AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Standard Patent Applicant: Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited Invention Title: A TRANSACTION METHOD AND A METHOD OF CONTROLLING USE OF A GAME The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method for performing it known to me/us: Title A TRANSACTION METHOD AND A METHOD OF CONTROLLING USE OF A GAME 5 Related Application This application is a divisional application of Australian application no. 2009217373, the disclosure of which is 10 incorporated herein by reference. Field The invention relates to a transaction method and a method 15 of controlling use of a game. Background In many markets gaming machines have traditionally been 20 sold for an up front fee. This sales model is potentially unsatisfactory for both parties to the transaction. For the purchaser, they run the risk that the gaming machine will not be sufficiently popular and hence not provide an adequate return on investment. On the other hand, the 25 seller can be a victim of their own success because when a game is highly successful it does not need to be replaced. In addition, the sales model brings with it an inherent reluctance of the purchaser to replace even moderately successful games because of the risk that that the 30 replacement game will not live up to the same standard. As a result, there is a tendency for the rate of turnover of games to stagnate, reducing the attractiveness of the purchaser's venue and the number of machines the seller can sell. 35 Accordingly, there is a need for an alternative sales model. It would be advantageous, if the sales model were, 64925671 (GHMatters) P78341.AU.2 DEBORAM 13/05/15 - 2 at least to some extent, compatible with the existing sales model or at least presented alternatives. Further, there is a need for techniques to monitor such a system. 5 Summary of the Invention The invention provides a method of controlling use of a game by a gaming device, the game being stored on a memory device removably inserted in a main board of the gaming 10 device and having an associated license, the method comprising the gaming device determining with a license module of the gaming device, during a boot process of the gaming device prior to allowing the program code of the game to execute, whether the license is a fixed term 15 license or a continual term license, and, upon the license being a fixed term license, checking a data structure in data communication with the gaming device to determine whether the fixed term license is current, and upon determining the fixed term license is current, the license 20 module allowing the program code of the game to execute. In an embodiment, the checking is performed by the license module of the gaming device checking whether a dongle connected to the gaming device has a record in a data 25 structure indicative that the license is current. In an embodiment, checking is performed by the license module of the gaming device checking a data structure in data communication with the gaming device over a network 30 to determine whether the data structure has a record indicative that the license is current. The invention also provides a gaming device comprising a license module, the license module arranged to determine, 35 during a boot process of the gaming device prior to allowing execution of program code of a game stored on a memory device removably inserted in a main board of the 64925671 (GHMatters) P78341.AU.2 DEBORAM 13/05/15 - 3 gaming device and having an associated license, whether the license is a fixed term license or a continual term license, and, if the license is a fixed term license, check a data structure in data communication with the 5 gaming device to determine that the fixed term license is current, and upon determining the fixed term license is current, allowing the program code of the game to execute on the gaming device. 10 In an embodiment, the license module checks whether a dongle connected to the gaming device which stores a data structure has a record in the data structure indicative that the license is current. 15 The invention also provides a gaming system comprising: a communication network; a data structure storing records indicative of whether a game has an associated license, whether each license is a continual license or a fixed term license, 20 and when a term of each fixed term license expires; and at least one gaming device connected to the data structure via the communication network, each gaming device comprising a license module arranged to determine by checking the data structure, during a boot process of 25 the gaming device prior to allowing execution of program code of a game stored on a memory device removably inserted in a main board of the gaming device and having an associated license, whether the license is a fixed term license or a continual term license, and, upon determining 30 that the license is a fixed term license, determine whether the license is current, and upon determining that the license is current allowing the program code to execute on the gaming device. 