License management apparatus, license management method, and computer readable medium

• US 8,799,321 B2
• Filed: 04/16/2009
• Issued: 08/05/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/25/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Fujifilm Business Innovation Corp. (Fujifilm Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fuji Xerox Company Limited (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Kakehi, Rumiko, Kyojima, Masaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Nigh, James D
• Application Number:
  US12/425,203
• Publication Number:
  US 20100169982A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,937 Days
• Field of Search: 705/59, 705/51, 707/781, 707/783, 707/785, 726/2, 709/225
• US Class Current: 707/785
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/105 Arrangements for software license management or administration, e.g. for managing licenses at corporate level
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2220/18 Licensing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/104 Grouping of entities

Abstract

A license management apparatus includes: a license information storage; a reproduced user information storage; an invalidation information storage; a compare unit; an update unit; and a setting unit.

Claims

1. A license management apparatus comprising:

a database of user information, the user information comprising at least one of a user identification (ID) of a user and a group ID of a group of users to which the user belongs;

a license database, the license database associating the user information with a license issued to the user;

a license invalidation condition database, the license invalidation condition database associating a license invalidation condition that identifies a change of the user information with a license invalidation rule for invalidating the license; and

a processor that executes instructions causing the license management apparatus to execute a license invalidation process of invalidating the license comprising;

reading the user information from the database of user information;

requesting a user management server for corresponding user information of the user that corresponds to the user information, the user management server managing a user information database storing the corresponding user information;

receiving the corresponding user information from the user management server;

comparing the user information and the corresponding user information;

detecting a difference between the user information and the corresponding user information based on a result of the comparing;

determining that the difference corresponds to the change of the user information identified by the license invalidation condition; and

applying the license invalidation rule associated with the license invalidation condition to the license regularly in response to determining that the difference corresponds to the change of the user information identified by the license invalidation condition.

2. The license management apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:

a policy database that stores a policy associating the user information with at least one of a right of the license to access content and a term of validity of the license,

wherein the processor executes instructions causing the license management apparatus to accept a license authentication request to validate the license, determines that the license is invalid by searching the license database, searches the policy database according to the user information, determines that the license can be issued based on the policy, issues the license to the user, and stores the license in the license database.

3. The license management apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the license associates the license with validity setting information expressing validity of the license, and applying the license invalidation rule comprises setting the validity setting information to indicate that the license is invalid.

4. A license management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the invalidation process further comprises updating the user information of the database of user information with the corresponding user information received from the user management server.

5. The management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the change of the user information comprises at least one of deletion of the user information, deletion of the user from the group, addition of the user to the group, and deletion of the group.

6. The management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a range of the license to be applied the license invalidation rule is specified.

7. The management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the license is applied the license invalidation rule each time the difference corresponding to the change of the user information is determined.

8. A license management method comprising:

storing user information in a database of user information, the user information comprising at least one of a user identification (ID) of a user and a group ID of a group of users to which the user belongs;

storing the user information in association with a license issued to the user, in a license database;

associating a license invalidation condition that identifies a change of the user information with a license invalidation rule for invalidating the license, in a license invalidation condition database; and

invalidating the license, by a processor, the invalidating comprising;

reading the user information from the database of user information;

requesting a user management server for corresponding user information of the user that corresponds to the user information, the user management server managing a user information database storing the corresponding user information;

receiving the corresponding user information from the user management server;

comparing the user information and the corresponding user information;

detecting a difference between the user information and the corresponding user information based on a result of the comparing;

determining that the difference corresponds to the change of the user information identified by the license invalidation condition; and

applying the license invalidation rule associated with the license invalidation condition to the license regularly in response to determining that the difference corresponds to the change of the user information identified by the license invalidation condition.

9. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing a computer to execute a process for managing license information, the process comprising:

storing user information in a database of user information, the user information comprising at least one of a user identification (ID) of a user and a group ID of a group of users to which the user belongs;

storing the user information in association with a license issued to the user, in a license database;

associating a license invalidation condition that identifies a change of the user information with a license invalidation rule for invalidating the license, in a license invalidation condition database; and

invalidating the license, the invalidating comprising;

reading the user information from the database of user information;

requesting a user management server for corresponding user information of the user that corresponds to the user information, the user management server managing a user information database storing the corresponding user information;

receiving the corresponding user information from the user management server;

comparing the user information and the corresponding user information;

detecting a difference between the user information and the corresponding user information based on a result of the comparing;

determining that the difference corresponds to the change of the user information identified by the license invalidation condition; and

applying the license invalidation rule associated with the license invalidation condition to the license regularly in response to determining that the difference corresponds to the change of the user information identified by the license invalidation condition.

10. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing a computer to execute a process that is performed on a content licensing managing server that stores user information for each of a plurality of users, the user information including a user identification (ID), a group ID of a group to which the user belongs, and content information, the content licensing managing server also storing, along with, for each user, one or more license information, the process comprising:

periodically performing by the content licensing managing server the operations of;

for each the user IDs stored in the content licensing managing server, sending a request to a user management server for user information that is stored on the user management server and associated with the user ID;

receiving a response to the request, the response including the user information that is stored on the user management server;

comparing the user information included in the response with the user information associated with the user ID that is stored on the content licensing management server to determine whether changed information exists;

in response to determining changed information exists, updating the user information stored in the content licensing management server with the user information received in the response, and generating and storing a change log which includes the user ID, the changed information, and information before the change; and

determining, for each licensing information associated with the user ID, whether the licensing information is to be invalidated based on the information stored in the change log that is associated with the user ID, and if the licensing information is to be invalidated, setting the licensing information stored on the licensing management server as invalid.