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I \ \ \ CLIENT MODULE ——g

1. through one or more licensing modules over the Internet 0074 Each of the procedures involves initially forming connection with a corresponding upstream agent The agent can be the agent component of a licensing module in an upstream network file server or like machine containing a licensing module Or the upstream agent may be the agent module in a license server in which case the connection is formed over a public network such as the Internet 0075 When a client application is first brought up the Check Out License procedure is initiated The purpose of the Check Out License procedure is to enable the software application to which the client module is attached In addi tion the Check Out License procedure can be used by to track the proliferation of a client application In accordance with an exemplary process incorporating the invention the client module s Check Out License call generates a client data structure containing the name of the software applica tion any feature name s that is to be enabled the name of the upstream agent component module a hardware identifier ofthe computer containing the client application a date time stamp and a version number of the licensing system Other fields are created in the client data structure that are filled in by the upstream licensing module or license server 0076 Prior to concurrently or following the formation of the client data structure the client module forms a
2. Apr 20 2006 Furthermore for every protection scheme devised by pro grammers there are hackers who will diligently go about undermining them A first line of defense is to encourage legitimate users to register their licensed software 0006 Registration of software provides a software pro vider with a record of a valid license Registration typically involves filling out and mailing a registration card that is provided in an off the shelf software package A user may be asked to write in the serial number of the software set along with other pertinent information The defense mechanism in registration albeit weak is that a software provider will only render assistance and support to properly registered users That is a software provider will refuse to grant assistance to a user unless the user has properly registered their software 0007 registration process also may involve respond ing to prompts generated by the software when it is first run prompt may be a security system asking the user to enter the serial number and or a codeword to enable the software The codeword may be a word appearing at prompt desig nated locations in a user manual This security scheme operates on the premise that a pirate will not ordinarily have a copy of the user manual After the software is up and running it may periodically prompt the user to re enable the software by entering a different codeword appearing at varying locatio
3. 0021 Operation of an exemplary system incorporating the invention involves the client module in a client appli US 2006 0085355 Al cation generating inquiries that are sent to the license server in the context of an Internet communication session The license server responds to the inquiry by investigating its database to determine whether a corresponding license record is present The license server then forms an appro priate response message that is sent back to the client module 0022 If it is determined that the client application is not licensed i e the database does not contain a corresponding license record the response sent by the licensing server does not allow the client application to be enabled If the client application is licensed i e the database contains a record of a license the response can allow the client application to be enabled or re enabled In sum the client application must be enabled for it to properly operate Communication between the computer and the licensing server is generally transparent to a user That is the client module automatically forms a connection with the license server sends a message and receives a response all without user input or notification 0023 Alternatively an exemplary embodiment of the invention can be used to monitor use of client applications Operation of an exemplary system incorporating the inven tion for monitoring client application use involves using th
4. When the wrapped application used or seeks a floating license from a file server a licensing module installed in the file server computer records the activity In a floating license system the licensing module can be configured to always reserve a license for use by certain individual computers e g the CEO s computer Audit records generated by the licensing module can be periodically checked by the MIS manager to see if adjustments are needed e g purchase a greater number of floating licenses US 2006 0085355 Al 0090 variation of the latter system also can be installed in existing network to retrofit a licensing management system Client modules wrap previously installed applica tions thereby converting them into client applications The client modules on individual computers monitor and or control client application use The client modules can report to licensing modules in upstream file servers or report directly to a license server over a public network Such a system can be used by software providers as an aftermarket component installed on top of existing software systems In such a setting a client module can be responsible for handling license validation of more than one client applica tion loaded on the computer If two or more client software applications on a computer are by a same software provider the client module can generate a single validity request message covering each wrapped client application Such a
5. modules can communicate directly with a license server 604 over a public network such as the Internet 616 0092 As mentioned in the Background above software licensing management systems conventionally maintain pro prietary that 1s application specific licensing code in soft ware applications 1 application portion Corresponding proprietary licensing code also is maintained in the file server or like network element 1 authenticator portion Consequently a conventional system typically has to main tain several separate licensing validation programs on a file server to check each of the software applications loaded on sub tended computers system in accordance with the latter embodiment of the invention provides for a generic solution whereby a single client module is maintained on the desktop computer that handles all of the licensing manage ment for the computer s client applications Hence the computers and corresponding servers need not contain sev eral licensing system applications each having proprietary code 0093 Because the exemplary embodiments described above describe use of the Internet as a communications medium the hardware identifier maintained in the client Apr 20 2006 data structure is preferably the IP address of a computer However any other suitable hardware identifier can be used to identify the computer on which a client application or licensing module is loaded For example Intel s P
6. The downloadable software package of claim 25 wherein said licensing module is operable to automatically send a license validity inquiry request to a license server software responsive to activation of a save routine of said client software application
7. connection with the upstream agent component designated in the client data structure Once the connection is com pleted the Check Out License procedure sends a license Apr 20 2006 validity inquiry request message to the upstream agent which request message contains the contents of the client data structure Alternatively the entire data structure can be sent The information from the client data structure is used by the upstream agent to form a query with which to determine the existence if any of a license record for the client application In the case where the upstream agent is the agent module in the license server the query is per formed on the server database In the case where the upstream agent is an agent component in a licensing module e g in a file server the query is performed on the licensing module s cache component 0077 Ifthe query finds a license record in the database or cache the location of that record in the form of a pointer is generated for storage in a license ID field in the client data structure The licensing module also generates an authori zation ID for storage in a field of the same name in the client data structure If the query does not locate a license record the license ID field and authorization ID field are left blank 1 nulled Following the query a license validity inquiry response message is formed by the agent and returned to the client The response message contains the licens
8. new client data structure contents The license ID information in the client data structure is used by the upstream agent to directly access the memory location where the license record was previously located The exist ing license record is modified to indicate the disablement of a feature or is deleted if the agent is the agent module in the license server If the agent is an agent component in a licensing module the license is designated for deletion This information is passed upstream in a license check in request message subsequently sent up stream by the licensing mod ule in its next periodic self validation The license and authorization ID fields of the client data structure are nulled and a license check in response message containing the client data structure is then formed by the agent and returned to the client module The client module then deletes the client data structure 0086 It is important to note that in a network setting incorporating the aforementioned exemplary processes the client components of the licensing modules also can use the Check Out Check In and Validate License procedures to update licensing records stored in their cache components Performance of these procedures by the licensing modules is substantially similar to performance of the procedures by a client module However the corresponding license ID instead of referring to an individual client application can refer to a class or sub class licens
9. of the Validate License procedure can be in response to a timer expiration 1 a periodic check or at the appearance of a system interrupt e g printing is selected The Validate License procedure in accordance with an exemplary process incor porating the invention generates a new client data structure containing the name ofthe software application any feature name s that is to be enabled the name of the upstream agent component module the license ID the authorization ID a date time stamp and the version number of the licensing system 0082 Following completion of the upstream connection the Validate License procedure sends a license validity inquiry request message to the upstream agent which request message contains the new client data structure contents The license ID information in the client data structure is used by the upstream agent to directly access the memory location where the license record was previously located If the query finds a license record a new authori zation ID is generated by the agent and stored in the authorization ID field in the client data structure If a license record no longer exists the license ID field and authorization ID field are nulled A license validity inquiry response message containing the client data structure is then formed by the agent and returned to the client module 0083 The client module investigates the data structure contents returned in the response message to a
