EP1683084A1

EP1683084A1 - Conditional restriction of user rights of application programs

Info

Publication number: EP1683084A1
Application number: EP04767110A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Arto Lehtonen; Jari Kiuru; Miika Kettunen; Teemu Moilanen; Antti Savolainen
Original assignee: Open Bit Ltd Oy
Current assignee: Openbit Oy
Priority date: 2003-10-10
Filing date: 2004-10-08
Publication date: 2006-07-26
Also published as: FI20031481A0; FI20031481A; WO2005036426A1

Abstract

A method of confirming the user rights of a file loadable into a terminal. The file is loaded into the terminal comprising the user identifier, and the user of the terminal is requested to acknowledge the licence code defined for the file. The licence code acknowledged by the user and the terminal identifier of said terminal and the user identifier are compared with the registered licence code, first terminal identifier and first user identifier, and if the licence code acknowledged by the user matches the registered licence code, and at most one of the following identifiers: the terminal identifier of the terminal, the user identifier comprised by the terminal, does not match the first terminal identifier and the first user identifier, the file is accepted for use in the terminal.

Description

CONDITIONAL RESTRICTION OF USER RIGHTS OF APPLICATION PROGRAMS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0001] The invention relates to the distribution of application programs and particularly to the conditional restriction of user rights of application programs to terminals and user identifiers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] A continuously increasing part of software development relates to application programs developed on top of different open system platforms. Different open system platforms are widely used both in computers and in closely related devices, such as mobile stations. Open system platforms include for instance Java™, which is a purely software-based system platform used both in computers and in mobile stations, and Symbian, which is designed to be used particularly in a mobile station environment. [0003] For software developers acting as a third party, open system platforms provide advantageous operational environments, since the devices employing them are typically widely spread and in general use, whereby also the number of potential application program clients is large. Typically, a software developer is able to offer his products for sale either directly himself or via a distribution company. An application program purchased by a client is loaded and installed into the client's terminal, wherein the program code comprised by the application program is run on top of the system platform. [0004] A major problem from the point of view of a software developer is illegal copying of application programs. Decoding the copy protection and encryption methods preventing program files from being copied . and opened can typically be accomplished with a reasonable workload, after which the application program can be copied in principle to numerous terminals without the application developer receiving compensation for the copies. The development of new protection methods, in turn, is extremely laborious and difficult. [0005] On the other hand, powerful copy protection is problematic from the point of view of the user of the application program, since it may prevent an application from being copied legally. Such a problem arises particularly when the licence of an application program is tied to the terminal into which the application program was loaded. This being so, the licence obtained for the application program cannot be used in any other terminal of the licence holder, even though the licence itself would permit it.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0006] The object of the invention is thus to provide a method and an apparatus for implementing the method so as to avoid the above mentioned problems. The object of the invention is achieved with a method, terminal, server and computer program products, which are characterized by what is stated in the independent claims. [0007] Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims. [0008] An aspect of the invention provides a method of confirming the user rights of a file loadable into a terminal, wherein the user rights of the file are registered by linking a licence code to a first terminal identifier and to a first user identifier. At least one file is loaded into the terminal comprising the user identifier, and the user of the terminal is requested to acknowledge the licence code defined for the file in response to the activation of the file. The licence code acknowledged by the user and the terminal identifier of said terminal and the user identifier are compared with the registered licence code, first terminal identifier and first user identifier, and if the result of said comparison is that the licence code acknowledged by the user matches the registered licence code, and at most one of the following identifiers: the terminal identifier of the terminal, the user identifier comprised by the terminal, does not match said first terminal identifier and first user identifier, the file is accepted for use in said terminal. [0009] In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, in response to a change in at most one of the following identifiers: the terminal identifier of the terminal, the user identifier comprised by the terminal, said changed identifier is registered in the licence code of said file as a second terminal identifier or a second user identifier. [0010] In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, said registration of the user rights of the file is performed with a server to which said terminal is configured to establish a data transmission connection, whereby, in connection with the activation of the file after the registration of the user rights of the file, information on the licence code and the terminal identifier of said terminal and the user identifier is transmitted from the terminal to the server in response to some piece of said information having changed in re- spect of the previous instance of use of the file. [0011] In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, said at least one changed piece of information is compared in the server with the licence code, the first terminal identifier, the first user identifier and the second terminal identifier/user identifier registered in the server, and if some changed piece of information transmitted to the server does not match the licence code registered, the first terminal identifier registered, the first user identifier registered or the second terminal identifier/user identifier registered, a command is transmitted from the server to the terminal to prevent