35 The invention also provides for, computer program code which when executed implements the above method, a tangible computer readable medium comprising the computer 64925671 (GHMatters) P78341.AU.2 DEBORAM 13/05/15 - 4 program code, transmitting the computer program code of and a data signal comprising the computer program code. Brief Description of Drawings 5 An exemplary embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: 10 Figure 1 is a block diagram of a gaming system of an embodiment; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a stand alone gaming machine; 15 Figure 3 is a block diagram of the functional components of a gaming machine; Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the functional 20 components of a memory; Figure 5 is a block diagram of a gaming device of an embodiment; 25 Figure 6 is a block diagram of a gaming device of another embodiment; Figure 7 is a flow chart of an embodiment; 30 Figure 8 is a further flow chart. Detailed Description Referring to the drawings and in particular to Figure 7, 35 there is shown a transaction method 700 where games are sold 710 separately to licenses 720 to use the games. In each transaction a game is sold for a first value and the 64925671 (GHMatters) P78341.AU.2 DEBORAM 13/05/15 - 5 license is sold for a second value. The game is typically distributed as a game kit including a memory device, such as an EPROM storing the game code which can be inserted into a main board of a gaming device by a technician and 5 art work which can be applied to the gaming device. The art work is provided on media such as paper or a laminate to allow it to be applied to the housing of the gaming device. Many gaming devices incorporate specific areas which are adapted to removeably receive appropriate 10 artwork. In the embodiment of Figure 8, the method 800 involves offering 805 two types of license: a continual term license and a fixed term license (for example 2 or 3 15 years). A game is sold 810 for a first value and a license is sold 820 for a second value. The license is then associated 825 with a game. In the embodiment, this is achieved by creating a record for the license in a data structure and storing an identification of the game 20 against the license. In the embodiment, discounts of the base value of the first and second values are provided based on the number of fixed term licenses held/purchased by the licensee. For example based on the total number of license owned by the purchaser or the total number of 25 licenses deployed at a venue controlled by the purchaser. In the embodiment, a continual term license entitles the licensee to use the game associated with the license for as long as they desire, however, a replacement game can 30 only be associated with the license if it is replaced under warranty. In contrast, a fixed term license entitles the user to purchase a replacement game and associate it with the license. Thus, the method involves periodically checking to determine whether the fixed term license has 35 expired. In the exemplary embodiment of Figure 8, this involves checking 830 for fixed term licenses in the data structure. Where a continual license is associated with a 64925671 (GHMatters) P78341.AU.2 DEBORAM 13/05/15 - 6 game, the term for use 835 of the game is open ended. An advantage of offering this type of license in addition to fixed term licenses is that it provides purchasers a choice which closely mimics the current sales model such 5 that those purchasers who do not want to take advantage of the fixed term licenses of the embodiment do not feel inappropriately constrained. When a fixed term license is in place, the method of the 10 embodiment of Figure 8 involves determining 840 whether the license has expired. If the license has expired, the method involves enforcing the license which can be achieved in a number of different ways as described below. If the fixed term licence has not expired use of the game 15 is allowed 850. If the user purchases a new game 855, the game can be associated 860 with the existing license. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that from time to time requests will be received from purchasers of new game kits 20 to associate the purchased game kit with an existing license. The method involves allowing the request if the license is a fixed term license (which is current) and denying the license if the license is a continual license. 25 Benefits of the fixed term licenses under the above transaction method include: . Greater Freedom to manage the floor " Lower game kit prices " Reduced change over costs 30 " Reduced restrictions . Improved Player Entertainment " Access to all the latest games " The ability to purchase more of the better games to use in shorter periods of time 35 . Improved Floor Yield management " The option to take more product risks to increase performance 64925671 (GHMatters) P78341.AU.2 DEBORAM 13/05/15 - 7 " The option to Purchase more of the top performing games in the venue " Expenditure focus is on games and not hardware 5 m Player's can always find a seat on the best game in the venue Neither type of license is transferrable independently of the business which purchases it and a secondary license 10 must be purchased by another party to operate the game. Gaming system Figure 1 shows an exemplary gaming system 150 for 15 implementing the above embodiment. When a license is sold, a user operates a user terminal 170 to access license database interface 164 to record the license and the game with which it is associated in license database 161 stored in a license controller 160, which may be 20 implemented on a computer server (for example). It will be apparent license database 161 provides a data structure which has a license record 162 with which is associated a game ID 163. The license record 162 also stores the name of the licensee, whether the licenses are continual or 25 fixed term license and if the license is a fixed term license, the term of the fixed term. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the license database interface 164 may be arranged to receive data for entry into the database 161 in other manners. For example, the 30 license database interface could be connected by a web interface to a purchasing mechanism where a user makes their own purchases and associates licenses and games such that the need for a user terminal 170 is obviated. 35 Figure 1 illustrates two possible ways in which the licenses can be checked and enforced. In a first method, the user periodically operates user terminal to access the 64925671 (GHMatters) P78341.AU.2 DEBORAM 13/05/15 - 8 database 161 and by sorting the database, which could be for example an Excel spreadsheet, determines which licenses have expired since the last check and the games associated with them. The user can then contact the 5 licensee that hold the licenses - e.g. to ask them to renew the license or in order to take action to revoke the license. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the manual 10 checking of whether the license has expired can be replaced by the license database interface 164 being configured to automatically present a list to a user of the licenses that have expired. Alternatively, the license database interface 164 can be arranged to 15 automatically communicate license expiry messages to the licensee, for example by e-mail. Figure 1 also illustrates an additional or alternative license checking method which involves connecting 20 individual gaming machines 10A to 10D to the licensing controller 160 over a network 180. In this embodiment each gaming machine 10 includes a licensing module 190 which is configured to contact the licensing controller 160 periodically to determine whether the license 25 associated with the game running on the gaming machine 10 is still current. In this embodiment, the license database interface 164 is configured to deal with requests from the licensing modules 190, query the database 161 and return a result to the licensing module 190 over network 30 180 to enable the licensing module 190 to determine whether it has a current license. In this embodiment, the licensing modules 190 may be operable, for example, to prevent a boot sequence of the gaming machine 10 occurring or to switch the gaming machine 10 off in a manner that 35 does not affect the rights of any person playing the gaming machine. 64925671 (GHMatters) P78341.AU.2 DEBORAM 13/05/15 - 9 General construction of gaming device Gaming devices on which games can be executed can take a number of different forms including server based gaming 5 devices but will typically be provided in the form of a stand alone gaming machine. A gaming device in the form of a stand alone gaming machine 10 is illustrated in Figure 2. The gaming machine 10 10 includes a console 12 having a display 14 on which are displayed representations of a game 16 that can be played by a player. A mid-trim 20 of the gaming machine 10 houses a bank of buttons 22 for enabling a player to interact with the gaming machine, in particular during 15 game play. The mid-trim 20 also houses a credit input mechanism 24 which in this example includes a coin input chute 24A and a bill collector 24B. Other credit input mechanisms may also be employed, for example, a card reader for reading a smart card, debit card or credit 20 card. A player marketing module (not shown) having a reading device may also be provided for the purpose of reading a player tracking device, for example as part of a loyalty program. The player tracking device may be in the form of a card, flash drive or any other portable storage 25 medium capable of being read by the reading device. A top box 26 may carry artwork 28, including for example pay tables and details of bonus awards and other information or images relating to the game. Further 30 artwork and/or information may be provided on a front panel 29 of the console 12. A coin tray 30 is mounted beneath the front panel 29 for dispensing cash payouts from the gaming machine 10. 35 The display 14 shown in Figure 2 is in the form of a video display unit, particularly a cathode ray tube screen device. Alternatively, the display 14 may be a liquid 64925671 (GHMatters) P78341.AU.2 DEBORAM 13/05/15 - 10 crystal display, plasma screen, any other suitable video display unit, or the visible portion of an electromechanical device. The top box 26 may also include a display, for example a video display unit, which may be 5 of the same type as the display 14, or of a different type. Figure 3 shows a block diagram of operative components of a typical gaming machine which may be the same as or 10 different to the gaming machine of Figure 2. The gaming machine 100 includes a game controller 101 having a processor 102. Instructions and data to control operation of the processor 102 are stored in a memory 103, 15 which is in data communication with the processor 102. Typically, the gaming machine 100 will include both volatile and non-volatile memory and more than one of each type of memory, with such memories being collectively represented by the memory 103. 