Method of distributing piracy protected computer software
First Claim
1. A method for protecting a software application from piracy, comprising the steps of:
- providingstoring data indicative of an authorised use of the software application;
executing a first portion of the software application;
receiving user authorisation information;
using a processor within a peripheral device, comparing the received user authorisation information with user authorisation information stored in memory of the peripheral device to produce a comparison result and, if the comparison result is indicative of the authorised user of the software application, providing data from the peripheral device to the computer, the data indicative of the authorised use of the software application on the computer;
executing a second portion of the software application only upon receipt of the data indicative of the authorised use of the software application;
transmitting data related to the software application to the peripheral device; and
, comparing the received data with data stored in memory of the peripheral device using the processor of the peripheral device;
and wherein the step of providing data from the peripheral device comprises the step of;
selecting the data indicative of the authorised use of the software application on the computer according to the data related to the software application, the data selected from a plurality of instances of data, each instance of data indicative of the authorised use of a different software application.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and a system for disabling execution of a software application stored within a computer absent data indicative of an authorized use of the software application are disclosed. At start up or during execution of a software application a user is prompted for user authorization information. Using a processor within a smart card the received user authorization information is compared with user authorization information stored in memory of the smart card to produce a comparison result. If the comparison result is indicative of an authorized user of the software application, then data indicative of the authorized use of the software application is provided from the smart card to the computer. Upon receipt of the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application execution of the software application is continued. When the data is not data indicative of the authorized use of the software application further execution of the software application is disabled. For example, biometric information in the form of a fingerprint may be used for user authorization.
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Citations
44 Claims
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1. A method for protecting a software application from piracy, comprising the steps of:
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providingstoring data indicative of an authorised use of the software application; executing a first portion of the software application; receiving user authorisation information; using a processor within a peripheral device, comparing the received user authorisation information with user authorisation information stored in memory of the peripheral device to produce a comparison result and, if the comparison result is indicative of the authorised user of the software application, providing data from the peripheral device to the computer, the data indicative of the authorised use of the software application on the computer; executing a second portion of the software application only upon receipt of the data indicative of the authorised use of the software application; transmitting data related to the software application to the peripheral device; and
, comparing the received data with data stored in memory of the peripheral device using the processor of the peripheral device;and wherein the step of providing data from the peripheral device comprises the step of; selecting the data indicative of the authorised use of the software application on the computer according to the data related to the software application, the data selected from a plurality of instances of data, each instance of data indicative of the authorised use of a different software application. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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2. A method for protecting a software application from piracy, comprising the steps of:
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providingstoring data indicative of an authorised use of the software application; executing a first portion of the software application; receiving user authorisation information; using a processor within a peripheral device, comparing the received user authorisation information with user authorisation information stored in memory of the peripheral device to produce a comparison result and, if the comparison result is indicative of the authorised user of the software application, providing data from the peripheral device to the computer, the data being indicative of the authorised use of the software application on the computer; executing a second portion of the software application only upon receipt of the data indicative of the authorised use of the software application; wherein the step of comparing the received user authorisation information with the user authorisation information stored in memory of the peripheral device to produce a comparison result comprises the step of; comparing the provided user authorisation information with a plurality of instances of user authorisation information stored in memory. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4)
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5. A method for protecting a software application from piracy, comprising the steps of:
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providingstoring data indicative of an authorised use of the software application; executing a first portion of the software application; receiving user authorisation information; using a processor within a peripheral device, comparing the received user authorisation information with user authorisation information stored in memory of the peripheral device to produce a comparison result and, if the comparison result is indicative of the authorised user of the software application, providing data from the peripheral device to the computer, the data being indicative of the authorised use of the software application on the computer; executing a second portion of the software application only upon receipt of the data indicative of the authorised use of the software application; storing a first instance of data in memory of the peripheral device; storing a second instance of data in memory of the peripheral device; and
,using the processor of the peripheral device, comparing the second instance of data with the first instance of data to produce a comparison result, and if the comparison result is indicative of an authorised use of the software application, providing data indicative of the authorised use of the software application and calculateing a new second instance of data to replace the second instance of data. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7)
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9. A system for protecting a software application from piracy comprising:
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a computer including a processor configured to unlock and execute a locked software application and an input device configured to accept user authorization information indicative of an authorized use of the software application; and a peripheral device including a memory and a processor, the peripheral device being configured to receive the user authorisation information and the processor being configured to compare the received user authorization information with user authorization information stored in the memory to produce a comparison result and, if the comparison result is indicative of the authorized user of the software application, the peripheral device is configured to provide data to the computer, the data being indicative of the authorized use of the software application on the computer; wherein the computer is configured to unlock the software application for execution upon receipt of the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A system for protecting software applications from piracy, the system comprising:
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a computer including a processor configured to unlock and execute a plurality of locked software applications and an input device configured to accept user authorization information indicative of an authorized use of one or more of the software applications; and a peripheral device including a memory and a processor, wherein the peripheral device is in communication with the computer and configured to receive the user authorization information and identification of the one or more software applications for which authorization is requested, and wherein the processor is configured to compare the received user authorization information with user authorization information stored in the memory to produce a comparison result and, if the comparison result is indicative of the authorized user of the one or more software applications for which authorization is requested, the peripheral device is further configured to provide data to the computer, the data being indicative of the authorized use of the one or more of the software applications on the computer, wherein the computer is configured to unlock the one or more software applications for execution upon receipt of the data indicative of the authorized use of the one or more software applications.
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31. A system for protecting a software application from piracy comprising:
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a locked software application configured to be unlocked only by an authorized user; and a smart card including a memory having user authorization information indicating an authorized user of the software application, wherein during execution of the locked software application in a computer, the computer is configured to unlock the locked software application if user authorization information provided by the user matches the authorized user information stored in the smart card, and wherein the smart card further comprises a processor configured to compare the received user authorization information with user authorization information stored in the memory to produce a comparison result and, if the comparison result is indicative of the authorized user of the software application, data indicative of the authorized use of the software application is provided to the computer to unlock the software application for execution. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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Specification