the use of said file. [0012] In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, if the use of the file is inhibited, the user of the terminal is offered a new licence for registration to confirm the user rights of said file. [0013] Furthermore, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, in response to a request expressed by the user to delete an erroneous registration, said erroneous registration is deleted from the server, information about the change in the registration information linked to the licence code is transmitted to the terminal, and in response to an acknowledgement received from the terminal, the re-registration of at most one of the following identifiers: one of the terminal identifiers, one of the user identifiers, is permitted a second terminal identifier or a second user identifier. [0014] Furthermore, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, said file is one of the following: an application program, an update file for an application program, a plug-in for an application program, a read file. [0015] The method of the invention provides significant advantages. The method of the invention provides increased utility value of the application program to the user, since he is able to use the application program also in another terminal with the same licence. Correspondingly, the user is able to assign his terminal and the application program loaded therein to the use of some other user, for instance a member of the family, allowing the latter to use the terminal with his own user identifier, whereby any costs of using the application program also accrue to said user. On the one hand, from the point of view of the developer of the application program and the vendor, illegal copying of the program can, however, be prevented, since the licence code is tied to both the terminal identifier and the user identifier, and only one of these can be changed within the scope of the licence in force. On the other hand, an advantage of the method is that copying the application program and distributing it among the users are in no way restricted. The application developers do not have to pay much attention to copy protection of application programs, since the use of application programs in a terminal is subject to a licence acknowledgement by the user in a licence management application, which in turn results in a licence fee being automatically charged from the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES [0016] In the following, the invention will be described in more detail in connection with preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows the operation of a licence management functionality of application programs, known per se, as a signalling diagram; Figures 2a to 2c show by way of example an embodiment for restricting the user rights of an application program; and Figure 3 shows the structure of a mobile station according to a preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0017] In the following, the invention will be described by way of example by means of a preferred embodiment, wherein the application programs are adapted to act particularly in a mobile environment, whereby the identifiers employed in the mobile network are utilized in the licence acceptance process. It is evident to a person skilled in the art that the embodiments described later are analogically adaptable to any telecommunication network arrangement, wherein similar identifiers for separately identifying the user and the terminal are employed. [0018] In the arrangement according to the invention, a distribution model, known per se, is employed in the distribution of application programs and in the management of licences, wherein the terminals employing the application programs and the server managing the licences of the application programs comprise what is known as a licence management functionality, whose structure is divided into what is known as a client/server structure. This is described in a simplified manner by means of the signalling diagram according to Figure 1 , wherein a terminal TE comprises a special licence management functionality LM_client, which is in connection with the licence management functionality LM_server of a server. In the signalling diagram of Figure 1 , data transfer between the licence management functionality LM_client of the terminal TE and the licence management functionality LM_server of the server is by way of example arranged to be performed via short messages (SMS), which is described by means of a short message service centre (SMSC). It is evident that any manner, known per se, can be employed for said data transfer. [0019] The licence management functionality of the terminal can be implemented either as a dedicated application program that is loaded into the terminal TE of the user, such as a mobile station MS, or as a plug-in implemented in connection with an application program, which is preferably run in the background of the application programs. Accordingly, the term licence management program can be employed to refer to the licence management functionality of the terminal. When a new application program is loaded into the terminal, the licence management program comprised by the terminal is arranged to confirm the user rights of the application program, i.e. the licence, in response to an attempt to start the application program in the terminal for the first time (100). [0020] The licence management program requests that the user of the terminal input the licence code of the application program. If the client is in possession of the licence code, which he received having paid for the application program for instance in a store or via the Internet, the licence management program of the terminal transmits a message (102) to the server managing the licences, the message comprising a licence code (LC), an application program identifier (ApplJD), a terminal identifier (TEJD), and a user identifier (UserJD). In a mobile environment, the identifier code IMEI of the mobile station can be preferably used as the identifier of the terminal, and the mobile station subscriber identifier IMSI as the user identifier. [0021] Data transfer between the server and the licence management programs of the terminal may preferably be separately encrypted in such a manner that both parties employ some previously agreed encryption algorithm for encrypting the messages. In this case, in addition to said identifiers, a decryption key (D_key) of the message can also be transmitted in the message, and the receiver of the message uses the decryption key to decrypt the messages encrypted with the encryption algorithm. Encryption and a decryption key, separately defined for it at each particular time, can be employed in all data transfer according to the invention between the server and the licence