Process for the on-line sale of a software product

• US 8,645,277 B2
• Filed: 05/21/2010
• Issued: 02/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Media Patents S.L.
• Original Assignee: Media Patents S.L.
• Inventors: Fernandez Gutierrez, Alvaro
• Primary Examiner(s): OBEID, MAMON A
• Application Number:
  US12/785,349
• Publication Number:
  US 20100235264A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,355 Days
• Field of Search: 705/50, 705/51, 705/59, 717174-178
• US Class Current: 705/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0185 Product, service or business identity fraud
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0603 Catalogue ordering
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0613 Third-party assisted
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/184 Intellectual property management

Abstract

Online sale of software product use licenses through a data network by offering software products (SOFT) through vendor sites, purchasing a license on-line on one of said vendor sites, and activating said license on-line by a different licensing site. A specific component (COMP) is provided with the software product (SOFT) and identifying data (IDV) of the vendor site are transmitted during the download of the software product (SOFT). When the component (COMP) is executed in an equipment, the component (COMP) locally accesses said data (IDV) and identifying data (IDL) of the licensing site and activates the license by setting up an on-line communication with the licensing site.

Claims

1. A computer readable non-transient medium having a program installed thereon that when executed on a computer performs a method comprising:

a. a programmable computing device downloading from a vendor site a software product of a software company, the software product received by the vendor site from a supervising site, the software product received by the supervising site from a licensing site upon the licensing site having incorporated in the software product a software module previously transmitted by the supervising site to the licensing site;

b. the programmable computing device storing in a computer readable medium the software product;

c. the programmable computing device determining, by executing instructions of the software module stored in the programmable computer device, that a software product license is not stored in the programmable computing device;

d. in response to determining that the software product license is not stored in the programmable computing device, the programmable computing device determining, by executing instructions of the software module, that a license purchase receipt for the software product is not stored in the programmable computing device;

e. in response to determining that the software product license and the license purchase receipt for the software product are not stored in the programmable computing device, the programmable computing device executing instructions of the software module to create a graphical interface at the programmable computing device, the graphical interface displaying one or more purchase options for the software product;

f. the programmable computing device locally accessing identification data of the vendor site and using the locally accessed identification data of the vendor site to set up a communication with the vendor site by executing instructions of the software module;

g. the programmable computing device executing instructions of the software module for purchasing online a license for the software product from the vendor site;

h. in response to transmitting a license purchase request from the programmable computing device, the programmable computing device receiving from the vendor site the license purchase receipt;

i. the programmable computing device setting up a communication with the licensing site, the licensing site is associated with the software company;

j. the programmable computing device transmitting the license purchase receipt to the licensing site;

k. the programmable computing device transmitting an identifier associated with the programmable computing device to the licensing site;

l. in response to transmitting said license purchase receipt and said identifier, the programmable computing device receiving from the licensing site the software product license for the software product, the software product license is bound to the identifier of the programmable computing device; and

m. the programmable computing device storing the software product license.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the vendor site communicating with the licensing site to verify the license purchase receipt for the software product.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the vendor site transmitting to the licensing site the license purchase receipt for the software product.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the vendor site paying the software company a part of the payment received for the sale of the software product license.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the programmable computing device transmitting to the licensing site data identifying the vendor site.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the software product stored in the programmable computing device comprises identifying data of the vendor site.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the software product stored in the programmable computing device comprises identifying data of the licensing site.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the graphical interface displays a purchase option to use the software product, or upgrades thereof.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the graphical interface displays a purchase option to use the software product, or upgrades thereof, with the use being for a definite period of time.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the software module comprises one or more of a class, a set of classes, a set of functions, a dynamic link library or source code.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the software module incorporated in the software product comprises a set of instructions which can be loaded in the memory of the programmable computing device to be executed together with the software product.