Selectively authorizing software functionality after installation of the software

• US 7,716,476 B2
• Filed: 12/18/2008
• Issued: 05/11/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Jhanwar, Raj, Jayaseelan, Vijayachandran, Cohen, Jason, Burkhardt, Ryan
• Primary Examiner(s): Barron, Jr.; Gilberto
• Assistant Examiner(s): ARMOUCHE, HADI S
• Application Number:
  US12/338,583
• Publication Number:
  US 20090106818A1
• Time in Patent Office: 509 Days
• Field of Search: 726/26, 726/27, 726/28, 726/1, 705/50, 705/51, 705/59, 713/167, 713/193
• US Class Current: 713/167
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1063 Personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/123 by using dedicated hardware, e.g. dongles, smart cards, cryptographic processors, global positioning systems [GPS] devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6281 at program execution time, where the protection is within the operating system
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2141 Access rights, e.g. capability lists, access control lists, access tables, access matrices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2147 Locking files
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2153 Using hardware token as a secondary aspect

Abstract

Controlling access to functionality within an installed software product. The invention includes an authorization module that dynamically references authorization information when specific functionality is requested by a requesting entity such as a user or an application program to determine if the requested functionality is authorized to be executed. Further, the invention dynamically provides an opportunity to the requesting entity to purchase unauthorized functionality. In this manner, functionality within the software product may be enabled or disabled at any time (e.g., during installation, post-installation, and re-installation).

Claims

1. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon at least two data structures each representing an authorization rule, said authorization rules each providing access to functionality within a software product after installation of the software product on a computing device, said software product including a plurality of components, said computer-readable storage medium comprising:

a manifest;

a first authorization rule providing access to a first functionality within the software product based on access rights associated with the software product, the first functionality associated with a first one or more of the components of the software, the first functionality being defined by the manifest specifying libraries and functions within libraries of the first one or more components, said first authorization rule enabling and executing the first functionality based on the access rights and the manifest; and

a second authorization rule providing access to a second functionality within the software product based on the access rights associated with the software product, said second functionality differing from said first functionality, the second functionality associated with a second one or more of the components of the software, the second functionality being defined by the manifest specifying libraries and functions within libraries of the second one or more components, said second authorization rule enabling and executing the second functionality based on the access rights and the manifest.

2. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the first authorization rule identifies at least one of the following:

the components available to a process executing on the computing device, functionality within the components available to a process executing on the computing device, the components unavailable to a process executing on the computing device, and functionality within the components unavailable to a process executing on the computing device.

3. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the software product comprises one or more components, and wherein the second authorization rule identifies at least one of the following:

the components available to a process executing on the computing device, functionality within the components available to a process executing on the computing device, the components unavailable to a process executing on the computing device, and functionality within the components unavailable to a process executing on the computing device.

4. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the first authorization rule provides access to all functionality within the software product based on the access rights associated with the software product and based on the manifest.

5. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the first authorization rule or the second authorization rule denies access to access to a requested functionality within the software product based on the access rights associated with the software product.

10. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the first authorization rule providing access to first functionality within the software product comprises a first authorization rule providing access to first functionality associated with at least one of an operating system and an application program.

11. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the software product is fully installed on a computing device.

12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the access rights comprise licensing information.

13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the software product comprises a dynamic-link library.

14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 1, wherein the software product comprises a first component and a second component, and wherein the second component represents a different version of the first component.

6. A computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon at least two data structures each representing an authorization rule, said authorization rules each providing access to functionality within a software product after installation of the software product on a computing device, said software product including a plurality of components, said computer-readable storage medium comprising a manifest;

a first authorization rule providing access to a first functionality within the software product based on access rights associated with the software product, the first functionality associated with a first one or more of the components of the software, said first authorization rule enabling and executing the first functionality based on the access rights and the manifest specifying libraries and functions within libraries of the first one or more components; and

a second authorization rule providing access to a second functionality within the software product based on the access rights associated with the software product, said second functionality differing from said first functionality, the second functionality associated with a second one or more of the components of the software, said second authorization rule enabling and executing the second functionality based on the access rights and the manifest specifying libraries and functions within libraries of the second one or more components wherein in response to the first authorization rule and the second authorization rule denying access to a requested functionality based on access rights, a purchase offer is provided to a user to enable the requested functionality.

7. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein the purchase offer to the user directs the user to a network address of an electronic commerce web site.

8. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 6, wherein an acceptance of the purchase offer is received from the user and the requested functionality is provided responsive to the received acceptance.

9. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 8, wherein the first authorization rule or the second authorization rule is updated to provide access to the requested functionality responsive to the received acceptance.

15. A computer-readable storage medium comprising:

a manifest;

a first data structure containing authorization information associated with an software product including a plurality of components, said authorization information defining access rights;

a second data structure representing a first authorization rule for providing access to a first functionality within the software product after installation of the software product on a computing device based on the access rights associated with the software product, the first functionality associated with a first one or more of the installed components of the installed software, the first functionality being defined by a manifest specifying libraries and functions within libraries of the first one or more installed components, said first authorization rule enabling and executing the first functionality based on the access rights and the manifest;

a third data structure representing a second authorization rule for providing access to a second functionality within the software product after installation of the software product on the computing device based on the access rights associated with the software product, said second functionality differing from said first functionality, the second functionality associated with a second one or more of the installed components of the installed software, the second functionality being defined by the manifest specifying libraries and functions within libraries of the second one or more installed components, said second authorization rule enabling and executing the second functionality based on the access rights and the manifest.

16. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the authorization information comprise licensing information associated with the software product.

17. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein a request for functionality is received during execution of the software product;

and

wherein the requested functionality is provided in accordance to access rights determined from the manifest and one of the second data structure and the third data structure.

18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 17, wherein when the requested functionality is denied in accordance to access rights, a purchase offer is provided to a user to enable the requested functionality.

19. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 18, wherein an acceptance of the purchase offer is received from the user and the requested functionality is provided responsive to the received acceptance.

20. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 19, wherein the first authorization rule or the second authorization rule is updated to provide access to the requested functionality responsive to the received acceptance.