management programs of the terminal. [0022] If the licence code LC is a licence code particularly delivered to said application program and never before taken into use, the licence management functionality of the server stores a combination comprising the licence code (LC), the program identifier of the application program (ApplJD), the identifier of the terminal (TEJD), and the user identifier (UserJD) in a database (104), and simultaneously transmits an acknowledgement (106) to the licence management program of the terminal, the acknowledgement being used to accept the input licence code, allowing the application program to be taken into use. [0023] If the client is not in possession of the licence code of the application program, which is possible for instance in a situation when the application program is copied from one terminal to another, the licence management functionality can assign either a full or temporary licence for the use of the application program. This being so, the licence management program of the terminal transmits a message to the server managing the licences, the message comprising the program identifier of the application program (ApplJD), the identifier of the terminal (TEJD), and the user identifier (UserJD), and a request to assign a full or temporary licence. The licence management functionality of the server specifies a new licence code LC to the application program, and stores a combination of the licence code, the program identifier of the application program, the identifier of the terminal and the user identifier in the database. The licence management functionality of the server then transmits an acknowledgement to the licence management program of the terminal, the acknowledgement comprising a new licence code defined for the application program, and by means of the new code, the application can be taken into use. At the same time as the user of the terminal, who initially was not in possession of the licence code obtained in connection with the purchase, accepts the full or temporary licence suggested by the licence management functionality, the user also accepts a charge for the application program. [0024] When the licence code of the application program is accepted at the server, the application program is usable in said terminal (TEJD), with which a user identifier (UserJD), defined for the licence, is functionally associated. When the application program is being started, the licence management program of the terminal checks if the information (ApplJD, TEJD, UserJD), associated with the licence code, is still the same. If any piece of the above mentioned information is changed, information thereon is transmitted to the licence management program of the server, which, if need be, can prevent the application program from being used. If the same terminal is used with several different user identifiers, for instance a SIM card identifying another user is replaced in the mobile station, or if the same user has several terminals used with one user identifier, such as by changing SIM cards between terminals, strict restriction of a licence to only one terminal identifier and one user identifier is to the user's disadvantage. [0025] For this reason, the licence management functionality is preferably arranged to accept the replacement of either identifier (TEJD / UserJD) in such a manner that the licence of the application program is still in force. This brings added value of use of the program to the user, since he is able to use the application program also in another terminal with the same licence. Correspondingly, the user may give his terminal and the application program loaded therein to the use of some other user, for instance a member of the family, allowing the latter to use the terminal with his own user identifier, whereby any costs of using the application program also accrue to said user. On the one hand, from the point of view of the developer of the application program and the vendor, illegal copying of the program can, however, be prevented, since the licence code is tied to both the terminal identifier and the user identifier, and only one of these can be changed within the scope of the licence in force. [0026] As regards the licence management functionality, this can be arranged to operate in such a manner that the licence management program checks, in connection with the input of the licence code, if the information (ApplJD, TEJD, UserJD) associated with the licence code still is the same. If some piece of this information has changed compared with the previous instance of use of the application program, information thereon is transmitted to the licence management program of the server. The licence management program of the server, in turn, comprises an option to register an alternative terminal identifier (TEJD) or user identifier (UserJD) to the same licence code. In practice, this can be implemented for instance in such a manner that, at the server or in the database operated thereby, in connection with the licence code specified, a space is reserved for registering two terminal identifiers (TEJD1 , TEJD2) and two user identifiers (UserJDI , UserJD2). The first identifiers (TEJD1 , UserJDI ) are typically registered when the licence code is granted. Thereafter, when the application program according to said licence code is taken into use by another terminal identifier or user identifier, a new terminal identifier or user identifier is registered in the space provided for that purpose, and at the same time, a new registration of a second (unchanged) identifier is prevented. In other words, if a new terminal identifier (TEJD2) is registered for a licence code, the registration of a second user identifier (User_ID2) for the same licence code is prevented. Correspondingly, if a new user identifier (UserJD2) is registered for a licence code, the registration of a second terminal identifier (TEJD2) for the same licence code is prevented. [0027] Accordingly, the licence management program of the terminal checks, preferably when the application program is being started, if some piece of the information (ApplJD, TEJD, UserJD) associated with the licence code has changed compared with the previous instance of use. If so, information thereon is transmitted to the licence management program of the server. If both the terminal identifier TEJD and the user identifier UserJD have changed when the application program is being started, the licence management program of the server blocks said licence and transmits a command to the licence management program of the terminal to prevent the application program from being used. [0028] This embodiment can be illustrated by means of the following example, in association with -which reference is made to Figures 2a to 2c. In this example, an application program AppH is loaded