Application rights enabling

• US 7,213,269 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2002
• Issued: 05/01/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Adobe Inc.
• Original Assignee: Adobe Systems Incorporated (Adobe Inc.)
• Inventors: Orthlieb, Carl W., Rosenbaum, Sarah, Pravetz, James P.
• Primary Examiner(s): REVAK, CHRISTOPHER A
• Application Number:
  US10/080,923
• Publication Number:
  US 20030159035A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,895 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 726/33
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/121 Restricting unauthorised execution of programs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application

Abstract

Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, implementing and using techniques for controlling capabilities of a user software application. A user software application is provided, the user software application including a set of disabled operations. Content capable of being operated on by one or more of the disabled operations in the set of disabled operations is received. Application rights information operable to enable an operation in the set of disabled operations to operate on content within a context specified in the application rights information are received and the operation in the set of disabled operations is enabled to operate on the received content. Methods and apparatus for providing content to be operated on by a user software application and methods and apparatus for providing a configurable, context-dependent user software application are also described.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving application rights information in a software application, the software application implementing a first operation that is disabled by default, the application rights information including a first enabler that specifies to the software application an enablement of the first operation only with respect to a first content that is explicitly associated with the application rights information;

receiving the first content in the software application, the first content being unrestricted in its usage by content-specific rights information; and

enabling the first operation to operate on the first content within an operating context specified in the application rights information as a result of receiving the application rights information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the application rights information and the first content are received together.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first content is content of an electronic document and the application rights information is embedded in the document.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the application rights information and the first content are received separately.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first content is content of an electronic document and wherein enabling the first operation comprises enabling one or more of:

adding content to the document, adding comments to the document, applying a digital signature to the document, saving the document, performing spell-check of the document, importing form data, exporting form data, submitting document data to the Internet outside a browser environment, and inserting new pages from a template.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the document is a PDF document.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first content is content of an electronic document and the application rights information is embedded in the document.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising unpacking the application rights information from the document.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the operating context specified in the application rights information includes one or more of:

a particular document, a particular type of document, a particular data set, a particular type of data set, a particular computer, a particular set of computers, a particular user, a particular set of users, a particular session, a particular number of sessions, a particular time period, a particular content provider, and a particular document in a particular state.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the particular state of the particular document in a particular state is defined by a user.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the application rights information explicitly associated with the first content is different for different operating contexts.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising saving the application rights information on a computer hosting the software application.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the application rights information comprises:

querying a database for application rights information that is explicitly associated with the first content; and

receiving the application rights information from the database in response to the query.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the first content has one or more associated permissions restricting what operations can be performed on the first content even if the operations to be restricted are operations that are enabled by default or operations that are disabled by default but enabled by the application rights information.

15. A method comprising:

generating a first content in a format compatible with a software application that implements a first operation that is disabled by default, the first content being unrestricted in its usage by content-specific rights information;

generating application rights information including a first enabler that specifies to the software application an enablement of the first operation only with respect to the first content within an operating context specified in the application rights information; and

distributing the first content and the application rights information to one or more users.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising explicitly associating the application rights information with the first content.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising monitoring one or more of:

to how many users the application rights information is distributed, the operations enabled for each user, the context in which the operations are enabled for each user, and the number of enabled operations performed by users to whom the first content and application rights have been distributed.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising providing an accounting to a user software application provider based on one or more of:

the number of users to which the application rights information has been distributed, the operations enabled for each user, the context in which the operations are enabled for each user, and the number of enabled operations performed by users to whom the first content and application rights have been distributed.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing an accounting to a software application provider based on the operating context specified in the application rights information distributed to the users.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the first content is content of an electronic document and wherein the application rights information is embedded in the document.

21. A method comprising:

(a) providing a user software application, the user software application implementing a first operation that is disabled by default;

(b) providing a content generation tool, the content generation tool being operable to;

generate a first content in a format compatible with the software application, the first content being unrestricted in its usage by content-specific fights information; and

generate application fights information that is explicitly associated with the first content, the application rights information including a first enabler that specifies to the software application an enablement of the first operation only with respect to the first content;

(c) distributing the software application to one or more users; and

(d) distributing the content generation tool to one or more content providers for use in generating content and application fights information to be distributed to one or more of the users.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the content generation tool further is operable to explicitly associate the application rights information with the first content.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the first enabler specifies to the software application to enable the first operation within an operating context specified in the application rights information.

24. The method of claim 21, further comprising receiving information from a content provider about one or more of:

the number of users to which the application fights information has been distributed, the operations enabled for each user, the context in which the operations are enabled for each user, and the number of enabled operations performed by users to whom the first content and application rights have been distributed.

25. The method of claim 21, further comprising receiving an accounting from a content provider based on one or more of:

the number of users to which the application rights information has been distributed, the operations enabled for each user, the context in which the operations are enabled for each user, and the number of enabled operations performed by users to whom the first content and application rights have been distributed.

26. The method of claim 21, wherein providing a software application further comprises:

providing an application rights management module in the software application, the application rights management module being operable to;

detect whether an operating context exists in which the first operation has been made available; and

enable the first operation within the operating context; and

wherein distributing the software application further comprises;

distributing the application fights management module to one or more of the users.

27. A software application, tangibly stored on a computer-readable storage medium, the software application comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to:

receive application rights information in a software application, the software application implementing a first operation that is disabled by default, the application rights information including a first enabler that specifies to the software application an enablement of the first operation only with respect to a first content that is explicitly associated with the application rights information;

receive the first content in the software application, the first content being unrestricted in its usage by content-specific rights information;

enable the first operation to operate on the first content within an operating context specified in the application rights information as a result of receiving the application rights information.