10. the context of a next validity inquiry request message The server 110 will record this information in the database 112 Alternatively the user can be prompted to contact a sales representative or automated operator to purchase a license or directed to a Web home page where a license for the software application can be purchased In the event of a license purchase the database 112 can be automatically updated to record the license Thereafter a validity check will find a license record and allow the client application 103 to be enabled 0054 If the license ID field contains a license ID this information is recorded by the client module 103 for future use step 228 The client module 108 then enables the software application 102 step 230 The client module may at this point start a timer step 232 for periodic checking of license validity Such a validity check is automatically initiated when the timer expires step 234 The client module also can be configured to initiate a validity check whenever an interrupt is present indicating a certain activity step 236 such as printing or saving 0055 Periodic checks performed at timer expiration or upon appropriate interrupt use the license ID which is a pointer to directly access the database record corresponding to the license If the license record is found a response message indicates so the software remains enabled and the timer is reset If the record is found empty it ma
11. 0 079 221 filed Feb 19 2002 incorporated herein by reference in its entirety which is a continuation of U S patent application Ser No 09 128 652 filed Aug 4 1998 which is a continuation of U S patent application Ser No 08 607 081 filed Feb 26 1996 now issued as U S Pat No 5 790 664 BACKGROUND 0002 The present invention relates to software licensing and in particular to a system for automated monitoring and management of licensed software 0003 It is well known that software is not purchased but only licensed for use Software unlike manufactured prod ucts can be freely copied and distributed Hence software providers are largely limited in their choice of control means Unfortunately a software license is merely a legal mechanism and cannot literally prevent illicit copying of proprietary software A typical software license grants a permit to use the licensed software application on a particu lar machine and perhaps the generation of backup copies for personal use A software license provides a software provider with a legal instrument against impermissible use of licensed software However there remains no effective mechanism for preventing or monitoring illicit copying or illegal proliferation in the first place Hence software pro viders must rely on the public to not pirate software and rely on their licensees to abstain from furnishing copies of software to friends or others A significant amount
12. LE Patent Application Publication Apr 20 2006 Sheet 3 of 7 FIGURE 3 302 CLIENT DATABASE 306 AGENT 310 e 302 INTERNET 316 302 US 2006 0085355 1 o 88 g gt gt lt lt e D o em N en CLIENT DATABASE AGENT 310 Patent Application Publication Apr 20 2006 Sheet 4 of 7 US 2006 0085355 1 400 Bil Bil qu STU aij 0 3 Dh pus 10 HL gro gt 1 E z S 1 0 gt 0 n qu o D E S TH SE T 412 Patent Application Publication Apr 20 2006 Sheet 5 of 7 US 2006 0085355 A1 FIGURE 5 526 lt eq v 2 20 2 PaE e CACHE T 001 Lany h Ty Jt a A 522 520 518 Patent Application Publication 20 2006 Sheet 6 of 7 US 2006 0085355 1 FIGURE 6 APPLICATION 2 APPLICATION 4 SOFTWARE SOFTWARE WEB SERVER Patent Application Publication 20 2006 Sheet 7 of 7 US 2006 0085355 A1 FIGURE 7 WEB SERVER 99 lt 700 704 705 US 2006 0085355 Al DOWNLOADABLE SOFTWARE PACKAGE INCORPORATING LICENSE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 0001 This application is a continuation of co pending U S patent application Ser No 1
13. US 20060085355 1 as United States a2 Patent Application Publication ao Pub No US 2006 0085355 A1 Coley et al 43 Pub Date Apr 20 2006 54 75 73 21 22 63 DOWNLOADABLE SOFTWARE PACKAGE INCORPORATING LICENSE MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE Inventors Christopher D Coley Morgan Hill CA US Ralph E Wesinger JR Livermore CA US Correspondence Address Timothy A Brisson Sierra Patent Group Ltd P O Box 6149 Stateline NV 89449 US Assignee GraphOn Corporation Appl 11 297 206 Filed Dec 7 2005 Related U S Application Data Continuation of application No 10 079 221 filed on Feb 19 2002 which is a continuation of application No 09 128 652 filed on Aug 4 1998 now aban doned which is a continuation of application No 08 607 081 filed on Feb 26 1996 now Pat No 5 790 664 Publication Classification 51 Int G06Q 99 00 2006 01 GII US Clos cleanin Sos 705 59 57 ABSTRACT A downloadable software package incorporating license management software is disclosed The software package may include a client software application and an associated licensing module for managing use of the client software application In preferred embodiments the licensing module is configured to detect the use of the client software appli cation and automatically send a license validity inquiry request to a license server over a public network The client software appli
14. a client data structure Furthermore the authorization ID also can be used to return a status message containing an error code an indication that the server or agent is presently too busy to handle a query an indication of a connection or communication failure or any other like message Another important task facilitated by the authorization ID is its use in supporting encrypted communication between a client and an agent 0096 Communication between clients and agents in accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention is encrypted In an encryption scheme according to an exem plary embodiment the authorization ID is used to pass back a key for use in encryption processing The encryption scheme involves maintaining identical encryption engines in corresponding clients and agents The key passed by the authorization ID is used as a common seed or initialization vector for initializing the respective encryption engines for encryption and decryption of messages new key is generated and passed back each time an agent responds to a client inquiry which key is used in a next round of com munications The key is stored in the client module in the context of storing the client data structure containing the authorization ID In a subsequent client to agent commu nication the key is used for client encryption of a message The message is then decrypted at the agent using the common key 0097 In order to allow encryption synchr
15. adquarters The licensing module in the main computer 412 uses a public network such as the Internet 414 to communicate with a license server 416 maintained by a software provider who developed the soft ware application s on the desktop computers 400 Main computers 413 and 415 at other corporations or institutions also can communicate with the license server 416 to com municate license inquiry and response messages 0065 A representation of the network scenario depicted in FIG 4 illustrating licensing system components in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention is shown in FIG 5 Various network computers are depicted in symbolic form to assist in illustrating the components involved in the exemplary embodiment of the invention Desktop computers 500 contain software applications 514 having licensing system client modules 516 attached thereto The desktop computers 500 are tended by group file servers 502 on networks 504 Each of the group file server com puters 502 minicomputers 506 508 and 510 and a main computer 512 contain a licensing module A licensing mod ule comprises an agent component 518 a cache memory component 520 and a client component 522 The license server 526 maintained by the software provider contains an agent module 524 For any of the licensing modules in the intermediate computers between the desktop computer 500 and the license server 526 the licensing module s client component 522 comm
16. age can prompt the user to indicate whether the purchase of a full license would be desirable or whether a demonstration period is preferable to evaluate the application If neither of these options is selected the session is terminated If the user opts to take a license the user can be prompted with questions asking which features in the software application are to be enabled the price of the license can be adjusted accordingly The session can conclude with the presentation of a payment screen inviting the user to enter credit card information or to call a sales representative in order to supply payment information 0058 If credit card information is supplied in the home page session it can be gathered using the system disclosed in the U S Patent Application Serial Number BDSM Attor ney Docket No 025553 014 entitled System for Securely Storing Information Received Over a Public Network by Coley and Wesinger filed on Feb 6 1996 and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety Once the credit card information is entered a response message can be sent to the client module 108 temporarily enabling the software appli cation 102 The database 112 can then automatically updated with a license record If a credit card turns out to be invalid the license server database 112 can be updated accordingly by removing the license record and thereby disabling the software pursuant to a next inquiry 0059 exemplary invent
17. ating capability For instance a user can selectively enhance operating capability by selecting features defined in a soft ware feature application menu In response an associated client module can invoke the Check Out License procedure wherein the desired feature name is passed upstream The license of course does not exist yet but the system can be configured to direct the user to or provide the user with a feature enablement menu that requests that the user enter credit card information as described above Alternatively the system can be organized to automatically initiate a process that creates a license when new software is brought up This can involve a mechanism that forms a Web server connection and supplies an authorization message that cre ates a database license entry For a commercial client a software provider can monitor the activation and use of client application features and bill the client accordingly 0103 previously discussed systems in accordance with the present invention can be used to audit the use and proliferation of software Attachment of a licensing module to a software application causes that software application to report back to a licensing server at some point If the client module or software application is configured to report back the first time that the software application is brought up a software provider can keep track of or audit which and how many machines the software application is op
18. ating said client software application in accordance with the contents of a response message received from the license server 14 The downloadable software package of claim 13 wherein said downloadable software package comprises a single compiled executable application downloaded by a user onto a computer over the public network 15 The downloadable software package of claim 14 wherein said licensing module comprises one of a selected object modules inserted into a pre compiled version of said client software application 16 The downloadable software package of claim 14 wherein validation check watchdog timers are inserted at pre selected points in said client software application 17 The downloadable software package of claim 16 wherein at least one of said pre selected points corresponds to a software interrupt of said client software application 18 The downloadable software package of claim 16 wherein at least one of said pre selected points corresponds to a software procedure call of said client software applica tion 19 The downloadable software package of claim 18 wherein software procedure call comprises a print routine of said client software application Apr 20 2006 20 The downloadable software package of claim 19 wherein software procedure call comprises a print routine of said client software application 21 The downloadable software package of claim 19 wherein software procedure call comprises a save rout
