Method and system for limiting the use of user-specific software features

• US 7,158,953 B1
• Filed: 06/27/2000
• Issued: 01/02/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: DeMello, Marco A., Byrum, Frank D., Zeman, Pavel, Yaacovi, Yoram, Hughes, Kathryn E.
• Primary Examiner(s): MOORTHY, ARAVIND K
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vaughan; Michael
• Application Number:
  US09/604,222
• Time in Patent Office: 2,380 Days
• Field of Search: 713/201, 713/189, 713/161, 705/51, 705/57
• US Class Current: 705/51
• 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 21/16 Program or content traceability, e.g. by watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2137 Time limited access, e.g. to a computer or data

Abstract

A server architecture for a digital rights management system that distributes and protects rights in content. The server architecture includes a retail site which sells content items to consumers, a fulfillment site which provides to consumers the content items sold by the retail site, and an activation site which enables consumer reading devices to use content items having an enhanced level of copy protection. An activation site provides an activation certificate and a secure repository executable to consumer content-rendering devices which enables those content rendering devices to render content having an enhanced level of copy-resistance. The activation site “activates” client-reading devices in a way that binds them to a persona, and limits the number of devices that may be activated for a particular persona, or the rate at which such devices may be activated for a particular persona.

Claims

1. A method of enabling the use of a digital work on plural computing devices, said method comprising the acts of:

receiving, from a computing device, a request to enable the use of said digital work on said computing device, said request comprising first data indicative of a user, said digital work being associated with said user and requiring the presence of second data on said computing device in order to be used on said computing device; and

if a limit associated with said user has not been reached, providing said second data to said computing device, wherein said limit comprises a restriction on the rate at which said user may enable computing devices to use said digital work, wherein said limit comprises a time-dependent number of computing devices on which use of said digital work may be enabled, wherein said time-dependent number is the sum of;

a first predetermined number of computing devices on which use of said digital work may be enabled during a first time period; and

the product of a second number and a third number, wherein said second number is the number of second time periods that have commenced or elapsed since the end of said first time period, and said third number is a number of computing device on which use of said digital work may be enabled for each of said second time periods, wherein said time-dependent number is capped at a maximum value if said sum exceeds said maximum value, and wherein said limit comprises restricting the number of computing devices on which said user may enable use of said digital work to five computing devices within the first ninety day period following the first enablement of a computing device by said user, plus an additional computing device for each ninety day period following the expiration of said first ninety day period, wherein the maximum number-of computing devices on which said user may enable use of said digital work is limited to ten notwithstanding the number of ninety day periods that have elapsed since said first enablement.