Software license control system based on independent software registration server

• US 6,260,141 B1
• Filed: 03/01/2000
• Issued: 07/10/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Park, Hyo Joon
• Original Assignee: Park, Hyo Joon
• Inventors: Park, Hyo Joon
• Primary Examiner(s): Peeso, Thomas R.
• Application Number:
  US09/516,789
• Time in Patent Office: 496 Days
• Field of Search: 713/155, 713/169, 713/171, 713/176, 713/182, 380/255, 380/277, 380/278, 380/283
• US Class Current: 713/155
• 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 21/105 Arrangements for software license management or administration, e.g. for managing licenses at corporate level
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2211/008 Public Key, Asymmetric Key, Asymmetric Encryption
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2117 User registration

Abstract

A software license control system is based on independent software registration servers. The registration servers are open to all software manufacturers. On user'"'"'s computer, a software product asks the user software license control program whether the user has a usage license for the software product. The user license control program checks the license file, received from a software registration server, and answers the software product. If the answer is “no”, the software product stops running. If the answer is ‘yes’, the software product continues. The license file cannot be used by unauthorized user because the file is encrypted by the user public key and digitally signed by the secret key of a software registration server. To use a license file, user needs the secret key of the user and needs a passphrase to activate the secret key. The license file is digitally signed by the software registration server and cannot be modified by a user to add unauthorized licenses. There are three types of registration need to be done by user: user registration, hardware registration and software product usage license registration. A user does user registration once per person. After that, the user registers the computer hardware once per computer hardware. The user registers software product usage license once per every product of specific hardware. The license file is updated every time the user registers a new software product.

Claims

1. A method of software license control based on independent software registration servers comprising:

creating a secret public key pair for a user;

connecting to a software registration server, sending the user public key to the software registration server and receiving a public key of the software registration server;

registering a user once per person to the software registration server and receiving a partial user-ID file that includes user information encrypted by the user public key and digitally signed by the software registration server;

attaching the user secret/public key pair and the public key of the software registration server to the partial user-ID file;

registering a user computer hardware once for each computer hardware to the software registration server and receiving a license file that includes computer hardware information encrypted by the user public key and digitally signed by a secret key of the software registration server; and

registering a software product to the software registration server and receiving an updated license file which includes information of the registered software product in addition to the computer hardware information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising distributing the software product.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising validating a usage license of the software product by asking a user software license control program on the user computer hardware whether the user has the usage license for the software product for a specific computer hardware, and stopping the software product from running if the user does not have the usage license.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the usage license of the software product is given to the specific computer hardware of the user.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the usage license of the software product is given to the user for any computer hardware.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein the usage license of the software product is given to the specific computer hardware for any user.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing user information, CPU information and software product usage license information in a software registration server database.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising replicating the software registration server database to a central software registration server database for backup and for cross software registration server functions.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising registering, by software product manufacturers, software product information for software products to a central software registration server.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the registered software product information includes at least one of product ID, price, and prerequisite software.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising distributing the software product information from the central software registration server to all software registration servers.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising selecting, by a user, a software product from the registered software product information.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising connecting the software registration server before having a license file for an operating system and a network program.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising providing a limited license file for the operating system and the network program.

15. The method according to claim 9, wherein the central software registration server is the only software registration server and is used during said connecting.

16. The method according to claim 1, wherein there are a plurality of software registration servers and said connecting includes selecting a software registration server from said plurality of software registration servers.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein said creating is performed by the user computer hardware.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein said creating is performed by the software registration server.

19. A software license control system comprising:

a central software registration server receiving software product information from any software manufacturer;

a software registration server receiving the software product information from said central software registration server; and

a connection between a user and said software registration server, which provides said software registration server with user registration, hardware registration, and software registration, the software registration creating a license file based on the registrations.

20. The software license control system of claim 19, wherein said software registration server includes a plurality of software registration servers, all receiving the software product information from said central software registration server, and said connection selecting a software registration server from said plurality of software registration servers.