19. c passing through a network to and from a license server In an exemplary embodiment such a system involves maintaining internal auditing software e g a tool or utility program in an upper most level licensing module in an internal network report can be generated by the internal auditing software tool Data in the report can be derived from information collected at the upper most licens Apr 20 2006 ing module The MIS manager can use the internal audit reports to manage the licensing arrangements of the client applications on the network For example if a network of twenty desktop computers is frequently using a maximum number of floating licenses for a particular client applica tion the MIS manager can ascertain this by reviewing internal audit records and take appropriate action 0068 accordance with preferred embodiments of the invention in a network setting each of the agent type components and each of the client type components are generic That is any given agent component 518 and the agent module 524 in the license server 526 is substantially similar The same is true of the client components 522 and the client modules in the desktop computers 500 The parameters maintained by and passed between various license system elements defines the licensing system struc ture 0069 accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention the license system operates by distributing licens ing information to
20. cation is operated in accordance with the contents of a response message received from the license server The downloadable software package may comprise a single compiled executable application downloaded by a user onto a computer over the public network WEB SERVER Patent Application Publication Apr 20 2006 Sheet 1 of 7 US 2006 0085355 1 100 104 103 118 CLIENT MODULE SOFTWARE FIGURE 1 p 116 108 102 MODEM WEB SERVER 112 106 INTERNET e vr 4 Patent Application Publication Apr 20 2006 Sheet 2 of 7 US 2006 0085355 1 200 BRING UP CLIENT APPLICATION 228 202 INITIATE N RECORD LICENSE CHECK APPROPRIATE ID IN CLIENT 4 ACTION MODULE 204 CONNECTION TO LICENSE SERVER 226 OVER INTERNET ENABLE OR 230 ENABLE DISABLE m SOFTWOARE 26 oNNECTION APPLICATION NO INQUIRY REQUEST MESSAGE 210 SEND REQUEST f MESSAGE LICENSE ID FIELD CONTAIN LICENSE ID RECEIVE REQUEST 212 224 MESSAGE FORM QUERY LICENSE ID IN 213 RECORD AUDIT RESPONSE INFORMATION MESSAGE PERFORM 214 QUERY OF 222 CLOSE INTERNET OATABASE CONNECTION INSERT NULL INTO LICENSE 10 FIELD OF RESPONSE MESSAGE LICENSE RECORD CORRESPONDING INSERT LICENSE RECORD RETURN LOCATION POINTER INTO RESPONSE FIGURE 2 LICENSE ID FIELD OF MESSAGE TO RESPONSE MESSAGE CLIENT MODU
21. client software application 6 The downloadable software package of claim 4 wherein at least one of said pre selected points corresponds to a software procedure call of said client software applica tion 7 The downloadable software package of claim 6 wherein software procedure call comprises a print routine of said client software application 8 The downloadable software package of claim 7 wherein software procedure call comprises a print routine of said client software application 9 The downloadable software package of claim 7 wherein software procedure call comprises a save routine of said client software application US 2006 0085355 Al 10 The downloadable software package of claim 4 wherein at least one of said pre selected points corresponds to an opening routine of said client software application 11 The downloadable software package of claim 10 wherein opening routine of said client software application initiates an initial license validation check 12 The downloadable software package of claim 10 wherein opening routine of said client software application initiates an enablement check 13 A downloadable software package incorporating license management software comprising means for detecting the use of a client software applica tion means for automatically sending a license validity inquiry request regarding said client software application to a license server over a public network and means for oper
22. d claims rather than by the preceding description and all variations and equivalents which fall within the range of the claims are intended to be embraced therein What is claimed is 1 A downloadable software package incorporating license management software comprising a downloadable software package including a client soft ware application and an associated licensing module the licensing module being configured to detect the use of the client software application automatically send a license validity inquiry request regarding said client software application to a license server over a public network and operate said client software application in accordance with the contents of a response message received from the license server 2 The downloadable software package of claim 1 wherein said downloadable software package comprises a single compiled executable application downloaded by a user onto a computer over the public network 3 The downloadable software package of claim 2 wherein said licensing module comprises one of a selected object modules inserted into a pre compiled version of said client software application 4 The downloadable software package of claim 3 wherein validation check watchdog timers are inserted at pre selected points in said client software application 5 The downloadable software package of claim 4 wherein at least one of said pre selected points corresponds to a software interrupt of said
23. d operation of i e re enable the software application 102 0048 Ifthe query of the database 112 returns an indica tion that a license does not exist the client module 108 can pursue any one of many courses of action The first possible course of action is to not enable the software application 102 or to it if it is presently operating The client module 108 also may supply an appropriate message to the user indicating that a license does not exist for the client appli cation Alternatively the client module 108 can supply a message instructing the user as to where and how a license can be purchased This may involve directing the user to telephone the software provider s sales department or the message can direct the user to an appropriate Web site homepage on a Web server 118 where the software can be purchased 0049 If a license is purchased via a homepage on the Web server 118 the Web server 118 can automatically update the database 112 with the information supplied by the user or the computer 100 e g IP address supplied in the context of a Web session thereby creating a valid license record subsequent client module license inquiry will allow the client application 103 to be enabled If the license purchase transaction fails for any reason e g a credit card supplied is not approved the license record can be removed from the database 112 by the software provider This has the effect of disabling the client applicat
24. dules can contact their regional license server to assess whether license records exist for their corresponding client applications Because use of the Internet is contemplated as a means for communicating licensing inquiry and response messages the regional license server designated for a par ticular client module can be assigned in accordance with efficient network and or geographic considerations This can facilitate provision of a swift response to license validity inquiry request messages 0062 An arrangement of regional licensing servers in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention is depicted in FIG 3 Regional licensing servers 302 are comprised of an agent component 306 a database compo nent 308 and a client component 310 A client module in a desktop machine 300 communicates with an agent compo nent 306 in an assigned regional license server 302 over a public access network such as the Internet 316 The client component 310 in the regional license servers 302 commu nicates with an agent module 314 in a central license server 304 License information can be systematically directed from the central license server 316 to appropriate regional license servers 302 in accordance with information supplied when the license is procured Alternatively the regional license servers 302 can systematically request license record information with which to update their database components 308 0063 variation on the regi
25. e client module in the client application to generate messages that are sent to the licensing server Such messages can be sent over any public network to which a user computer upon which the client application is loaded is connected For example a message can be sent to the license server in the context of an Internet communication session The license server tracks or audits the use of client applications by recording pertinent information contained in a message generated by a client module A database can be used to store the information A software provider or vendor can access recorded information stored in the database to generate client application use reports Such an auditing system can be a part or a function of a system for enabling validating and or disabling licensed software i e client applications When configured as such audit data can be derived from license inquiry request messages Furthermore the license record database in the license server can be used to store the collected audit data Alternatively a separate database can be used 0024 Ina personal computer setting an exemplary pro cess in accordance with the invention may involve utilizing a modem or like device in the computer The client module generates and sends a license validity inquiry request mes sage to a regional or central license server maintained by the software provider The license server contains an agent module for communicating with th
26. e record in the licensing server database A subsequent vali dation check by the client application will allow the software to be enabled The database entry also can be formed by pre authorization If the software is purchased from a ven dor the vendor in the context of the transaction can perform the database entry shortly after the software 1s supplied to the user or company When the software is brought up on the client computer an initial validity check will return an enablement response because a license record has already been established 0101 Alternatively software can be pre enabled with a temporary term license thereby providing a software pro vider with a time window in which to establish a license record Other techniques for establishing an entry in the database and thus enabling the corresponding client appli cation include using automated telephone operator systems client can call a telephone number and use a touch tone phone to respond to prompts presented by an automated Apr 20 2006 operator Hence any mechanism for initializing the data base and consequently automatically enabling the software is deemed suitable 0102 Another aspect of systems operating in accordance with the invention is feature enablement The systems described above can be used to enable and disable particular features in a client application Such a situation may occur wherein a software application has several levels of oper