into a mobile station MS1 , the licence of the application program being registered in the first instance of use (Figure 2a) for the equipment identifier IMEI1 of the mobile station MS1 and for a subscriber identifier IMSI1 comprised by a subscriber identity module SIM1. The registration takes place in the above-described manner by transmission of a message from the licence management program of the mobile station to the licence management program of the server, which performs the registration. The mobile station MS1 comprises a memory card functionality enabling the storage of different application and user data in a separate memory card MMC1. At that time the application program AppM can also typically be stored in the memory card MMC1. [0029] Next, the memory card MMC1 and the application program AppM stored therein, and the subscriber identity module SIM1 comprising the subscriber identifier IMSI1 can be transferred to a second mobile station MS2 having an equipment identifier IMEI2. The application program AppM can also be copied to a second memory card MMC2 for instance by means of a separate memory card reader, this copying not being subject to the use of a licence code and thus being an efficient way to distribute an application program to several users. The application program AppH is loaded from the memory card MMC2 into the memory of the mobile station MS2, after which an attempt is made to start the application program AppM in the mobile station MS2 (Figure 2b). [0030] The licence management program comprised by the mobile station MS2 checks, in connection with the start of the application program, the licence code and the identifiers associated therewith, and discovers at that point that the licence code and the combination of identifiers associated therewith are new, whereby the licence management program transmits information to the licence management program of the server about the licence code and the identifiers associated therewith. The server checks the subscriber identifier (IMSI1) and the terminal identifier (IMEI1) registered to said application program and its licence code. Since the subscriber identifier has not changed and second identifiers (1MS12/1ME12) are not registered, the licence management program of the server accepts the exchange of terminal identifiers, registers IMEI2 as the second terminal identifier and sets a block to the change of subscriber identifier. The licence management program of the server then transmits an acknowledgement to the licence management program of the terminal MS2, which can accept the application program for use. [0031] After this, the subscriber identity module SIM2 comprising the second subscriber identifier IMSI2 is replaced in the mobile station MS2 (equipment identifier IME12) (Figure 2c), after which an attempt is again made to start the application program AppM in the mobile station MS2. In a check of the licence code and the identifiers associated therewith performed in connection with the start of the application program, the licence management program comprised by the mobile station MS2 discovers that the combination of the identifiers associated with the licence code is new (new subscriber identifier IMSI2), whereby the licence management program transmits information to the licence management program of the server about the changed identifiers. However, the server no longer accepts the exchange of subscriber identifiers, since a block was set on the exchange of subscriber identifiers in connection with the registration of the second terminal identifier. The server states that the combination of subscriber identifier and terminal identifier used in connection with said licence code at that particular time is not acceptable and transmits a command to the licence management program of the terminal to terminate the use of the application program. The licence management program of the mobile station MS2 then offers the user a chance to register a new licence for the combination of the subscriber identifier and terminal identifier in use. [0032] This enables effective prevention of illegal copying and distribution of a program via for instance memory cards, since only the replacement of either identifier, the terminal identifier or the user identifier, is permissible within the specified licence code. If an attempt is made to start a copy of an application program using a known licence code in a terminal, wherein both the terminal identifier and the user identifier differ from the licence registration information, the initiation of the program fails, and the user is offered a new licence for registration, in which connection a new licence code is registered for the user, more exactly said his terminal identifier and user identifier. On the other hand, an advantage of the method is that taking a copy of the application program and distributing it among users is in no way restricted. Application developers do not have to pay much attention to the copy protection of application programs, since the use of application programs in a terminal is subject to an acknowledgement of the licence by the user in the licence management application, which again results in an automatic licence charge from the user. [0033] For rectification of any error conditions and accidentally occurred erroneous registrations, the licence management program of the server preferably also comprises a function for registering new user identifiers or terminal identifiers. Here, previous erroneous registrations are to be deleted before a new identifier is registered. [0034] This may be achieved for instance by the user of a terminal, whose terminal identifier is TEJD1 and user identifier UserJDI , contacting the administrator of the server and requesting that some previous registration, such as user identifier User_ID2, be deleted from a given licence LC. The licence management program of the server then deletes said user identifier User_ID2 from said licence, and information thereon is transmitted to the licence management program of the terminal TEJD1. The licence management program of the terminal TEJD1 changes the settings associated with said licence in such a manner that only the user identifier UserJDI is considered to be a previously registered identifier, whereby the use of the application pro- gram with some other user identifier always causes the above described notification of a new combination of identifiers. [0035] The licence management program of the terminal TEJD1 transmits an acknowledgement to the licence management program of the server about whether the deletion of the erroneous registration was successful, in response to which the licence management program of the server confirms the new identifier settings (only TEJD1 and UserJDI ) for said licence, whereby either a new user identifier or a new terminal