System and method for auditing software usage
First Claim
1. A method for auditing software usage, comprising:
- receiving a serial number for a software installed on a computing device and a device identifier for the device;
determining whether the received serial number corresponds to one of recognized serial numbers;
in response to determination that the received serial number corresponds to one of the recognized serial numbers, calculating a copy count for the received serial number;
in response to the copy count not exceeding a first upper limit of software copies, sending an unlimited unlock key to the device; and
in response to the copy count being greater than the first upper limit but not exceeding a second upper limit, sending a first limited unlock key to the device.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for auditing and selectively restricting software usage based on, for example, software copy counts or execution counts. In one embodiment, the method comprises verifying whether the serial number for a software installed on a computing device corresponds to one of recognized serial numbers, and calculating a copy count (or software execution count) for the serial number. In response to the copy count exceeding a defined upper limit, a limited unlock key may be sent to the device. The limited unlock key may allow the software to be executed on the device for a defined time period, a defined number of executions, and/or with at least one feature of the software disabled.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. A method for auditing software usage, comprising:
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receiving a serial number for a software installed on a computing device and a device identifier for the device; determining whether the received serial number corresponds to one of recognized serial numbers; in response to determination that the received serial number corresponds to one of the recognized serial numbers, calculating a copy count for the received serial number; in response to the copy count not exceeding a first upper limit of software copies, sending an unlimited unlock key to the device; and in response to the copy count being greater than the first upper limit but not exceeding a second upper limit, sending a first limited unlock key to the device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for auditing software usage, comprising:
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sending a serial number for a software installed on a computing device and a device identifier for the device to an authorization authority, the authorization authority calculating a copy count for the serial number; in response to the copy count not exceeding a first upper limit of software copies, receiving from the authorization authority an unlimited unlock key for the software; and in response to the copy count being greater than the first upper limit but not exceeding a second upper limit, receiving from the authorization authority a first limited unlock key for the software. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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17. A system for auditing software usage, comprising:
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a receiver module adapted to receive a serial number for a software installed on a computing device and a device identifier for the device; a transmitter module; a processor module operatively coupled to the receiver and transmitter modules; and a memory module operatively coupled to the processor module and comprising executable code for the processor module to; determine whether the received serial number corresponds to one of recognized serial numbers; in response to determination that the received serial number corresponds to one of the recognized serial numbers, calculate a copy count for the received serial number; in response to the copy count not exceeding a first upper limit of software copies, instruct the transmitter module to send an unlimited unlock key to the device; and in response to the copy count being greater than the first upper limit but not exceeding a second upper limit, instruct the transmitter module to send a first limited unlock key to the device.
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22. A client-side system for auditing software usage, comprising:
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a receiver module; a processor module operatively coupled to the receiver module; and a memory module operatively coupled to the processor module and comprising executable code for the processor module to; obtain a serial number for a software installed on a computing device; determine a device identifier for the device; instruct the transmitter module to send the serial number and the device identifier to the authorization authority, the authorization authority calculating a copy count for the serial number; wherein, in response to the copy count not exceeding a first upper limit of software copies, the receiver module receives from the authorization authority a unlimited unlock key for the software; and wherein, in response to the copy count being greater than the first upper limit but not exceeding a second upper limit, the receiver module receives from the authorization authority a first limited unlock key for the software. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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28. A method for auditing software usage, comprising:
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receiving a serial number for a software installed on a computing device and a device identifier for the device; determining whether the received serial number corresponds to one of recognized serial numbers; in response to determination that the received serial number corresponds to one of the recognized serial numbers, calculating a software execution count for the received serial number; in response to the execution count not exceeding a first upper limit of executions, sending an unlimited unlock key to the device; and in response to the execution count being greater than the first upper limit but not exceeding a second upper limit, sending a first limited unlock key to the device. - View Dependent Claims (29)
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30. A method for auditing software usage, comprising:
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receiving a serial number for a software installed on a computing device and a device identifier for the device; determining whether the received serial number corresponds to one of recognized serial numbers; determining whether the device identifier corresponds to a recognized device identifier, and if the device identifier is not recognized, compiling a new unique device identifier from a hardware configuration of the computing device; in response to recognizing the received serial number, calculating a copy count for the received serial number; in response to the copy count not exceeding a first upper limit of software copies, sending an unlimited unlock key to the device; and in response to the copy count being greater than the first upper limit, sending a first limited unlock key to the device.
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Specification