27. e and autho rization IDs if any that are to be stored in the client data structure 0078 The client module investigates the client data struc ture content returned by the agent component module to analyze the license and authorization ID information con tained therein if any If these fields indicate the presence of a valid license the client module enables the software application The license and authorization IDs are stored in the client data structure in the client module for future license validation checks If the data structure fields for the license and authorization IDs are null the client application is not enabled and the client data structure is deleted from the client module 0079 The database or cache query also may involve a comparison of the date time stamp contained in the client data structure with date time information maintained by the license server or license module system This added security measure can detect a user s tampering with system time and date information on their computer If the particular software application is operating in a demonstration mode for a predefined period of time the date time stamp passed in the client data structure can be used as an initial check of whether the demonstration period has expired If there is date time corruption the client application can be disabled 0080 In an audit function the contents of a message generated by the Check Out License procedure can be reco
28. e client module and a database containing license records The database in the license server is checked to see if a valid license record exists for the requesting client application and computer If 5 a message is transmitted back that allows enablement or re enablement of the client application The licensing server also can record information corresponding to the request in the database containing the license records or in a different database 0025 Ifa license record is not found the client applica tion is not enabled A menu can be presented asking whether the user would like to purchase a license and thus enable the software The menu may direct a user to a Web homepage Apr 20 2006 where a license can be purchased automatically open a session to such a homepage or provide a telephone number of a sales representative or automated operator Optionally the user can initiate a demonstration mode of operation to evaluate the client application 0026 Ina commercial or institutional computer environ ment ie networked computers a licensing system in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention can involve a hierarchical arrangement of licensing modules arranged between client application s and a license server At the desktop computer level a client module monitors one or more software applications on the desktop com puter Computers such as file servers residing at each level of the network between the d
29. e software application 102 0046 In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention the client module 108 automatically initiates a process to determine whether the software application 102 is validly licensed This can happen each time the client application 103 is brought up The licensing module 108 operates transparently and utilizes the modem 106 to form a connection with the licensing server 110 Once the connec US 2006 0085355 Al tion is made the client module 108 sends a license validity inquiry request message to the license server 110 The agent module 114 receives the request and queries the database 112 to determine whether a license record exists that corre sponds to the client application 103 and computer 100 The license server 110 also can record relevant information contained in the license validity inquiry request message to audit the use of client application 0047 Pursuant to the query a response message is gen erated and returned back to the client module 108 by the agent module 114 If the query finds a valid license record the response message indicates the license record s exist ence and location in the database 112 The client module 108 can record the license record location for future reference If a license record is not located in the database 112 an appropriate response message is generated and returned The presence of a record permits the client module 108 to enable or to allow continue
30. e that covers a block of underlying client applications or licensing modules As previously mentioned the Validate License procedure can be periodically initiated by the licensing modules to sys tematically update the contents of their caches and to provide for request traffic management received at the license server 0087 Automatically auditing cached license records improves the likelihood of a client application or client component finding a current license record in a next upstream agent in the context of a Check Out or Validate License procedure 0088 licensing system in accordance with the inven tion in a preferred embodiment involves inserting licensing system code into a pre compiled version of a software application and then compiling that application into a single executable client application 0089 However in accordance with another embodiment of the invention the licensing system can be provided as a module that is inserted into to an existing software structure on a computer network Such a system can be used to monitor software application use in a computer network that does not otherwise have a means to audit application use This type of system can be used by individuals such as MIS managers who wish to audit software application use activ ity in a network In an exemplary embodiment a client module installed in an individual desktop computer wraps around software applications selected for monitoring
31. entium RTM processor contains an internal serial number that can be used as a hardware identifier Alternatively a hardware module can be provided that is designed specifically for a licensing system in accordance with the present invention Such a hardware module can be attached to a parallel port on a computer can be used as a tag to identify the computer The client module in the computer scans the parallel port to acquire the computer s hardware ID for insertion into a client data structure 0094 The license ID maintained in the client data struc ture is used as a pointer to a location in the cache or database of a corresponding upstream licensing agent or server The pointer designates the location of the licensing record A license record at any given level can represent a relationship between the agent and an underlying client That relation ship as designated by the license ID can be used as a universal designator to replace designating a particular cli ent agent pair by application name feature name IP address agent name etc Use license ID provides a more efficient means with which to track and communicate information regarding a particular license 0095 The authorization ID is used as a means to indicate the status of a license in response to an enablement or validation inquiry The authorization ID also can be used as an acknowledgement to a Check In License procedure that permits a client application to delete
32. equests A proxy agent is usually assigned based on the port number associated with an incoming access request In the present case however a proxy agent for validating a license is assigned for a request originating from a desktop machine that resides behind the firewall 1 is protected by the firewall Hence the proxy agent acts as licensing module performing all of the previously described tasks associated with licensing modules For example a proxy agent licensing module can receive and forward a license validity inquiry request message from a client appli cation residing on a protected computer The proxy agent also acts on behalf of the responding agent to accept a inquiry response message and then pass the response back to the protected computer on behalf of the responding agent The proxy agent also can facilitate periodic updates of a cache component maintained therein The proxy agent is the only IP address visible outside of the firewall The foregoing system protects the identity of the client application com puter because the proxy agent acts on behalf of the computer when communicating with the outside world 0115 an exemplary commercial embodiment the present invention can take the form of a software package comprised of floppy disks a CD ROM or even a down loadable package The software package may consist of a library of object modules that can be selected as needed by a software applications designer The d
33. er computers act as a central location at which the desktop computers in the file server group can access files and applications The file server also may facilitate the control of licensed software on the desktop computers This occurs in the situation where the commercial software license is a so called floating license 0012 Commercial software licenses for operating a plu rality of desktop computers normally are of two varieties fixed or floating A fixed license permits a software application to run on certain designated computers e g computer numbers one through five in a ten computer file server group are designated for the licensed software appli cation A floating license permits a certain number of applications to run on any number of computers at a given time So an application operating under a floating license may be allowed to simultaneously run on no more than ten of twenty computers in a network at any given time Licensing management software is maintained in the net work file server to monitor the number of floating licenses being used 0013 Commercial software is prone to installation inter ruptions as it almost always requires involved enablement procedures In accordance with regular industry practices commercial software applications are ordinarily enabled following their installation by contacting the software pro vider for enablement instructions and or enabling codes This process is ra
34. erating on The licensing server can be set to initially enable any request received for the software application being audited At the discretion of the software provider the software application can be turned off at anytime The software provider can respond to subsequent licensing enablement or validation requests by supplying a prompt inviting the user to purchase a license A variation on the audit function can be used to log questionable user activity 0104 additional security aspect of systems in accor dance with the invention is the provision of an activities log in the client module licensing modules or license server Such a log gathers information associated with any or all validation requests or irregularities Information gathered in such a log may include but is not limited to data time stamps to ensure periodic checking is not interfered with and the identity of a machine corresponding to the origin of an inquiry request The foregoing information can be used to facilitate the investigation of a pirate if the pirate s activities require legal attention 0105 Software version control can be provided in accor dance with another aspect of the invention Software version number information can be passed upstream in the context ofa license validity inquiry request message If the software version has expired a message can be passed back in the status field of the authorization ID indicating this informa tion to a u
35. esigner may select various object modules from the library for insertion into a pre compiled version of a software application The entire software application including the selected object modules are compiled to create a single executable client application The selection of insertion points and frequency is left to the discretion of the designer Validation check watchdog timers can be distributed throughout a software application Vali dation checks can be inserted to correspond to various interrupts or procedure calls within the software application e g printing saving An opening routine in the software application can be selected for insertion of an initial license validation or enablement check 0116 Because the present invention involves the opera tion of computing systems an exemplary embodiment of the invention can take the form of a medium for controlling such computing systems Hence the invention can be embodied in the form of an article of manufacture as a machine readable medium such as floppy disk computer tape hard drive disk CD ROM RAM or any other suitable memory medium The invention can also be embodied in a form that can be accessed and retrieved over a public network such as the Internet and downloaded onto a machine readable memory medium Embodied as such the memory medium contains computer readable program code which causes one or more computing systems upon which the licensing system is running to f
