Token based club digital content licensing method

• US 8,073,780 B2
• Filed: 02/21/2005
• Issued: 12/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/15/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Altair Engineering Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Altair Engineering Incorporated
• Inventors: Marjadi, Dhiren, Dagg, James P., Scapa, James P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Augustin, Evens J
• Application Number:
  US11/061,166
• Publication Number:
  US 20050182731A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,479 Days
• Field of Search: 707/104, 705/1, 705/9, 710/200
• US Class Current: 705/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

A predetermined number of license units for each of a plurality of individually selectable pieces of digital content in a digital content suite are checked out when each piece of digital content is executed by a customer in a customer club. Execution of a requested digital content is granted when the number of license units to execute the requested digital content is less than or equal to the total number of available units for the club. Access is granted for execution of the requested digital content by a license manager based on whether the required units of the requested digital content are greater than the available units on the requesting customer computer network. If the requested digital content cannot be executed immediately, the required units can be locked up and charged to the customer club available units or left uncharged.

Claims

1. A method of accessing digital content comprising the steps of:

providing a suite of selectable discrete pieces of digital content at a single host source;

assigning a number of licensed units to each digital content in the suite of digital content;

individual independent entities forming at least one discrete customer group, the at least one group formed of a plurality of individual customers;

assigning an identification to each customer in the one customer group to identify each customer as part of one discrete customer group;

selecting a group of individual digital content by each customer group from the suite of digital content for allowable access by the customers in the one customer group, respectively, from the source;

acquiring a total number of group licensed units by the one customer group; and

allowing access, according to a source license management control using the group licensed units, to at least one piece of digital content in the group of digital content selected by the one customer group, from the suite of digital content to at least one customer in the one customer group.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

providing a distinct identification to a plurality of distinct customer groups, each group having a plurality of customers.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the steps of:

allowing each of the plurality of customer groups access to the same digital content in the suite of digital content.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of:

allowing each of the plurality of customer groups access to different digital content in the suite of digital content.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of acquiring a total number of group licensed units by the one customer group comprises the step of:

purchasing the total number of group licensed units by the one customer group.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

purchasing private license units by at least one customer in the one customer group useable only by the one customer.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein the step of allowing access to the suite of digital content further comprises the step of:

allowing access to the suite of digital content through the use of the private-license units by the one customer independent of group licensed units.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

establishing by the at least one customer group membership rules pertaining to access by each customer of the customer group to the licensed suite of digital content.

9. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of:

requiring periodic monetary payments by each customer of the at least one customer group for each customer to maintain membership in the at least one customer group.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of allowing access further comprises the step of:

providing a license management control within each distinct customer group;

allowing access, subject to the source license management control, by the group license management control by all customers in the one discrete group.