System and method of secure electronic commerce transactions including tracking and recording the distribution and usage of assets

• US 7,020,635 B2
• Filed: 01/16/2002
• Issued: 03/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yamaha Guitar Group, Inc. (Yamaha Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Line 6, Inc. (Yamaha Corporation)
• Inventors: Ryle, Marcus, Brinkman, John, Randall, Charles Corris, Longawa, John, Hamilton, Dave, Rampley, Rob
• Primary Examiner(s): CANGIALOSI, SALVATORE A
• Application Number:
  US10/051,871
• Publication Number:
  US 20030115150A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,532 Days
• Field of Search: 705 51- 53, 705 56- 59, 713/200, 709/229
• US Class Current: 705/51
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/173 using an interconnection network, e.g. matrix, shuffle, pyramid, star, snowflake
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/00 Payment architectures, schemes or protocols apparatus for performing or posting payment transactions G07F7/08, G07F19/00; electronic cash registers G07G1/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/12 specially adapted for electronic shopping systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/382 insuring higher security of transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/388 using mutual authentication without cards, e.g. challenge-response
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4014 Identity check for transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3242 involving keyed hash functions, e.g. message authentication codes [MACs], CBC-MAC or HMAC
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3271 using challenge-response

Abstract

Disclosed is a system and method that tracks the usage of rented digital assets. A server includes an asset database that stores a digital asset, the title of the digital asset, and a server usage count for the digital asset. The computing device stores a rented digital asset and further stores an asset usage count list that includes the title of the rented digital asset and a usage count that indicates the amount of usage of the rented digital asset by the computing device. The server uploads the asset usage count list from the computing device and matches the title of the rented digital asset from the asset usage count list with the title of the same digital asset stored in the asset database. Further, the server adds the usage count of the rented digital asset to the server usage count for the digital asset in the asset database.

Claims

1. A system for electronic commerce transactions that provides for tracking the usage of rented digital assets over a computer network, the system comprising:

a server including an asset database, the asset database to store a digital asset, a title of the digital asset, and a server usage count for the digital asset;

a computing device coupled to the server over the computer network, the computing device to store a rented digital asset downloaded from the server and an asset usage count list that includes a title of the rented digital asset and a usage count indicating the amount of usage of the rented digital asset by the computing device;

a security device coupled to the computing device, the security device storing a unique identifier associated with the security device and a user key associated with the unique identifier, the server including a user information database storing a plurality of registered unique identifiers and a plurality of user keys, the server requesting the unique identifier and proof of knowledge of the user key when a computing device attempts to log on to the server in order to identify the security device, and if the security device is identified by the server, allowing the computing device to be associated with a user'"'"'s data in the user information database;

wherein the server;

uploads the asset usage count list from the computing device;

matches the title of the rented digital asset from the asset usage count list of the computing device with the title of the digital asset in the asset database; and

adds the usage count from the asset usage count list of the computing device to the server usage count for the digital asset in the asset database of the server.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the usage count of the asset usage count list of the computing device is numerically updated by one for each day the rented digital asset is used.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the asset usage count list of the computing device further includes a dates asset used field which includes each date the rented digital asset was used by the computing device.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein after the asset usage count list is uploaded from the computing device to the server, the asset usage count list at the computing device is cleared.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the digital asset is an audio digital asset.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein when the computing device attempts to log onto the server over the computer network, the server:

requests a unique identifier from the security device;

verifies whether the unique identifier received from the security device is stored as one of the plurality of registered unique identifiers in the user information database;

if the unique identifier is stored within the user information database, the server obtains the associated user key and computes a challenge and computes an expected response based on the associated user key, the server sends the challenge to the security device over the computer network; and

if the server receives a response back from the security device in response to the challenge that matches the expected response, the server allows the computing device to log onto the server.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the expected response computed at the server and the response computed at the security device, are both based on a one-way hashing function of the user key.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the unique identifier and the user key are sealed in a secure memory of the security device.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the unique identifier is a serial number.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein after the computing device has been allowed to log onto the server, the computing device to transmit a purchase request to rent a digital asset from the server.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the purchase request to rent the digital asset is automatically verified by a trusted authority, and if the trusted authority verifies the charge request, an associated charge for the rental of digital asset is automatically charged to an associated credit card.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the rented digital asset is transmitted from the server to the computing device over the computer network.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the server encrypts the rented digital asset with an asset key and sends the encrypted rented digital asset to the computing device, the computing device storing the encrypted rented digital asset.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the server encrypts the asset key with the user key and sends the encrypted asset key to the computing device, the computing device storing the encrypted asset key.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the security device decrypts the asset key that is encrypted with the user key using the user key stored by the security device.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the security device transmits the decrypted asset key to the computing device such that the computing device uses the decrypted asset key to decrypt the rented digital asset for use.

17. A method for electronic commerce transactions that provides for tracking the usage of a rented digital assets over a computer network, the method comprising:

uploading an asset usage count list from a computing device to a server, the computing device coupled to the server over the computer network, the asset usage count list including a title of a rented digital asset and a usage count indicating the amount of usage of the rented digital asset downloaded from the server by the computing device, wherein a security device is coupled to the computing device, the security device storing a unique identifier associated with the security device and a user key associated with the unique identifier, the server including a user information database storing a plurality of registered unique identifiers and a plurality of user keys, the server requesting the unique identifier and proof of knowledge of the user key when a computing device attempts to log on to the server in order to identify the security device, and if the security device is identified by the server, allowing the computing device to be associated with a user'"'"'s data in the user information database;

matching the title of the rented digital asset from the asset usage count list of the computing device with a title of a digital asset stored in an asset database of the server, the asset database to store the digital asset, the title of the digital asset, and a server usage count for the digital asset; and

adding the usage count from the asset usage count list of the computing device to the server usage count for the digital asset in the asset database of the server.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising numerically updating by one the usage count of the asset usage count list of the computing device for each day the rented digital asset is used.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the asset usage count list of the computing device further includes a dates asset used field which includes each date the rented digital asset was used by the computing device.

20. The method of claim 17, further comprising clearing the asset usage count list at the computing device after the asset usage count list is uploaded from the computing device to the server.

21. The method claim 17, wherein the digital asset is an audio digital asset.

22. The method claim 17, wherein the unique identifier and the user key are sealed in a secure memory of the security device.

23. The method claim 17, wherein the unique identifier is a serial number.

24. The method claim 17, wherein after the computing device has been allowed to log onto the server, transmitting a purchase request to the server to rent a digital asset from the server.

25. The method claim 24, wherein the purchase request to rent the digital asset is automatically verified by a trusted authority, and if the trusted authority verifies the charge request, an associated charge for the rental of digital asset is automatically charged to an associated credit card.

26. The method of claim 25, further comprising transmitting the rented digital asset from the server to the computing device over the computer network.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising;

encrypting the rented digital asset with an asset key;

sending the encrypted rented digital asset to the computing device; and

storing the encrypted rented digital asset at the computing device.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

encrypting the asset key with the user key;

sending the encrypted asset key to the computing device; and

storing the encrypted asset key at the computing device.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the security device decrypts the asset key that is encrypted with the user key using the user key stored by the security device.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the security device transmits the decrypted asset key to the computing device such that the computing device uses the decrypted asset key to decrypt the rented digital asset for use.