Electronic software license with software product installer identifier

• US 7,236,958 B2
• Filed: 01/05/2001
• Issued: 06/26/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 01/05/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Nishanova, Anzhelika Y., Wong, Eric
• Primary Examiner(s): Fischer; Andrew J.
• Assistant Examiner(s): LE, NANCY LOAN T
• Application Number:
  US09/755,433
• Publication Number:
  US 20020091644A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,363 Days
• Field of Search: 380/4, 380/201, 380/202, 705/1, 705/26, 705 50- 59, 713/182, 713/189, 713/193, 707/9, 709/229
• US Class Current: 705/59
• 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 21/121 Restricting unauthorised execution of programs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/73 by creating or determining hardware identification, e.g. serial numbers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99939 Privileged access

Abstract

An anti-piracy software licensing system associates a license file with a particular software product, so that the license file cannot be used with a separate product. The license is associated with one and only one product by associating an Installer Identifier (IID) with the license file. At installation, a set-up or installation program can be executed to install the software product. The set-up program will generate an IID based on a characteristic of the media and will check the generated IID against the IID stored in a license file on the same media. A match will verify that the license file on the media (i.e., the media license file) was not tampered with prior to installation and that the license file was intended to be used with the software product on the media. However, if there is not a match, then the installation will be terminated. At run-time the locally stored license file will be checked. If the license file is present, execution of the software product will be enabled. If the license is absent, execution of the software product will be disabled.

Claims

1. A method for permitting the controlled installation of a software product, including an associated run-time file needed to execute the software product, onto a local machine, the method comprising:

generating an installer identifier at the local machine based on the software product, in response to a request to install the software product on the local machine, wherein the generated installer identifier represents a characteristic of a software product medium on which the software product is stored;

comparing the generated installer identifier to a stored installer identifier on the software product;

storing a license file and a hardware identifier identifying the local machine on the local machine in response to a match between the generated installer identifier and the stored installer identifier;

enabling a complete installation of the software product on the local machine, including installing at least one run-time file needed to execute the software product, in response to the match between the generated installer identifier and the stored installer identifier;

whereby the stored license file is associated only with the software product installed on the local machine and the hardware identifier is associated only with the local machine, and the stored license file can be subsequently accessed to enable the execution of the completely installed software product including the installed at least one run-time file on the local machine but cannot be used with a separate software product or to execute the software product on a machine other than the local machine;

receiving a software product key; and

wherein installing on the local machine the at least one run-time file needed to execute the software product occurs in response to a determination that the received software product key is a correct software product key.

2. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for performing the method of claim 1.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the generated installer identifier represents a characteristic of a file list corresponding to the software product media.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the generated installer identifier is a hash value representing the characteristic of the file list corresponding to the software product media.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of executing a set-up program.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the license file is stored in a hardware signature file on the local machine.

7. A method for permitting the controlled installation and execution on a local machine of a software product including an associated run-time file needed to execute the software product, the method comprising:

generating an installer identifier on the local machine in response to a request to install the software product on the local machine, wherein the generated installer identifier represents a characteristic of a software product medium on which the software product is stored;

comparing the generated installer identifier to a stored installer identifier on the software product;

storing a license file and a hardware identifier identifying the local machine on the local machine in response to a match between the generated installer identifier and the stored installer identifier;

enabling a complete installation of the software product on the local machine, including installing at least one run-time file needed to execute the software product in response to a match between the generated installer identifier and stored installer identifier whereby the stored license file is associated only with the software product installed on the local machine and the hardware identifier is associated only with the local machine;

enabling the execution of the software product on the local machine, in response to a determination that a proper license file and hardware identifier have been stored on the local machine;

receiving a software product key; and

wherein installing on the local machine the at least one run-time file needed to execute the software product occurs in response to a determination that the received software product key is a correct software product key.

8. A computer readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions for performing the method of claim 7.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the generated installer identifier represents a characteristic of a file list corresponding to the software product media.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the generated installer identifier is a hash value representing the characteristic of the file list corresponding to the software product media.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the determination that the proper license file has been stored comprises determining that the stored license file matches a second license in a hardware signature file on the local machine.