28. The software application of claim 27, wherein the application rights information and the first content are received together.

29. The software application of claim 28, wherein the first content is content of an electronic document and the application rights information is embedded in the document.

30. The software application of claim 29, further comprising instructions to unpack the application rights information from the document.

31. The software application of claim 27, wherein the application rights information and the first content are received separately.

32. The software application of claim 27, wherein the first content is content of an electronic document and wherein the instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to enable the first operation comprise instructions to enable one or more of:

adding content to the document, adding comments to the document, applying a digital signature to the document, saving the document, performing spell-check of the document, importing form data, exporting form data, submitting document data to the Internet outside a browser environment, and inserting new pages from template.

33. The software application of claim 32, wherein the document is a PDF document.

34. The software application of claim 27, wherein the operating context specified in the application rights information includes one or more of:

a particular document, a particular type of document, a particular data set, a particular type of data set, a particular computer, a particular set of computers, a particular user, a particular set of users, a particular session, a particular number of sessions, a particular time period, a particular content provider, and a particular document in a particular state.

35. The software application of claim 34, wherein the particular state of the particular document in a particular state is defined by a user.

36. The software application of claim 27, wherein the application rights information explicitly associated with the first content is different for different operating contexts.

37. The software application of claim 27, further comprising instructions to save the application rights information on a computer hosting the user software application.

38. The software application of claim 27, wherein the instructions to receive application rights information comprises instructions to:

query a database for application rights information that is explicitly associated with the first content; and

receive the application rights information from the database in response to the query.

39. The software application of claim 27, wherein the first content has one or more associated permissions restricting what operations can be performed on the first content even if the operations to be restricted are operations that are enabled by default or operations that are disabled by default but enabled by the application rights information.

40. A content provider software application, tangibly stored on a computer-readable storage medium, comprising instructions operable to cause a programmable processor to:

generate a first content in a format compatible with a software application that implements a first operation that is disabled by default, the first content being unrestricted in its usage by content-specific rights information; and

generate application fights information including a first enabler that specifies to the software application an enablement of the first operation only with respect to the first content within an operating context specified in the application fights information.

41. The content provider software application of claim 40, further comprising instructions operable to explicitly associate the application rights information with the first content.

42. The content provider software application of claim 40, further comprising instructions operable to monitor one or more of:

to how many users the application rights information is distributed, the operations enabled for each user, the context in which the operations are enabled for each user, and the number of enabled operations performed by users to whom the first content and application rights have been distributed.

43. The content provider software application of claim 40, further comprising instructions operable to provide an accounting to a software application provider based on one or more of:

the number of users to which the application rights information has been distributed, the operations enabled for each user, and the context in which the operations are enabled for each user.

44. The content provider software application of claim 40, further comprising instructions operable to provide an accounting to a software application provider based on the operating context specified in the application rights information distributed to the users.

45. The content provider software application of claim 40, wherein the first content is content of an electronic document and wherein the instructions to associate comprise instructions to embed the application rights information in the document.

46. A system comprising:

(a) means for providing a user software application, the user software application implementing a first operation that is disabled by default;

(b) means for providing a content generation tool, the content generation tool being operable to;

generate a first content in a format compatible with the software application, the first content being unrestricted in its usage by content-specific rights information; and

generate application rights information including a first enabler that specifies to the software application an enablement of the first operation only with respect to the first content;

(c) means for distributing the software application to one or more users; and

(d) means for distributing the content generation tool to one or more content providers for use in generating the first content and the application rights information to be distributed to one or more of the users.

47. The system of claim 46, wherein the content generation tool further is operable to explicitly associate the application rights information with the first content.

48. The system of claim 46, wherein the first enabler specifies to the user software application to enable the first operation within an operating context specified in the application rights information.

49. The system of claim 46, further comprising means for receiving information from a content provider about one or more of:

the number of users to which the application rights information has been distributed, the operations enabled for each user, the context in which the operations are enabled for each user, and the number of enabled operations performed by users to whom the first content and application rights have been distributed.

50. The system of claim 46, further comprising means for receiving an accounting from a content provider based on one or more of:

the number of users to which the application rights information has been distributed, the operations enabled for each user, the context in which the operations are enabled for each user, and the number of enabled operations performed by users to whom the first content and application rights have been distributed.

51. The system of claim 46, wherein the means for providing a software application further comprises:

means for providing an application rights management module in the software application, the application rights management module being operable to;

detect whether an operating context exists in which the first operation has been made available; and

enable the first operation within the operating context; and

wherein the means for distributing the software application further comprises;

means for distributing the application rights management module to one or more of the users.

52. A method comprising:

(a) providing a user software application that implements a first operation that is disabled by default;

(b) providing a content generation tool, the content generation tool being operable to generate content and application rights information;

(c) distributing the software application to one or more users;

(d) distributing the content generation tool to one or more content providers;

(e) generating content in a format compatible with the software application, the generated content being unrestricted in its usage by content-specific rights information and capable of being operated on by the first operation;

(f) generating application rights information that is explicitly associated with the generated content, the application rights information including a first enabler that specifies to the software application an enablement of the first operation only with respect to the generated content within an operating context specified in the application rights information;

(g) distributing the generated content and the generated application rights information to one or more users;

(h) receiving the generated content;

(i) receiving the generated application rights information;

(j) enabling the first operation to operate only on the generated content; and

(k) performing the enabled operation on the generated content using the software application.