36. esktop computers and the license server contain licensing modules Licensing mod ules include an agent component for communicating with a downstream client a cache component for interim storage of license information and a client component for communi cating with an upstream agent 0027 Operation in an exemplary process involves the client module in a desktop computer communicating upstream with an agent component in a licensing module A client component in that licensing module communicates upstream with an agent component in a next licensing module whose client component in turn communicates with a next upstream agent and so on This arrangement is continued upward to converge on a license server which contains an agent module However the license server is maintained by the software provider Consequently the uppermost licensing module in the institutional network communicates with the license server by initiating a con nection over a public network such as the Internet License enablement information is supplied to the upper most licens ing module by the license server which information is propagated back downstream via the licensing modules The cache components in the licensing modules can be used to store license records so that license inquiries can be addressed without having to forward the validation inquiry request messages to the license server 0028 In a preferred embodiment of the invention as applied in a netw
37. fashion The licensing module in a software package to run on a non networked machine can contain a tag indicating this fact The user may be prompted to call a number and receive recorded information for enabling the software This infor mation of course requires initial manual entry to enable the software and periodic manual entry to validate the software The validation check can be performed by prompting a user to call a number to automatically receive further enablement instructions Such instructions are only provided if the license remains valid Optionally instructions can be auto matically be returned by fax in response to a validation request phone call 0114 licensing module can be operated as a proxy agent on a firewall separating a protected computer from a public network to which the computer is attached Such a firewall proxy agent can operate in accordance with the system disclosed in the U S Patent Application Number BDSM Attorney Docket No 025553 013 entitled Fire wall System For Protecting Network Elements Connected To A Public Network by Coley and Wesinger filed on Feb 6 1996 and incorporated herein by reference in its entirety foregoing application describes a system for preventing unauthorized access to network elements protected by a US 2006 0085355 Al firewall The firewall operates by maintaining a plurality of proxy agents that are assigned to verify and connect any incoming access r
38. ftware provider to purchase an additional license or extension This may require re execution of enablement procedures with new instructions or codes Hence it may take some time before the software application is up and running again which situation can seriously inconvenience users 0016 common shortcoming shared by all licensed software is that it requires some form of manual interven tion for registration enablement and or re enablement Manual intervention is cumbersome and can render software useless until it is enabled or re enabled The paramount issue is however that software providers have no mechanism for monitoring and controlling the actual use whether legiti mate or illicit of their product Proprietary software is misappropriated on a global scale causing massive losses to software providers which losses are inevitably passed on to legitimate licensees 0017 What is needed is a licensing system that allows software use to be monitored in an automated fashion without user input Moreover a software licensing system is needed that permits a software provider to transparently control the use of licensed software SUMMARY 0018 present invention addresses the foregoing problems by providing a system for automatically determin ing whether a software application is licensed In accordance with the invention a generic licensing module or client module is provided that a software provider can a
39. his is generally more efficient than having each desktop computer 500 individually vali date its own license through the license server 526 Further more because the sub class license maintained on the file server itself can fall under a class license maintained on the minicomputer the validity inquiry by the file server may be addressed by the minicomputer rather than forwarding the request further upstream 0071 In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention licensing modules periodically and systematically initiate license validity inquiries upstream The responses to the periodic inquiries are recorded into the cache compo nents of the licensing modules As a result client modules and client components need ordinarily communicate with a next upstream agent to be enabled re enabled or to update their caches Periodic self validation updating of the licens ing modules also provides for more uniform request traffic US 2006 0085355 Al on the licensing server 526 This can provide efficiencies in propagating license information from the licensing server in response to license validity inquiries Of course the fore going system can operate by passing individual license validity request and response messages through the licensing modules 0072 The result of the hierarchical arrangement is to control the flow of validity inquiry traffic received and responded to by the licensing server If a license server dedicated t
40. i ment of the invention in a portable computer DETAILED DESCRIPTION 0045 FIG 1 depicts a personal computer system in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention The system includes a personal computer 100 that has a client application 103 residing on a hard drive 104 The client application 103 is comprised of a software application 102 and a client module 108 The computer 100 includes a modem 106 The client module 108 operates to enable or disable the software application 102 pursuant to a response from a license server 110 in the context of license validity inquiries The license server 110 contains a database 112 having license records recorded thereon and an agent mod ule 114 that communicates with the client module 108 The licensing server 110 is typically maintained by the software provider who developed the software application 102 Alter natively the license server 110 can be maintained by a contracted service provider In a preferred embodiment the client module 108 and the agent module 114 communicate over the Internet 116 However the client and agent can communicate over any public network As used herein the term public network encompasses not only networks that are freely available to the public generally but also any private network which can be subscribed to The depiction of the client module 108 is merely for descriptive and illustrative purposes The client module 108 can be code nested within th
41. identifier such as the IP address of the computer 100 After formation the request message is sent to the license server 110 step 210 over a public network The agent module 114 in the license server 110 forms a query step 212 to determine whether a corresponding license record is stored in the database 112 step 214 The agent module 114 also can record audit information from the request message step 213 If the query locates a record of a license for the request a response message is returned having a license ID field comprising a pointer to the location of the license record in the database 112 step 218 If the query does not locate a record of a license for the request a response message is returned having a null indication in the license ID field step 216 The response message is returned to the client module 108 step 220 after which the Internet connection is closed step 222 0053 client module 108 investigates the response message to determine whether the license ID field contains a license ID step 224 If the license ID field is null the client module 108 fails to enable the software application or disables it step 226 The client module 108 may then prompt the user with any variety of messages step 227 For example the user may be prompted to assess whether a demonstration period of operation would be acceptable If so this information can be recorded in the client module 108 and be passed upstream in
42. ine of said client software application 22 The downloadable software package of claim 16 wherein at least one of said pre selected points corresponds to an opening routine of said client software application 23 The downloadable software package of claim 22 wherein opening routine of said client software application initiates an initial license validation check 24 The downloadable software package of claim 22 wherein opening routine of said client software application initiates an enablement check 25 A downloadable software package incorporating license management software comprising a downloadable software package comprising a single compiled executable application configured to be downloaded onto a computer over a public network the software package including a licensing module asso ciated with a client software application and responsive to the operation of said client software appli cation the licensing module being operable to auto matically send a license validity inquiry request to a license server over a public network and operate said client software application in accordance with the con tents of a response message received from the license server 26 The downloadable software package of claim 25 wherein said licensing module is operable to automatically send a license validity inquiry request to a license server software responsive to activation of a print routine of said client software application 27
43. ion in a next license validity inquiry 0050 The practical effect of such a system is to be able to provide software that is freely distributable Any user in possession of the client application 103 will not be able to use it until a license is procured and a license record is established 0051 exemplary process of operating the arrange ment depicted in FIG 1 is shown in the flowchart of FIG 2 The frequency and timing for performing a license validation check can be selected according to the discretion of the software application designer In the exemplary pro cess depicted the client module performs an initial check each time the software application is brought up step 200 The license validity checking process is initiated step 202 by utilizing a modem to form an Internet connection between the computer 100 and a licensing server step 204 This may be done by having the client module instruct the Apr 20 2006 modem to dial a 1 800 number maintained by the software provider that accesses a local Internet gateway if used in the United States 0052 Once the connection is confirmed step 206 the client module 103 forms a license validity inquiry request message step 208 The request message may contain information such as the application name the application version number a date time stamp the name of a license server 110 if several license servers are maintained by the software provider and a hardware
