System and method for software licensing

• US 7,171,662 B1
• Filed: 11/28/2000
• Issued: 01/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/18/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Misra, Pradyumna K., Spies, Terence R., Graziadio, Bradley J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Chaki; Kakali
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wood; William H.
• Application Number:
  US09/724,703
• Time in Patent Office: 2,254 Days
• Field of Search: 717168-178, 308/278, 308/300, 705/1, 705/55, 705/59, 380/94, 713/201, 713/176, 713/187
• US Class Current: 717/177
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0633 Lists, e.g. purchase orders, compilation or processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/184 Intellectual property management

Abstract

A software licensing system includes a license generator located at a licensing clearinghouse and at least one license server and multiple clients located at a company or entity. When a company wants a software license, it sends a purchase request (and appropriate fee) to the licensing clearinghouse. The license generator at the clearinghouse creates a license pack containing a set of one or more individual software licenses. To prevent the license pack from being copied and installed on multiple license servers, the license generator assigns a unique license pack ID to the license pack and associates the license pack ID with the particular license server in a master license database kept at the licensing clearinghouse. The license generator digitally signs the license pack and encrypts it with the license server'"'"'s public key. The license server is responsible for distributing the software licenses from the license pack to individual clients. When a client needs a license, the license server determines the client'"'"'s operating system platform and grants the appropriate license. To prevent an issued license from being copied from one client machine to another, the software license is assigned to a specific client by including a client ID within the license. The software license also has a license ID that is associated with the client ID in a database record kept at the license server. The license server digitally signs the software license and encrypts it using the client'"'"'s public key. The license is stored locally at the client.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method for distributing software licenses to clients so that the clients may legally execute underlying software to which the software licenses pertains, the computer-implemented method comprising electronically issuing the software licenses as digital certificates that are distributed in one-to-one correlation with individual clients and traced to an issuing authority, and issuing a software license to a particular client only if a client executable image received from the particular client matches a stored client executable image for the particular client.

2. A computer-readable medium having computer readable instructions for performing the method as recited in claim 1.

3. A license server for execution embodied on a computer-readable medium for issuing individual software licenses from a software pack received from a licensing clearinghouse, comprising:

a license store to store the license software pack of individual software licenses, each software license having an associated license ID;

a request handler to receive a request for software license from a client;

a client authenticating module to determine, based on a client executable image received from the client, whether the client is authentic and can receive a software license; and

a granting module to grant a software license from the license store to an authenticated client and to associate the license ID with the authenticated client.

4. A license server as recited in claim 3, wherein the authenticating module determines an operating platform of the client.

5. A license server as recited in claim 3, wherein the granting module encrypts the software license using a public key of the authenticated client.

6. A license server as recited in claim 3, wherein the software license contains at least one of the following items:

a version indicator of a software license;

a license ID;

a client ID that identifies the authenticated client;

an issue date on which the license is issued to the client;

a platform type of the client'"'"'s operating platform for which the software license can be used;

an expiration date on which the software license will expire; and

a product ID that identifies a product with which the software licenses can be used.

7. A license server as recited in claim 3, further comprising a license pack table to store information pertaining to the license pack that is stored in the license store.

8. A program embodied on a computer-readable medium, comprising:

a code segment to receive a license pack from a license generator, the license pack containing a set of one or more individual software licenses;

a code segment to validate the license pack;

a code segment to store the software licenses;

a code segment, responsive to a request for a software license from a client, to determine, based on a client executable image received from the client, whether the client is authentic and can re a software license;

a code segment to grant a software license to an authenticated client, the software license containing a license ID; and

a code segment to associate the license ID with the authenticated client.

9. A client computer, comprising:

a license cache to store one or more software licenses;

a license requestor to request a software license from a license server;

a challenge handler to handle an authenticity challenge from the license server, the challenge handler computing a challenge response that contains a client executable image that is used by the license server to evaluate whether the client is authentic and can be licensed; and

whereupon authentication by the license server and granting of a software license, the license requestor receiving the software license form the license server and storing the software license in the license cache.

10. A program embodied on a computer-readable medium, comprising:

a code segment to receive an authenticity challenge from a license server that distributes software licenses;

a code segment to compute a challenge response that contains a client executable image that is used by the license server to evaluate whether the client is authentic and can be licensed; and

a code segment to store the software license granted by the license server in an event that the client is deemed authentic.

11. A client computer, comprising:

memory for storing information correspond to one or more received software licenses;

a license requestor to request a software license from a license server;

a challenge handler to handle an authenticity challenge from the license server, the challenge handler computing a challenge response that contains a client executable image that is used by the license server to evaluate whether the client is authentic an can be licensed, wherein the challenge contains a random number, and the challenge handler computes that challenge response by concatenating the random number with the client executable image to form a concatenated value and hashing the concatenated value; and

wherein, upon authentication by the license server and granting of a software license, the license requestor receiving the software license from the license server saves in the memory information corresponding to the received license.

12. The client computer of claim 11, wherein the memory comprises non-volatile memory.

13. The client computer of claim 11, wherein the saved information corresponding to the received license comprises the received license.

14. The client computer of claim 11, wherein the saved information corresponding to the received license comprises an indication that a specific license was granted.

15. A computer-readable medium, having computer readable instruction for:

requesting a software license from a license server;

receiving an authenticity challenge form the license server;

computing a challenge response that contains a client executable image that is used by the license server to evaluate whether the client is authentic and can be licensed; and

receiving, upon authentication by the license server and granting of a software license, the software license from the license server and storing information corresponding to the software license in a memory.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the stored information corresponding to the received software license comprises the received software license.

17. The computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the stored information corresponding to the received software license comprises an indication that a specific license was granted.

18. A client computer, comprising:

means for storing information corresponding to one or more received software licenses;

means for requesting a software license from a license server;

means for handling an authenticity challenge from the license server, the means for handling computing a challenge response that contains a client executable image that is used by the license server to evaluate whether the client is authentic and can be licensed, wherein the challenge contains a random number, and the means for handling computes the challenge response by concatenating the random number with the client executable image to form a concatenated value and hashing the concatenated value; and

wherein, upon authentication by the license server and granting of a software license, the means for requesting receiving the software license from the license server saves in the memory information corresponding to the received license.

19. The client computer of claim 18, wherein the saved information corresponding to the received license comprises the received license.

20. The client computer of claim 18, wherein the saved information corresponding to the received license comprises an indication that a specific license was granted.