20 The gaming machine has hardware meters 104 for purposes including ensuring regulatory compliance and monitoring player credit, an input/output (I/O) interface 105 for communicating with peripheral devices of the gaming 25 machine 100. The input/output interface 105 and/or the peripheral devices may be intelligent devices with their own memory for storing associated instructions and data for use with the input/output interface or the peripheral devices. A random number generator module 113 generates 30 random numbers for use by the processor 102. Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the reference to random numbers includes pseudo-random numbers. In the example shown in Figure 3, a player interface 120 35 includes peripheral devices that communicate with the game controller 101 including one or more displays 106, input devices in the form of a touch screen and/or buttons 107 64925671 (GHMatters) P78341.AU.2 DEBORAM 13/05/15 - 11 (which provide a game play mechanism), a card and/or ticket reader 108, a printer 109, a bill acceptor and/or coin input mechanism 110 and a coin output mechanism 111. Additional hardware may be included as part of the gaming 5 machine 100, or hardware may be omitted as required for the specific implementation. In addition, the gaming machine 100 may include a communications interface, for example a network card 112. 10 The network card may, for example, send status information, accounting information or other information to a central controller, server or database and receive data or commands from the central controller, server or database. 15 Figure 4 shows a block diagram of the main components of an exemplary memory 103. The memory 103 may include, for example, RAM 103A, EPROM 103B and a mass storage device 103C. The RAM 103A typically temporarily holds program 20 files for execution by the processor 102 and related data. The EPROM 103B may be a boot ROM device and/or may contain some system or game related code. Indeed, one implementation is to supply the game code for a game on an EPROM such that it can be "plugged" into the gaming 25 platform. It is also possible for the operative components of the gaming machine 100 to be distributed, for example input/output devices 106,107,108,109,110,111 to be 30 provided remotely from the game controller 101. In an embodiment, a gaming device of the type described above can be configured to perform its own check to determine whether the license is current. An exemplary 35 block diagram of such an embodiment is shown in Figure 5 where the gaming device 500 has a processor 520 arranged to implement the gaming platform and a game based on 64925671 (GHMatters) P78341.AU.2 DEBORAM 13/05/15 - 12 programs stored in a memory 540. Memory 540 includes license check code 541 which causes the processor 520 to implement a license module 521. For example, during a boot process. The license module 521 is arranged to check 5 the game code 542 to determine whether it includes within it license data 543 which shows that the license is current. Thus in this embodiment, the method involves checking whether the license is a continual license and if it is allowing the game code to execute. If the license is 10 a fixed license, the method involves checking whether the term is expired. Alternatively, there can be recorded against the game code or elsewhere in the memory 540 the end date of the license and the end date of all licenses can be checked. In this case an end date a long time in 15 the future, for example 100 years, can be used for a continual license. In the above example, there is a requirement for the license details to be distributed with the game code to the gaming machine. 20 Figure 6 shows an alternative arrangement where a gaming device main board 600 has a processor 620 and a memory 640. Again the processor implements a license module 620 based on license check code 641 stored in the memory 640 and is able to implement the game based on game code 642. 25 In this embodiment, the license module checks license details 651 stored on a smart card 650 connected to the main board 600. In this way, the license can be distributed on a smart card or other dongle to control use of the games. 30 It will be understood to persons skilled in the art of the invention that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, in particular it will be apparent that certain features of 35 embodiments of the invention can be employed to form further embodiments. 64925671 (GHMatters) P78341.AU.2 DEBORAM 13/05/15 - 13 It is to be understood that, if any prior art is referred to herein, such reference does not constitute an admission that the prior art forms a part of the common general knowledge in the art in any country. 5 In the claims which follow and in the preceding description of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprise" or variations such as 10 "comprises" or "comprising" is used in an inclusive sense, i.e. to specify the presence of the stated features but not to preclude the presence or addition of further features in various embodiments of the invention. 64925671 (GHMatters) P78341.AU.2 DEBORAM 13/05/15