License document interchange format for license management system
US5438508A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 12, 1994 |
| Grant date | Aug 1, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 12, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F2211/007
- WIPO fieldIT methods for management
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A distributed computer system employs a license management system to account for software product usage. A management policy having a variety of alternative styles and contexts is provided. Each licensed product upon start-up makes a call to a license server to check on whether usage is permitted, and the license server checks a database of the licenses, called product use authorizations, that it administers. If the particular use requested is permitted, a grant is returned to the requesting user node. The product use authorization is structured to define a license management policy allowing a variety of license alternatives by values called "style", "context", "duration" and "usage requirements determination method". The license administration may be delegated by the license server to a subsection of the organization, by creating another license management facility duplicating the main facility. The license server must receive a license document (a product use authorization) from an issuer of licenses, where a license document generator is provided. A mechanism is provided for one user node to make a call to use a software product located on another user node; this is referred to …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.