-installs the software program from the computer, the de-installer including means for changing the access variable to indicate that the software program can be installed on a second number of different computers greater than the first number.

12. The software protection system of claim 1, wherein the installer includes means for associating implementation of the software program to a unique identifier related to the computer so that the software program will only run on a computer having the unique identifier.

13. A software protection system for installing a software program on a computer having an external port, comprising:

a removable hardlock adapted to be inserted into the external port, said removable hardlock including a variable stored in a memory; and

an installation program that installs the software program on the computer when the removable hardlock is inserted into the external port, the installation program including means for setting a value of a run flag associated with the software program based on a value of the variable, wherein the run flag enables the software program to be implemented on the computer when the hardlock is removed from the external port and the run flag is set to a first state and wherein the run flag prevents the software program from being implemented on the computer when the hardlock is removed from the external port and the run flag is set to a second state.

14. The software protection system of claim 13, further including means for enabling the software program to be implemented on the computer when the removable hardlock is installed in the external port of the computer.

15. The software protection system of claim 13, wherein the installation program includes means for changing the variable when the installation program sets the run flag to the first state.

16. The software protection system of claim 13, wherein the software program is an upgrade program,

wherein the computer includes an installed program installed thereon,

wherein the memory stores a second variable indicating a base program with which the upgrade program can be installed, and

wherein the installation program includes means for comparing an installed program variable indicating the installed program with the second variable and means for preventing the installation of the upgrade program when the installed program variable does not match the second variable.

17. The software protection system of claim 16, wherein the memory stores a third variable relating to the upgrade program and wherein the installation program includes means for reading the third variable and means for storing the third variable in the computer as associated with the upgrade program when the upgrade program is installed on the computer.

18. The software protection system of claim 13, wherein the installation programs includes means for associating implementation of the software program to a unique identifier related to the computer so that the software program will only run on a computer having the unique identifier.

19. A method of preventing unauthorized implementation of a software program comprising the steps of:

providing an identification of the number of authorized implementations of the software program on a removable hardlock that is capable of being inserted into a port of a computer;

using the removable hardlock to install the software program on the computer when the removable hardlock is installed in the port of the computer; and

at the time of installation on the computer, storing an indication of whether the software program can be implemented on the computer when the removable hardlock is removed from the port of the computer based on the identification of the number of authorized implementations stored on the removable hardlock.

20. The method of preventing unauthorized implementation of a software program of claim 19, further including the step of reducing the identification of the number of authorized implementations of the software program on the removable hardlock when the step of storing stores an indication that the software can be implemented on the computer with the removable hardlock removed from the port of the computer.

21. The method of preventing unauthorized implementation of a software program of claim 19, wherein the software program is an upgrade program, and further including the steps of storing, on the hardlock, an identification of a base program that must be installed on the computer to install the upgrade program on the computer, comparing the identification of the base program with an identification of an actual program installed on the computer and preventing the installation of the upgrade program when the identification of the base program stored on the hardlock does not match the identification of the actual program installed on the computer.