Key interface for secure object manipulation

• US 8,504,479 B2
• Filed: 08/29/2002
• Issued: 08/06/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/29/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Synaptics Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Conexant Systems Incorporated (Synaptics Incorporated)
• Inventors: Waters, Jack R. II, Beaubien, Eric R., Bader, James E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hewitt, II, Calvin L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Winter, John M
• Application Number:
  US10/230,054
• Publication Number:
  US 20030084286A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,995 Days
• Field of Search: 705 50- 80
• US Class Current: 705/50
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1063 Personalisation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/121 Restricting unauthorised execution of programs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/629 to features or functions of an application
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2137 Time limited access, e.g. to a computer or data

Abstract

A method and system for controlling access to various tiers of functionality of core software are provided. A software developer/vendor can develop a single version of software having one or more limited-access functionalities and provide the single version of the software to various types of customers. Each customer, using the single version of the core software, may develop additional software that utilizes one or more functionalities of the core software as authorized by the software developer/vendor. Access to a certain functionality or set of functionalities by the customer developed software is obtained by adapting the customer developed software to submit a key, provided by the software developer/vendor, to the core software through, for example, an application programming interface (API) of the core software. The core software is adapted to verify the provided key and, if the provided key is correct, allow the customer developed software access to the corresponding one or more functionalities of the core software.

Claims

1. A method for controlling access to a certain functionality of a first software stored on a computer, the first software comprising a plurality of functionalities, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, at the first software stored on the computer from a second software, a key associated with at least one functionality to be accessed within the first software, wherein the key is provided by the second software;

verifying the key using the computer; and

allowing, using the computer, the second software to access the at least one functionality to be accessed within the first software stored on the computer when the key is verified, the at least one functionality to be accessed within the first software stored on the computer including a customer-added service tier.

2. The method as in claim 1, further comprising the step of prohibiting the second software from accessing the at least one functionality to be accessed within the first software stored on the computer when the key is unverified.

3. The method as in claim 1, wherein the at least one functionality to be accessed within the first software stored on the computer further includes a binary service tier.

4. The method as in claim 1, further including the step of receiving, at the first software stored on a computer, an identifier representative of the at least one functionality to be accessed from the second software.

5. The method as in claim 4, wherein the key and the identifier are received at the first software stored on a computer via an application programming interface.

6. The method as in claim 4, wherein the step of verifying the key includes:

generating a verification key based at least in part on the identifier;

comparing the key with the verification key using a computer; and

wherein the key is verified based on the comparison.

7. The method as in claim 6, wherein the key is verified when the key matches the verification key and the key is unverified when the key is different from the verification key.

8. The method as in claim 1, wherein the first software stored on a computer includes binary code.

9. The method as in claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

generating the key associated with the tier of functionality to be accessed; and

providing the key to a developer of the second software for use by the second software.

10. The method as in claim 1, wherein the key is generated based at least in part on an identifier representative of the at least one functionality to be accessed.

11. A computer readable medium for controlling access to at least one functionality of a first software, the computer readable medium comprising a set of instructions being adapted to manipulate a processor to:

receive, from a second software, a key associated with at least one functionality to be accessed of the first software;

verify the key; and

allow the second software to access the at least one functionality to be accessed within the first software when the key is verified, the at least one functionality to be accessed including a customer-added service tier.

12. The computer readable medium as in claim 11, further comprising the instructions to manipulate the processor to prohibit the second software from accessing the at least one functionality to be accessed of the first software when the key is unverified.

13. The computer readable medium as in claim 11, wherein the at least one functionality to be accessed further includes a binary service tier.

14. The computer readable medium as in claim 11, wherein the set of instructions further includes instructions adapted to manipulate the processor to receive an identifier associated with the at least one functionality to be accessed from the second software.

15. The computer readable medium as in claim 14, wherein the instructions adapted to manipulate the processor to verify the key include instructions to manipulate the processor to:

generate a verification key based at least in part on the identifier;

compare the key with the verification key; and

wherein the key is verified based on the comparison.

16. The computer readable medium as in claim 15, wherein the key is verified when the key matches the verification key and the key is unverified when the key is different from the verification key.

17. The computer readable medium as in claim 11, wherein the first software includes binary code.

18. The computer readable medium as in claim 11, wherein the set of instructions further comprise instructions to manipulate the processor to:

generate the key associated with the at least one functionality to be accessed; and

provide the key to a developer of the second software for use by the second software.

19. The computer readable medium as in claim 18, wherein the key is generated based at least in part on an identifier associated with the at least one functionality to be accessed.

20. A method for controlling access to a development service tier of a first software stored on a computer, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, at the first software stored on a computer, a key associated with at least one development service tier within the first software stored on a computer, wherein the key is provided by a second software;

verifying the key using a computer; and

allowing, using the computer, the second software to access the at least one development service tier within the first software stored on a computer when the key is verified, the at least one development service tier within the first software stored on the computer including a customer-added service tier.

21. The method as in claim 20, further comprising the step of prohibiting the second software from accessing the at least one development service tier within the first software stored on the computer when the key is unverified.

22. The method as in claim 20, wherein the at least one development service tier within the first software stored on the computer further includes a binary service tier.

23. The method as in claim 20, further including the step of receiving, at the first software stored on a computer, an identifier representative of the at least one development service tier from the second software.

24. The method as in claim 23, wherein the key and the identifier are received at the first software stored on a computer via an application programming interface.

25. The method as in claim 23, wherein the step of verifying the key includes:

generating, using a computer, a verification key based at least in part on the identifier;

comparing the key with the verification key using a computer; and

wherein the key is verified based on the comparison.

26. The method as in claim 25, wherein the key is verified when the key matches the verification key and the key is unverified when the key is different from the verification key.

27. The method as in claim 20, wherein the first software stored on a computer includes binary code.

28. The method as in claim 20, further comprising the steps of:

generating, using the computer, the key associated with the at least one development service tier; and

providing the key to a developer of the second software for use by the second software.

29. The method as in claim 20, wherein the key is generated based at least in part on an identifier representative of the at least one development service tier.