Licensing for services

• US 9,384,516 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2012
• Issued: 07/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/27/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Li, Karvell, Donner, Robert, Garg, Sanjay, Wadhwa, Amit, Amirault, Danny R.
• Primary Examiner(s): LEMMA, SAMSON B
• Application Number:
  US13/684,587
• Publication Number:
  US 20130198864A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,317 Days
• Field of Search: 726/28
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/105 Arrangements for software license management or administration, e.g. for managing licenses at corporate level
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1073 Conversion
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1075 Editing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1076 Revocation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1077 Recurrent authorisation
• 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: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 2220/18 Licensing
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/184 Intellectual property management

Abstract

A method, system, and computer-readable storage media for providing licensing for services are provided herein. The method includes determining, via a service partner, whether a user exists in a user provisioning cache and whether the user is provisioned to use a service provided by the service partner. The method also includes querying a licensing service to determine updates to the user provisioning cache if the user does not exist in the user provisioning cache or is not provisioned to use the service, or both. Further, the method includes determining whether the user is provisioned to use the service based on the updates to the user provisioning cache and, if the user is provisioned to use the service, allowing the user access to the service.

Claims

1. A method for providing licensing for services, comprising:

determining, whether a user exists in a user provisioning cache for a service partner;

determining whether the user is provisioned to use a web service provided by the service partner;

if the user does not exist in the user provisioning cache or is not provisioned to use the web service, querying the licensing service to determine updates to the user provisioning cache;

updating the user provisioning cache with the determined updates;

based on the updates to the user provisioning cache, determining whether the user is provisioned to use the web service; and

if the user is provisioned, allowing the user access to the web service;

the user provisioning cache expires based on a performance cost of querying a licensing service, wherein at least one of the method steps is implemented by the computer processor.

2. The method of claim 1, comprising allowing the user access to the web service if the user exists in the user provisioning cache and is provisioned.

3. The method of claim 1, comprising denying the user access to the web service if it is determined that the user is not provisioned based on the updates to the user provisioning cache.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising storing provisioning information relating to the user within the user provisioning cache for a specified period of time.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein provisioning information indicating that the user is provisioned is stored in the user provisioning cache for a longer period of time than provisioning information indicating that the user is not provisioned.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the web service comprises a roaming settings service.

7. The method of claim 1, comprising receiving updates to the user provisioning cache from the licensing service at configurable time periods.

8. A system for providing licensing for services, comprising:

a processor;

a computer-readable memory storage device storing executable instructions that can be executed by the processor to cause a service partner to;

determine whether a user exists in a user provisioning cache of the computer-readable memory storage device;

determine whether the user is provisioned to use, on a user device, a web service provided by the service partner;

if the user does not exist in the user provisioning cache or is not provisioned to use the web service, instruct the processor to query the licensing service to determine updates to the user provisioning cache;

update the user provisioning cache with the determined updates;

determine whether the user is provisioned to use the web service on the user device based on the provisioning updates; and

if the user is provisioned, allow the user access to the web service, wherein the user provisioning cache expires based on a performance cost of querying a licensing service.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the service partner denies the user access if it is determined that the user is not provisioned based on the provisioning updates.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein the licensing service automatically sends provisioning updates to the service partner at configurable time periods.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the service partner stores provisioning information relating to the user within the user provisioning cache for a specified period of time.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein provisioning information indicating that the user is provisioned to use the web service is stored in the user provisioning cache for a longer period of time than provisioning information indicating that the user is not provisioned.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the service partner determines whether the user exists in the user provisioning cache and whether the user is provisioned in response to receiving a request to access the web service from the user.

14. The system of claim 8, wherein the web service comprises a roaming settings service.

15. The system of claim 8, wherein the service partner queries the licensing service via an application programming interface (API) call.

16. One or more computer-readable memory storage devices comprising a plurality of instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to:

determine whether a user exists in a user provisioning cache for a web service;

determine whether a user is provisioned to use a web service provided by the service partner;

if the user does not exist in the user provisioning cache or is not provisioned to use the web service, query the licensing service to determine updates to the user provisioning cache;

update the user provision cache with the determined updates;

determine whether the user is provisioned to use the web service based on the update; and

if the user is provisioned, allow the user access to the web service, wherein the user provisioning cache expires based on a performance cost of querying a licensing service.

17. The one or more computer-readable memory storage devices of claim 16, wherein the instructions cause the processor to:

determine whether the user exists in the user provisioning cache; and

if the user does not exist in the user provisioning cache, query the licensing service to determine the provisioning updates.

18. The one or more computer-readable memory storage devices of claim 16, wherein the instructions cause the processor to deny the user access to the web service if it is determined that the user is not provisioned based on the provisioning updates.

19. The one or more computer-readable memory storage devices of claim 16, wherein the instructions cause the processor to store provisioning information relating to the user within the user provisioning cache for a specified period of time.