44. ive system described above allows client applications 1 e software application having client modules to be freely distributed while reasonably ensuring that they are or will be licensed if used Any software application having a licensing system client mod ule attached will not operate unless and until the license system client module receives authority to enable the soft ware application Such a system allows global proliferation of the software even in the form of a copy However such widespread use of client applications may result in the license server 110 being inundated with validity request Apr 20 2006 message traffic A dedicated license server can be set up to handle all of the license inquiry traffic for a particular software application Alternatively some form of traffic management can be invoked 0060 Traffic management can take many forms It can involve establishing regional license servers according to a geographic arrangement that permits efficient response to any licensing inquiry request messages A client application initialization process can be used wherein a user enters the location e g zip code city and country This information can be used by the client module to select an appropriate autodial telephone number whereby a nearest software pro vider license server can be accessed 0061 Regional license servers can receive license infor mation propagated from a central licensing server Client mo
45. lient application operating on any computer in the world is properly licensed 0032 In addition a personal or network computing environment systems incorporating the present invention can be used to monitor client application use Such a system can operate by recording information from license validity inquiry requests messages that are received at the license server Client application use and corresponding details can be recorded when the client module sends license inquiry request messages back to the license server 0033 Alternatively the system can be used an audit only mode whereby the client applications report relevant information back to the license server but do not require an enabling response message to continue operating As the use of computers expands globally a licensing system in accor dance with the present invention can assist in tracking client application use and proliferation 0034 Preferred embodiments of the present invention take advantage of the fact that an increasing number of computers and computer networks have direct access to the Internet Systems in accordance with the present invention can utilize the Internet as the medium over which license validity inquiry request inquiries and their corresponding responses are transmitted 0035 In accordance with exemplary embodiments of the invention if a client application does not receive enablement information the client application is n
46. n Follow ing approval e g credit card or receipt 1 check of the payment the software provider may supply the user with a regular copy of the software or provide instructions or a codeword to disarm or reset the date time checking mecha nism 0010 In operation a date time checking mechanism records a date time stamp when a software application is first brought up Alternatively or in addition the date time mechanism may start a timer when the application is brought up The date time stamp is compared with the system date time information maintained by the computer to deter US 2006 0085355 Al mine if the software application is to be disabled To subvert such a system users have been known to reset the system date and system time to prevent expiration In response some software providers have resorted to writing complex code schemes to disable the software in the event that the system date is tampered with Such a security mechanism is often used to control licensed software used in a commercial setting 0011 Software sold for use a commercial or institu tional setting is frequently licensed for a predefined period of time When such software is used on desktop computers such computers are typically networked The networked computers are usually connected to a file server which file server may itself be tended by a computer management system that monitors and controls various file server groups The file serv
47. nalyze license and authorization ID information If the authorization ID indicates the continued presence of a valid license the client module allows the client application to remain enabled The new authorization ID is stored in the client data structure in the client module for future license validation checks or to check in the license Ifthe data structure fields for the license and authorization IDs are null the client application is disabled and the client data structure is deleted Alterna tively the user can be prompted to indicate whether a new license would be desirable If so any of the procedures previously described can be used to procure a new license e g access a Web homepage 0084 Check In License procedure can be used to return a license or disable a feature when a user has completed use of the client application or a feature contained therein The procedure in accordance with an exemplary process incorporating the invention generates a new client data structure containing the name of the software applica tion any feature name s that is to be disabled the name of the upstream agent component module the license ID the authorization ID a date time stamp and the version number of the licensing system 0085 Following completion of the upstream connection the Check In License procedure sends a license check in request message to the upstream agent which request mes Apr 20 2006 sage contains the
48. nother aspect of systems incorporating the invention the licensing modules periodically communicate upstream to fetch license information in order to revise and maintain currency of their cached license records By doing so a validity request can be addressed by a nearest upstream agent Furthermore periodic checking can permit manage ment of request message traffic on the license server 0030 In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention license information is organized in class and sub class designations License information maintained on the license server covers blocks of underlying computers rather than the individual desktop computers themselves This provides for efficient communication of license infor mation between the license server licensing modules and desktop computers 0031 Whether used a personal or commercial com puting environment systems incorporating the present invention allow client software to be enabled or re enabled at any time without significant delay Software applications operating in accordance with the present invention can be installed on any computer in the world having access to a public network such as the Internet If so desired a client application can be configured to not operate unless it receives acknowledgment of the presence of a valid license record As the use of computers expands globally a licensing system in accordance with the present invention can ensure that a c
49. ns in the user manual This scheme is sub verted by copying the manual and registration number 0008 on screen registration enablement process may involve writing the registration number to disk This is only possible with floppy disks as CD ROMS are at present a largely read only medium If the disk is used again to load the software application the software may prompt the user with a warning that the software has already been loaded e g IS LOADING OF THIS SOFTWARE PERMITTED RECORDS INDICATE THAT THIS SOFTWARE HAS ALREADY BEEN LOADED YOU MAY BE IN VIOLA TION OF YOUR LICENSE AGREEMENT However reloading of software may be normal in the event of hard disk failure Consequently software providers cannot feasi bly prevent the software application from being loaded more than once Furthermore if first run registration enablement is required copiers can simply copy the software repeatedly prior to registering the original copy 0009 Another security technique is to enable a software application for a defined period of time This usually involves incorporating a date time checking mechanism into the software application Such a mechanism may be used where a software provider wants to supply for example a 30 day demonstration version of a software application for user evaluation If the user decides to purchase a license following the evaluation period the user may contact the software provider and supply payment informatio
50. o a particular client application is employed the license server may be able to handle all of the license inquiry traffic received However if a single license server handles license validity inquiry requests for a variety of client applications request traffic management may be needed By arranging the system in a hierarchical fashion and designat ing the licenses in accordance with class and hierarchical subclass designations the licensing server can manage request traffic for a several different client applications 0073 Client components and modules contain a set of license management procedures for handling license record information In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention three validation procedures are used Check Out License Validate License and Check In License Check Out License is responsible for the initial enablement of a client application Validate License is responsible for peri odic re enablement of a client application Check In License can be used for decrementing a floating license count or indicating client application status in a database license record when use of a client application is completed Check In License also may be used for disabling a license or feature after its use in the event that there is a per use cost associated with the software The following exemplary process descrip tions are provided for a case wherein a client application is validating itself directly or indirectly 1
51. of soft ware piracy occurs in commercial settings Commercial licensees are usually vigilant about license compliance However even the most attentive MIS manager Manage ment Information Systems cannot prevent employees from copying software off of company machines for their per sonal use As a result of illicit copying software providers must adjust their prices forcing legitimate buyers to pay higher prices to offset revenue losses 0004 Although the estimates for losses due to piracy are estimated in the billions of U S dollars such estimates remain mere projections This is because their way of determining how widely software is copied More specifi cally there is no mechanism by which to monitor the proliferation and use of software copied or otherwise Statistics regarding the use of legitimately purchased soft ware also remains unknown to software providers and vendors Despite sales data purchased software may be found ineffective by users and sit unused on hard drives Consequently software providers may not have a firm understanding of how their products are being received by users Whether used or not most proprietary software con tains some security mechanism and or registration mecha nism 0005 There are a number of schemes designed to prevent software from being copied or to make use of copied software unduly burdensome These schemes however are largely ineffective complex and add to development costs