identifier can again be registered for the licence. In contrast, the application program is no longer usable with a combination of identifiers wherein the terminal TEJD1 is used with the user identifier User_ID2. If the user desires, he can then register the application program to be used with either another user identifier or another terminal identifier, if need be, also again with the user identifier User_ID2. The registration of the new user identifier or terminal identifier takes place in the above-described manner. [0036] The above examples illustrate the operation of the licence management program in situations when the user of a terminal loads a new application program into his terminal, whose licence is specified in the above- described manner. However, the licence management program is also applicable to a situation when the user or the application programs attempt to update programs or their contents to be up to date. It may be necessary to load an update part or a plug-in utilizing some new property into the application program. The loading may also relate to any non-executable read file, such as a text file comprising daily news. In this case, the application program may be set to request, from the user, an acknowledgement to such a file being loaded into the terminal by using some data transfer format supported by the terminal. If the user accepts the loading and the loading succeeds without errors, the loading of the file is charged from the user. [0037] Figure 3 illustrates the structure of a mobile station MS according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. The MS comprises a transceiver Tx Rx that attends to communication, e.g. the transmission or reception of messages related to the registration of a licence code, via an antenna with a base station BTS. The reception of application program files at the terminal may also take place via said transceiver, should some mobile protocol, such as GPRS or HSCSD data transfer, be employed for file transfer. The mobile station MS may also preferably comprise means for transferring files via an infrared link or a short-range radio link, such as a Bluetooth connection. User interface means Ul typically comprise a display, a keyboard, a microphone and a loudspeaker. The MS also comprises a subscriber identity module SIM, in which e.g. short messages, operator-specific data or user-specific settings may be stored. Computer program code, executed by a central processing unit CPU, can be stored in a memory MEM comprised by the mobile station MS. In addition, the mobile station may comprise a memory card functionality MMC, allowing various application data and user data, such as application programs, to be stored in a separate memory card. [0038] The licence management functionality of a terminal according to the invention is indeed most preferably implementable as a program code stored in a memory MEM of a terminal, such as a mobile station MS, the code comprising at least a program code for loading a file, such as an application program, into said terminal; a program code for requesting an, acknowledgement of the licence code specified for the file from the user in response to the activation of said file; a program code for comparing the licence code acknowledged by the user and the terminal identifier of said terminal and the user identifier with a registered licence code, a first terminal identifier and a first user identifier; and a program code for accepting the user rights of the file, should the licence code acknowledged by the user match the registered licence code, and at most one of the following identifiers: the terminal identifier of the terminal, the user identifier comprised by the terminal, not match said first terminal identifier and first user identifier. The above-described functionalities are most preferably implementable as software by means of existing processors and memories, but it is also possible to use hardware solutions. [0039] Correspondingly, the licence management functionality of the server is preferably implementable as a program code stored in the memory of the server, the code comprising at least the program code file, such as an application program, for registering user rights by linking the licence code to a first terminal identifier and a first user identifier; a program code for receiving comparison information from the terminal that loaded the file, the comparison comprising comparing the licence code acknowledged by the user and the terminal identifier of said terminal and the user identifier with the registered licence code, the first terminal identifier and the first user identifier; and a program code for transmitting an acknowledgement to said terminal, the acknowledgement being used to accept the file for use in said terminal in response to the licence code acknowledged by the user in said comparison file matching the registered licence code, and at most one of the following identifiers: the terminal identifier of the terminal, the user identifier comprised by the terminal, not matching said first terminal identifier and first user identifier. [0040] It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that as technology advances, the basic idea of the invention can be implemented in a variety of ways. Consequently, the invention and its embodiments are not restricted to the above examples, but can vary within the scope of the claims.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A method of confirming the user rights of a file loadable into a terminal, wherein the user rights of the file are registered by linking a licence code to a first terminal identifier and to a first user identifier, in which method at least one file is loaded into the terminal comprising the user identifier, the user of the terminal is requested to acknowledge the licence code defined for the file in response to the activation of the file, the licence code acknowledged by the user and the terminal identifier of said terminal and the user identifier are compared with the registered licence code, the first terminal identifier and the first user identifier, characterized by accepting the file for use in said terminal in response to the licence code acknowledged by the user matching the registered licence code, and at most one of the following identifiers: - the terminal identifier of the terminal, - the user identifier comprised by the terminal, not matching said first terminal identifier and first user identifier.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, in response to at most one of the following identifiers: - the terminal identifier of the terminal, - the user identifier comprised by the terminal, having changed, said changed identifier is registered as a second terminal identifier or second user identifier of the licence code of said file.

