Method and system for enforcing floating licenses
First Claim
1. A method of enforcing a floating license of a software application executing on a computer system, the method comprising the steps of:
- accumulating credit during a first period wherein said application is being used under a first condition;
consuming said accumulated credit while using said application under a second condition different than said first condition;
prohibiting the execution of the software application when the accumulated credit is exhausted; and
accumulating additional usage credit during a second period following the consuming operation.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A floating license enforcement method and system which enables an authorized user to accumulate time-based usage credit while a software application is in use under a valid license. In the event of a license system fault, the application remains accessible to the user, while consuming the usage credit which was previously accumulated. This allows the user access to the application while the license system fault is being corrected. If the license system fault is corrected before all of the accumulated usage credit is consumed, the application remains accessible to the user under the valid license and resumes accumulating usage credit. Therefore, the invention allows the authorized user to consume its accrued usage credit to bridge the time between when a license system fault occurs and when the fault is corrected, thereby protecting the rights of the user. At the same time, the invention prevents excessive unauthorized use of the application, thereby protecting the rights of the software vendor.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A method of enforcing a floating license of a software application executing on a computer system, the method comprising the steps of:
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accumulating credit during a first period wherein said application is being used under a first condition;
consuming said accumulated credit while using said application under a second condition different than said first condition;
prohibiting the execution of the software application when the accumulated credit is exhausted; and
accumulating additional usage credit during a second period following the consuming operation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for enforcing a floating license of a computer application executing on a computer system, the method comprising the steps of:
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accumulating usage credit during a first period wherein said application is being used and while said floating license is valid;
consuming said usage credit while said application is being used and while said floating license is invalid;
prohibiting the execution of the computer application when the accumulated usage credit is exhausted; and
accumulating additional usage credit during a second period following the consuming operation. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A system for managing a floating license for a computer application executing on a computer system, the system comprising:
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means for accumulating usage credit during a first period wherein said application is being used while said floating license is valid;
means for consuming said usage credit while said application is used and while said floating license is invalid;
means for prohibiting the execution of the application when the accumulated credit is exhausted; and
means for accumulating usage credit during a second period following consuming said usage credit. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. A computer program product comprising a computer-readable medium having computer program logic thereon for enabling a processor in a computer system to manage a license of a software application, the product comprising:
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means for determining a finite grace period that is proportional to a length of operation of said software application while said license is valid; and
means for allowing operation of said software application for said finite grace period when said license is invalid. - View Dependent Claims (30)
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31. A system for managing a floating license for a computer application executing on a computer system, the system comprising:
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an accumulating device which accumulates usage credit during a first period wherein said application is being used and while said floating license is valid;
a consumption device which consumes said usage credit while said application is used and while said floating license is invalid, wherein the accumulating device accumulates additional usage credit during a second period following the consumption of at least some of the usage credit; and
a controller which controls operation of said accumulation device and said consumption device.
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32. A method for managing a floating license of a computer application executing on a computer system, the method comprising steps of:
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determining a finite grace period that is proportional to a length of operation of said software application while said license is valid; and
allowing operation of said software application for said finite grace period when said license is invalid. - View Dependent Claims (33)
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Specification