52. onal license servers 302 can be used in a licensing management system incorporating the invention for application in a commercial setting That is wherein computers are networked in a hierarchical arrange ment within a company or institution 0064 FIG 4 depicts a commercial network system accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention Desktop machines 400 are organized in file server groups file server groups are administered by file server com puters 402 through networks 404 The file server groups can for example serve various design teams in a research and development facility of a corporation The file servers 402 in the R amp D facility are in turn tended by a minicomputer 406 minicomputer 406 and minicomputers 408 and 410 at other facilities e g manufacturing and sales are networked under a main computer 412 located e g at the headquarters ofthe corporation In accordance with an embodiment of the invention each desktop computer 400 contains a client module for monitoring one or more client applications The client modules in the desktop computers 400 communicate upstream with licensing modules contained respective file US 2006 0085355 Al server computers 402 The licensing modules in the file server computers 402 communicate with a licensing module in the minicomputer 406 which licensing module in turn communicates with a licensing module in the main computer 412 at the corporation he
53. onization all of the data structure fields in an initial communication between a client agent pair are unencrypted Subsequent communi cations have certain fields encrypted In response to an initial communication the agent passes back a first key The message is then re sent having designated fields of the client data structure encrypted The response passed back by the US 2006 0085355 Al agent in a next communication contains a new key for use in a subsequent communication In this way the client and agent maintain encryption synchronization by supplying the same key to their respective encryption engines In accor dance with a preferred embodiment the key is a random number generated by an agent 0098 The encrypted fields of the data structure contents passing between a client and agent include the license and authorization Ids and any proprietary data required for validation such as floating license information All of the fields of the data structure contents can be encoded how ever the application name feature name hardware identi fier and a licensing system version number are preferably left unencoded In the event that there is lack in synchroni zation a client or agent can look to the unencoded infor mation and revert back to a most recent encryption key If there is still lack of synchronization a request is passed that the client return to the initial message state thereby allowing both the client and agent encr
54. ork environment the client and agent elements are generic That is client modules in the desktop computers and client components in each of the network level computers are substantially similar Agent components in the licensing modules and the agent module in the license server also are substantially similar The cache components of the licensing modules are used to store information that defines the structure of license records Any client can communicate with any agent and vice versa This arrange ment facilitates network configuration flexibility 0029 Operation of an exemplary system incorporating the invention in the network environment involves a client module in a client application forming and communicating a license validity inquiry request message upstream An agent component in a nearest upstream licensing module receives the request The licensing module checks its cache to determine if a license record exists corresponding to the request The licensing module can then respond with an appropriate message If the license information is not found at that level the licensing module can forward the request upstream to determine if the license is of record in an upstream cache This may continue up to the license server US 2006 0085355 Al When and if a license record is found the information is copied into the cache of the licensing module nearest to the computer originating the request for future reference In accordance with a
55. ot enabled or is disabled Hence any software application that contains a client module accordance with the invention can be auto matically enabled or disabled 0036 Furthermore use of client module equipped appli cations can be tracked Such a system allows software to be Apr 20 2006 freely distributed while ensuring that a license is taken for its use or at the very least ensuring that the use of the software can be tracked BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 0037 The foregoing and other objects features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings in which 0038 FIG 1 depicts a desktop computer in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention 0039 FIG 2 depicts a flow diagram for operating the arrangement of FIG 1 in accordance with an exemplary process incorporating the present invention 0040 FIG 3 depicts a regional server scenario in accor dance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention 0041 FIG 4 depicts a computer network arrangement in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the invention 0042 FIG 5 depicts a symbolic representation of the computer network of FIG 4 0043 FIG 6 depicts an additional exemplary embodi ment of the invention wherein multiple software application licenses are managed and 0044 FIG 7 depicts an additional exemplary embod
56. rded in the license server or upstream licensing module Relevant information recorded by the license server can include but is not limited to the hardware identifier of the computer upon which the client application is loaded e g the IP address the application name feature names and the application version number Additionally a client module registration number or like identifying means can be nested in a client application This registration number also can be passed upstream in a request message for audit recordation client module registration number allows a software provider to track the proliferation paths and patterns of copied client applications Consequently a software pro vider can determine the source of copied software A soft ware provider can force a user to attach a non connected US 2006 0085355 Al computer to a network access point by supplying a prompt indicating to the user that a client application will not enable unless and until it checks in Consequently if the user chooses to use the client application i e attach the com puter to a network access point the software provider is informed of the client application s use 0081 second process initiated by client module or a client component is the Validate License procedure This process determines whether a previously enabled client application is still validly licensed The procedure can be called at any time For instance the initiation
57. rely instantaneous The software provider usually confirms that the software license is proper and paid for before faxing e mailing or even using regular mail to provide a set of enabling instructions enabling codes or disk s with which to bring the application up Conse quently the software remains disabled until additional instructions are supplied and followed which are usually sent only after an enablement request is approved 0014 Management of floating licenses on networked computers involves two control software components an application portion and an authenticator portion The appli cation portion is nested within an application running on a desktop computer The authentication portion is a code module contained in the file server that monitors and autho rizes applications running on the desktop computers When a user attempts to open the application software the appli cation portion code communicates with the authenticator code module to check to see if a floating license is available If the maximum number of floating licenses are already being used the software application is not allowed to open Licensing control software also may be used to monitor Apr 20 2006 defined term licenses to disable software in networked machines after license expiration 0015 Ifa commercial license expires the software may be disabled midstream preventing users from completing projects Re enablement requires contacting the so
58. ser The user may then be asked to license and procure a new version of the software Software version control can be used to prevent version collision and to force users to stop using expired software versions by simply disabling them US 2006 0085355 Al 0106 Another aspect of the invention is license system version control By monitoring and controlling the version of the license system that is operating a common denomi nator between client and agent communications can be maintained Alternatively in the event that different versions are allowed appropriate translations of data fields can be made to ensure the different versions can still communicate In a preferred embodiment a given client can only commu nicate with an agent of the same or newer version Licensing system version control also permits modifications to be made to improve enhance or entirely change an encryption schemes used by the licensing system 0107 The present invention also can be used to maintain a software use billing system for use with commercial client applications A billing system in accordance with the inven tion can use client application and feature use information from the audit system The audit system information can be translated into billing statements Consequently a commer cial client can optionally be billed only for what they have used rather than a set up front annual or monthly amount 0108 Most computers sold today have pre in
59. stalled modems Individual desktop machines operating in a DOS Windows OS 2 or like environment can utilize their pre installed or aftermarket modems to initiate communications with an upstream agent or license server Most commercial computers are designed for incorporation into network set tings Commercial computing systems such as worksta tions may operate in a UNIX environment The UNIX environment is well suited to operation in accordance with the invention Most UNIX workstations are furnished with network cards permitting them to be network connected Such networked computers thus have ready direct access to Internet or gateway nodes through which a license server or licensing module can be accessed 0109 The particular connectivity associated with a sys tem incorporating the invention is not critical For example a desktop machine can contain an Ethernet network card ISDN connection card Internet card conventional modem terminal adapter or like device with which to gain access to and communicate with a license server or licensing module Any accepted form of connection between two more com puters can be used A communications protocol in an Inter net environment is based on a TCP IP protocol or a deriva tive thereof However use of other communication protocols such as IPX SPX NOVEL or like protocols also are suitable for facilitation of communication in the present invention 0110 When using the Internet
60. system has the effect of providing a generic licensing validation system for all of the licensed software on a desktop machine supplied by a particular software provider 0091 exemplary licensing system that can be retro fitted in an existing computer network is depicted in FIG 6 An individual computer 600 has a client module 618 installed therein The client module 618 is wrapped around one or more software applications 620 622 624 and 626 to create client applications In a preferred embodiment the client applications are specific to the software provider who is retrofitting their networked software with the licensing system However if a license record database is configured as a clearing house whereby a multitude of software providers consolidate license information in a single server or a network of license servers the client module 618 can validate software licenses by a variety of software providers The client module 618 can enable or validate the client applications by communicating with a licensing module in a file server 602 The licensing module in the file server 602 also is a retrofitted component in the license system Licens ing modules are installed in each of the computers e g file servers minicomputer main computers that form the net work hierarchy Operation of such a system is substantially similar to that of a network embodiment of a license management system described above Alternatively client