3. A method as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized by performing said registration of the user rights of the file with a server to which said terminal is configured to establish a data transfer connection, comprising transmitting, in connection with the activation of the file after the registration of the user rights of the file, information on the licence code and the terminal identifier of said terminal and the user identifier from the terminal to the server in response to some piece of said information having changed in respect of the previous instance of use of the file.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3, characterized by comparing, in the server, said at least one changed piece of infor- mation with the licence code, the first terminal identifier, the first user identifier and the second terminal identifier/user identifier registered at the server; and, in response to a piece of information transmitted to the server not matching the registered licence code, the registered first terminal identifier, the registered first user identifier or the registered second terminal identifier/user identifier, transmitting a command from the server to the terminal to prevent the use of said file.

5. A method as claimed in claim 4, c h a r a c t e r i z e d by offering a new licence for registration to the user of the terminal to confirm the user rights of said file.

6. A method as claimed in any one of claims 3 to 5, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that, in response to a request presented by the user of the terminal to delete an erroneous registration, said erroneous registration is deleted from the server, information is transmitted to the terminal about a change in the registration information linked to the licence code; and, in response to an acknowledgement received from the terminal, at most one of the following identifiers: - a terminal identifier, - a user identifier, is allowed to be re-registered as the second terminal identifier or the second user identifier.

