Licensing for services

• US 9,449,354 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2014
• Issued: 09/20/2016
• 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:
  US14/561,963
• Publication Number:
  US 20150143542A1
• Time in Patent Office: 655 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 of providing licensing for services, comprising:

receiving at a licensing service comprising a hardware processor a license query for user provisioning information;

providing a service partner, a response to the license query, the response configured to be cached by the service partner for a configurable period of time, and be used to determine if a user is provisioned to use a service; and

wherein the licensing service is separate from the service partner.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising periodically determining a state of the license in response to an input from the service partner, wherein the input comprises a license state check performed by the service partner at configurable time periods.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the response may activate the service on the service partner using a device specific response.

4. The method of claim 1 comprising enabling a service partner to execute license queries from the licensing service for multiple services.

5. The method of claim 1 comprising handling errors from the license query.

6. The method of claim 1 comprising displaying results of the license query on a user interface.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein determining if a user is provisioned to use a service only occurs if the service partner receives a uniform resource locator in response to a license query.

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

a hardware processor;

a computer-readable memory storage device storing executable instructions that can be executed by the hardware processor to cause a licensing service implemented on a network server to;

receive, from a service partner on a client computing device, a license query where the license query indicates if a cache has been checked by the service partner for provisioning information;

provide the service partner at the client computing device a response to the license query, the response configured to be cached by the service partner for a configurable period of time and used to determine if a user is provisioned to use a service; and

wherein the licensing service is separate from the service partner.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the license service periodically determines a state of the license in response to an input from the service partner, and wherein the input comprises a license state check performed by the service partner at configurable time periods.

10. The system of claim 8 wherein the response is configured to activate the service on the service partner using a device specific response.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein the license service displays results of a license query on a user interface.

12. The system of claim 8 comprising providing a uniform resource locator to the service partner in response to a license query.