Software distribution system and software utilization scheme for improving security and user convenience

• US 20010000709A1
• Filed: 12/18/2000
• Published: 05/03/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/1996
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hiroyasu Nogami, Toshinari Takahashi
• Original Assignee: Hiroyasu Nogami, Toshinari Takahashi
• Inventors: Takahashi, Toshinari, Nogami, Hiroyasu
• Granted Patent: US 6,332,025 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 380/277
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/1011 to devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2211/007 Encryption, En-/decode, En-/decipher, En-/decypher, Scramble, (De-)compress
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2211/008 Public Key, Asymmetric Key, Asymmetric Encryption

Abstract

A software distribution system and a software utilization scheme for effectively preventing an illegal copy of a software is difficult while improving a convenience of a user. At a user side, a shared key to be shared between a software provider and a user is stored, where the shared key has a guaranteed correspondence with an ID information regarding a payment of a software fee by the user. Then, a desired software is requested to the software provider, and the desired software is received in an encrypted form from the software provider. The desired software received from the software provider is then decrypted by using the shared key stored at the user side, and the desired software in a decrypted form is utilized at the user side.

Claims

1. A method for utilizing a software, comprising the steps of:

storing a shared key shared between a software provider and a user, the shared key having a guaranteed correspondence with an ID information regarding a payment of a software fee by the user;

requesting a desired software from the user to the software provider, and receiving the desired software in an encrypted form from the software provider;

decrypting the desired software received from the software provider by using the shared key stored at the storing step; and

utilizing the desired software in a decrypted form.

2. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the guaranteed correspondence between the shared key and the ID information is established by the steps of:

generating the shared key at a user side;

encrypting the shared key at the user side by using a public key corresponding to a secret key of the software provider and sending the shared key in an encrypted form from the user side to the software provider; and

encrypting the ID information at the user side by using the shared key and sending the ID information in an encrypted form from the user side to the software provider.

3. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the guaranteed correspondence between the shared key and the ID information is established by the steps of:

generating the shared key at a user side; and

encrypting the shared key and the ID information at the user side by using a public key corresponding to a secret key of the software provider and sending the shared key and the ID information in an encrypted form from the user side to the software provider.

4. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the storing step stores the shared key by obtaining an auxiliary information regarding a software utilization, encrypting the shared key by using the auxiliary information, and storing the shared key in an encrypted form, and

the decrypting step decrypts the desired software by obtaining the auxiliary information, decrypting the shared key in an encrypted form by using the auxiliary information, and decrypting the desired software by using the shared key in a decrypted form.

5. The method of

claim 1

, wherein the utilizing step utilizes the desired software in executing another already provided software.

7. The system of

claim 1

, further comprising:

a request inspection unit provided at the software provider side, for inspecting whether the request for the desired software is proper or not by using the shared key stored in the shared key storage unit on the software provider side; and

a software transmission command unit provided at the software provider side, for commanding an execution of an encryption by the software encryption unit and a transmission by the encrypted software transmission unit when the request inspection unit judges that the request for the desired software is proper.

6. A software distribution system in which a desired software is provided in an encrypted form from a software provider to a user, comprising:

shared key storage units provided at both a software provider side and a user side, for storing a shared key shared between the software provider and the user, the shared key having a guaranteed correspondence with an ID information regarding a payment of a software fee by the user;

a request transmission unit provided at the user side, for transmitting a request for the desired software to the software provider side;

a software encryption unit provided at the software provider side, for encrypting the desired software by using the shared key stored in the shared key storage unit on the software provider side;

an encrypted software transmission unit provided at the software provider side, for transmitting the desired software in an encrypted form to the user side; and

a software decryption unit provided at the user side, for receiving the desired software in an encrypted form from the software provider, decrypting the desired software received from the software provider by using the shared key stored in the shared key storage unit on the user side, so as to obtain the desired software in a decrypted form that can be utilized at the user side.

8. The system of

claim 6

, further comprising:

a shared key generation unit provided at the user side, for generating the shared key;

a shared key encryption unit provided at the user side, for encrypting the shared key by using a public key corresponding to a secret key of the software provider and sending the shared key in an encrypted form to the software provider; and

an ID information encryption unit provided at the user side, for encrypting the ID information by using the shared key and sending the ID information in an encrypted form to the software provider, so as to establish the guaranteed correspondence between the shared key and the ID information.

9. The system of

claim 6

, further comprising:

a shared key generation unit provided at the user side, for generating the shared key; and

a shared key and ID information encryption unit provided at the user side, for encrypting the shared key and the ID information by using a public key corresponding to a secret key of the software provider and sending the shared key and the ID information in an encrypted form to the software provider, so as to establish the guaranteed correspondence between the shared key and the ID information.

10. The system of

claim 6

, wherein the shared key storage unit on the user side stores the shared key by obtaining an auxiliary information regarding a software utilization, encrypting the shared key by using the auxiliary information, and storing the shared key in an encrypted form, and

the software decryption unit decrypts the desired software by obtaining the auxiliary information, decrypting the shared key in an encrypted form by using the auxiliary information, and decrypting the desired software by using the shared key in a decrypted form.

11. A software distribution system in which a desired software is provided from a software provider to a user through a network, comprising:

a client terminal on a user side, which is connected with a server on a software provider side through the network, and including;

a registration unit for registering a user charging information and a shared key shared between the software provider and the user into the server;

a request unit for sending a request for a desired software to the server; and

an install unit for installing each software downloaded from the server in response to the request sent by the request unit; and

a server on the software provider side, including;

a charging processing unit for carrying out a charging processing according to the user charging information registered by the registration unit, when the desired software requested by the request is a fee charged software; and

a download unit for downloading a software in response to the request sent by the request unit, the software to be downloaded being encrypted by using the shared key registered by the registration unit when the software to be downloaded is required to be encrypted.

12. The system of

claim 11

, wherein each software provided by the software provider comprises an active function portion which is independently operable and which is provided from the server for free at a time of a software purchase by the user, and a passive function portion which becomes operable by being incorporated into the active function portion and which is fee charged, and

the charging processing unit carries out the charging processing when the request sent by the request unit is requesting the passive function portion.

13. The system of

claim 11

, wherein each software provided by the software provider comprises an active function portion which is independently operable, and a passive function portion which becomes operable by being incorporated into the active function portion,

the downloading unit downloads the passive function portion in an encrypted form obtained by using the shared key;

and

the install unit installs the passive function portion and the active function portion so that, the passive function portion installed by the install unit is stored in an encrypted form, and the active function portion installed by the install unit decrypts the passive function portion in an encrypted form by using the shared key and incorporates the passive function form in a decrypted form, each time the active function portion is activated at the client terminal.

14. The system of

claim 11

, wherein the client terminal further includes:

a key management unit for generating the shared key, encrypting the shared key by using a code information uniquely defined for the client terminal, and storing the shared key in an encrypted form.

15. The system of

claim 11

, wherein the download unit downloads a software which is selected according to an environment judgement result for the client terminal notified from the client terminal to the server in advance.

16. The system of

claim 11

, wherein the server further includes:

a list providing unit for providing the user with a list information containing a version information for each software that can be provided to the user, in response to a request for the list information from the client terminal, so that the request sent by the request unit requests the desired software selected according to the list information.