7. A method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that said file is one of the following: an application program, an update file for an application program, a plug-in for an application program, a read file.

8. An electronic terminal comprising a terminal identifier and a user identifier; means for loading a file into said terminal, the user rights of the file being registered by linking a licence code to a first terminal identifier and to a first user identifier; means responsive to the activation of said file for requesting an acknowledgement to the licence code defined for the file from a user of the terminal; means for comparing the licence code acknowledged by the user and the terminal identifier of said terminal and the user identifier with the registered licence code, first terminal identifier and first user identifier, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the terminal comprises means responsive to said comparison for accepting the user rights of the file if the licence code acknowledged by the user matches the registered licence code, and at most one of the following identifiers: - the terminal identifier of the terminal, - the user identifier comprised by the terminal, does not match said first terminal identifier and first user identifier.

9. A terminal as claimed in claim 8, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the terminal comprises means for transmitting information to an external server in connection with the activation of the file after the registration of the user rights of the file, the information comprising the licence code and the terminal identifier of said terminal and the user identifier, and the information being transmitted in response to some piece of said information having changed relative to the previous instance of use of the file.

10. A computer program product executable in a terminal for confirming the user rights of a file loadable into the terminal, the user rights of the file being registered by linking a licence code to a first terminal identifier and a first user identifier, the computer program product comprising a program code for loading said file into said terminal; a program code for requesting an acknowledgement to a licence code defined for the file from a user of the terminal in response to the activation of said file; a program code for comparing a licence code acknowledged by the user and the terminal identifier of said terminal and the user identifier with the registered licence code, first terminal identifier and first user identifier, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the computer program product comprises a program code for accepting the user rights of the file if the licence code acknowledged by the user matches the registered licence code, and at most one of the following identifiers: - the terminal identifier of the terminal, - the user identifier comprised by the terminal, does not match said first terminal identifier and first user identifier.

11. A network server arranged to confirm the user rights of a file loadable into a terminal, the user rights of the file being registered by linking a licence code to a first terminal identifier and to a first user identifier, the server being configured to receive comparison information from the terminal that loaded the file, the comparison embodying comparing the licence code acknowledged by the user and the terminal identifier of said terminal and the user identifier with the registered licence code, first terminal identifier and first user identifier, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the server is configured to transmit an acknowledgement to said terminal, the acknowledgement accepting the file for use in said terminal in response to the licence code acknowledged by the user in said comparison information matching the registered licence code and at most one of the following identifiers: - the terminal identifier of the terminal, - the user identifier comprised by the terminal, not matching said first terminal identifier and first user identifier.

12. A network server as claimed in claim 11 , c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that, in response to at most one of the following identifiers: - the terminal identifier of the terminal, - the user identifier comprised by the terminal, having changed in said comparison information, the terminal is configured to register said changed identifier to the licence code of said file as a second terminal identifier or a second user identifier.

13. A network server as claimed in claim 12, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the server is configured to compare at least one changed piece of information transmitted by the terminal with the licence code, the first terminal identifier, the first user identifier and the second terminal identifier/user identifier registered at the server; and, in response to a piece of information transmitted to the server not matching the registered licence code, the registered first terminal identifier, the registered first user identifier or the registered second terminal identifier/user identifier, the server is configured to transmit a command to the terminal to prevent the use of said file.

14. A computer program product executable in a network server for confirming the user rights of a file loadable into a terminal, the computer program product comprising a program code for registering the user rights of the file by linking a licence code to a first terminal identifier and a first user identifier; a program code for receiving comparison information from the terminal that loaded the file, the comparison embodying comparing the licence code acknowledged by the user and the terminal identifier of said terminal and the user identifier with the registered licence code, first terminal identifier and first user identifier, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the computer program product comprises a program code for transmitting an acknowledgement to said terminal, the acknowledgement accepting the file for use in said terminal in response to the licence code acknowledged by the user in said comparison information matching the registered licence code and at most one of the following identifiers: - the terminal identifier of the terminal, - the user identifier comprised by the terminal, not matching said first terminal identifier and first user identifier.