61. the cache components 520 in the licens ing modules in response to inquiry requests The information contained in a particular cache component 520 is specific to subordinate software applications 514 or licensing modules In accordance with a preferred embodiment license infor mation is organized by class designations Individual licenses for client applications on desktop machines 500 can be covered by sub class licenses maintained in the cache components 520 in the file server computers 502 The sub class licenses on the file server machines 502 can in turn fall under a class license maintained in the cache component 520 of the minicomputer 506 The class license maintained on the minicomputer s licensing module can be designated under a block license maintained in a cache component 520 of the main computer 512 The client component 522 of the main computer s licensing module communicates with the license server 526 to verify block licenses 0070 Validity inquiry traffic is managed in the exemplary system of FIG 5 through the use of the aforementioned license class designation structure and through periodic updating of caches in licensing modules By maintaining license information in a class sub class designation a single license validity inquiry generated by for example a file server s licensing module can enable a sub class license that covers the client applications of all of the desktop computers 500 in the file server s group T
62. the medium through which to check license validity preferred embodiments of systems according to the invention operate using a TCP Transfer Control Protocol mechanism rather than a UDP Universal Datagram Protocol mechanism In a TCP com munication a connection is first formed before any infor mation is transferred That is an interactive two way session is established In a UDP communication a message is sent without forming a connection The message is routed in accordance with its destination address information The message s receipt is not guaranteed More importantly response time to a messages sent by UDP is unknown More specifically if heavy network traffic is present a UDP based message may be delayed Consequently there can be an unacceptable delay in enabling a client application Using a Apr 20 2006 TCP messaging format guarantees a response even if that response indicates that a connection cannot be made A decision can be made whether to re attempt communication immediately or at a later time A TCP connection also is more secure because data is not being cast into the network without guarantee of receipt as is the case with UDP communications 0111 One scenario where UDP communication can be utilized is in an audit system incorporating the invention A client application can generate and send a UDP message when it is initially brought up or whenever a computer upon which the client application is loaded is a
63. ttach to a software application A software application having a client module attached thereto is hereinafter referred to as a client application In accordance with preferred embodi ments of the invention a client application loaded on a computer having access to a public network such as the Internet automatically reports to a computer maintained by a software provider The client module is a program appli cation or like composition of code that is preferably nested in a compiled version of a software application 1 to form a client application 0019 However the client module can in alternative embodiments of the invention be attached to a previously compiled software application Whether it is referring to a program nested in or attached to a software application the term client module is used throughout the present disclosure 0020 client module utilizes the public network as a means to transparently send license inquiry request mes sages to and receive license inquiry response messages from a license server maintained by a software provider The license server has a database on which license infor mation or records are stored The license server also can record information contained in license inquiry request messages and thereby audit use of client applications The license record can identify a license in accordance with a hardware address or hardware identifier of the computer such as an IP address
64. ttached to a public network 0112 Ina non connected or portable computer such as a laptop an exemplary licensing system in accordance with the invention can involve running an internal licensing module or an agent component thereof on the laptop computer itself An exemplary embodiment of such an arrangement is depicted in FIG 7 The agent component 706 of the licensing module 702 acts on behalf of a license server 712 during the periods that the portable computer 700 is out of communication with the license server 712 The agent component 706 can receive and respond to license validity inquiries generated by a client module 704 on software application 705 that is loaded on the portable 700 while the portable 700 is in transit Audits of client appli cation use can be stored in the cache 708 of the licensing module 702 When the portable 700 is re connected to a network access point such as an Internet 716 gateway the client component 710 of the licensing module 702 can establish communication with the agent module 714 in the license server 712 to refresh the information in its cache component 708 and or supply any audit data upstream If the user has not connected the laptop to a network access point for a prolonged period of time the user can be prompted accordingly This can be done pursuant to the expiration of a timer 0113 Systems not having network or Internet access can still be enabled in an automated albeit semi manual
65. unction or carry out processes in accordance with the present invention 0117 The invention has been described with respect to several exemplary embodiments However one skilled in the art will readily appreciate and recognize that the licens ing system or method of operation in accordance with the invention can be applied in any computing system using licensed software which systems are preferably attachable to a public network such as the Internet The invention provides the benefit of being able to freely distribute Apr 20 2006 licensed software incorporating the invention with reduced apprehension of the software being illicitly copied or used without its being properly licensed Alternatively a system in accordance with the invention can be used to track and maintain records of the proliferation and use of software incorporating the invention 0118 The invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments However it will be readily appar ent to those skilled in the art that it is possible to embody the invention in specific forms other than those of the embodi ments described above Embodiment of the invention in ways not specifically described may be done without depart ing from the spirit of the invention 0119 Therefore the preferred embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and should not be considered restrictive in any way 0120 The scope of the invention is given by the appende
66. unicates with the agent component 518 of an upstream licensing module or with the agent module 524 of the license server The licensing module s agent component 518 communicates with a downstream licensing module s client component 522 or a client module 516 in a desktop computer 500 Communication between the upper most licensing module in the internal network i e licensing module 512 and the agent module 524 in the license server 526 is conducted over a public network such as the Internet 528 0066 audit function can be implemented in a net worked embodiment of the present invention in a number of ways For example the upper most licensing module 512 can maintain software such as an audit tool 530 that tracks use of client applications in underlying computers in the network An audit report can be periodically generated and sent upstream to the license server 526 The license server 526 can record and interpret the audit report to monitor use of client application software Alternatively license validity inquiry request message traflic from individual client appli cations can be recorded in the license server 526 Audit information can be used to generate billing invoices 0067 additional aspect of the aforementioned audit system permits an MIS manager at a corporation or institu tion to monitor the use of client applications for internal audit purposes Such a system operates by monitoring license inquiry traffi
67. y indicate that the license has expired The response message will US 2006 0085355 Al indicate this and the software can be disabled Alternatively the user may be requested to renew the license within a certain period of time before the software application 102 is disabled 0056 The date time stamp information passed upstream in the license validity inquiry request message can be used to detect whether the system date time information on the computer 100 has been tampered with This is done by comparing the date time information passed in the request message with the date time information maintained on the licensing server 110 Furthermore in preferred embodi ments of the invention license ID information is commu nicated between the client module 108 and the agent module 114 in an encrypted form as explained in greater detail below 0057 In the event that no license is found several response options are available which vary according to the requirements of and discretion of a designer of the software application 102 As previously mentioned a response can be to provide the user with a phone number through which a software license can be purchased or to direct the computer user to a Web homepage maintained by the software pro vider Alternatively the client module 108 can directly initiate a session with the Web server 118 that supports a homepage through which the user can purchase a license A first screen on such a homep
68. yption engines to reset 0099 The frequency of validation checks is application dependent A software designer can select when and how often validation checks are to occur if at all The licensing system can be configured in accordance with the needs of a particular application The software license can be validated or enabled each time the application is brought up on a computer or each time a particular feature is used e g printing The software license also can be validated in response to the expiration of a timer i e periodic valida tion If the response to the validation check is returns a null license ID the client application is disabled To prevent a user from tampering with a client application or a licensing module associated therewith in an effort to disable valida tion checking any number of watchdog timers can be nested in the client application The nested watchdog timer can be used to periodically self check the client application to determine whether it has been validated within the watchdog period If so the watchdog timer is reset If not a validation check can be initiated or the client application can be disabled 0100 Establishing a database license record in the licens ing server can be performed in a variety of ways Software can be purchased and paid for in an interactive commercial transaction conducted over the Internet as described above The result of such a transaction is to establish a licens

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