Licensing the use of a particular feature of software
First Claim
1. A method for providing access to a feature of an application, comprising:
- determining an upgrade code based on a unique identifier of a computing device on which the feature of the application is to be run and a product identifier associated with the feature, wherein the application is authorized for use on the computing device; and
providing the upgrade code to the computing device; and
activating the feature on the computing device responsive to the upgrade code.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Software is licensed for use on a particular computing device, such as a gaming console or a multimedia console. An unlocking code is provided from a distribution service to the computing device (either directly or via a user), which in turn, unlocks the appropriate software or portion of software for use with the associated computing device. The software may reside on a computer-readable medium, such as a CD-ROM or DVD disk, that is being used in conjunction with the computing device. The unlocking code may be provided directly to the user in private (e.g., via email or a mobile phone) or in public (e.g., published on a website). Portions of the software that may be unlocked include a particular level of a game or other features (such as additional characters or weapons), or a working or more advanced version of an application that was otherwise provided as a demo or older version. The unlocking code may be based on a unique identifier of the computing device and an identifier associated with the software seeking to be accessed. Thus, the code may only be used by the computing device having that unique identifier. This prevents unauthorized or unlicensed computing devices from using the software.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method for providing access to a feature of an application, comprising:
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determining an upgrade code based on a unique identifier of a computing device on which the feature of the application is to be run and a product identifier associated with the feature, wherein the application is authorized for use on the computing device; and providing the upgrade code to the computing device; and activating the feature on the computing device responsive to the upgrade code. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method for providing access to an application, comprising:
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launching an application having a locked feature on a computing device, wherein the application is authorized for use on the computing device; receiving an upgrade code for the locked feature, the upgrade code being based on a unique identifier of the computing device and a product identifier associated with the locked feature; and activating the locked feature based on the upgrade code. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An upgrade control system, comprising:
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at least one processor and a memory; an activation handler executing on the at least one processor for receiving a request for an upgrade code to unlock a feature of an application to run on a computing device, wherein the application is authorized for use on the computing device; and an upgrade code generator executing on the at least one processor for determining the upgrade code based on a unique identifier of the computing device on which the feature is to be unlocked and a product identifier associated with the feature. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A computing device, comprising:
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a central processing unit (CPU) for launching an application on the computing device, requesting and receiving an upgrade code to unlock a feature for the application, wherein the application is authorized for use on the computing device, and activating the feature based on the upgrade code, the upgrade code being based on a unique identifier of the computing device and a product identifier associated with the feature; and a memory device for storing the upgrade code. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method for providing access to an application, comprising:
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launching an application having a locked feature on a computing device, wherein the application is authorized for use on the computing device; determining if the locked feature has already been activated on the computing device; providing payment for use of the locked feature if it has not already been activated on the computing device; receiving an upgrade code for the locked feature, the upgrade code being based on a unique identifier of the computing device and a product identifier associated with the locked feature; and using a public key to verify the unique identifier and the product identifier from signed data of the upgrade code; and verifying that the unique identifier and the product identifier of the received upgrade code match a unique identifier of the computing device and a product identifier associated with the locked feature stored on the computing device.
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Specification