JP2002108482A - Method for managing software license - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the illegal use of software by collectively managing the use rights of a plurality of pieces of software, namely licenses. SOLUTION: A dongle 22 capable of holding the license of specific software is formed. The number of units of the plurality of pieces of software that can be installed in the storing means 20 of one computer system 10 is stored in a chip means 24. When the chip means is connected to the computer system via the dongle means, some pieces of the plurality of pieces of the software is specified on the basis of the number of units, flags corresponding to the specified pieces of software are respectively stored in the dongle means, the specified pieces of software can be installed in the storing means or the specified pieces of software after their installation can be operated by identifying the flags. The ID of the computer system 10 is formed, and when the ID coincides with an ID stored in the storing means, a function which is the same as that of the dongle is offered. The licenses of the software are distributed through the Internet.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to specific application software, for example, DTP software, which is installed in a storage means of one computer device by a license, ie, a right to use, a plurality of plug-ins or various plug-ins for adding auxiliary functions to the application software. Related to a font license management method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The protection against unauthorized use of software is disclosed in JP-A-6-67873 and JP-A-8-678.
5, JP-A-8-77263, JP-A-8-95778
JP-A-8-138020, JP-A-9-97174
JP-A-10-228504, JP-A-10-240
No. 517 and JP-A-11-73310.

[0003] For example, DTP software inputs a registration number including encryption information while a dongle specified by a maker is connected between a keyboard and an input / output terminal of a computer device, and stores it on a hard disk of the computer device. Installed. When the keyboard is connected to the computer via the dongle, the DTP
I use software.

Therefore, using one dongle for one software requires serially connecting dongles by the number of software between the keyboard and the computer device. In other words, hundreds of dongles are required to protect hundreds of software, which increases costs.

Each dongle has a memory area in which the contents of the license are stored internally and cannot be read by the user who checks the license in the corresponding storage device when each software is executed. Therefore, a small amount of power is supplied from the computer device. I have.

[0006]

In such application software such as DTP software, a plurality of plug-ins or a plurality of fonts, that is, fonts, to which auxiliary functions unique to Japanese are added are used. Therefore, when a similar anti-fraud system is employed for these auxiliary software, a number of dongles must be connected in series by the number of plug-ins or fonts, and the power consumption thereof cannot be ignored.

That is, in the prior art, the number of license dongles that can be connected to one computer is limited. In fact, the serial connection of up to several dongles is the limit of computer equipment.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to protect one thousand dongles or equivalent databases from unauthorized use of approximately one hundred and several hundred software.

In the software use right or license management method according to the present invention, dongle means capable of holding a license of a specific software is formed, and the number of units of a plurality of software which can be installed in a storage means of one computer device is stored in a chip means. Storing, when the chip means is connected to the computer device via the dongle means, specifies one of the plurality of software based on the number of units, and sets a flag corresponding to the specified software. Storing the specific software in the dongle means and installing the specific software in the storage means or operating the specific software after the installation by identifying the flag.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the license management method includes forming dongle means capable of holding a license for specific software, identifying an ID of one computer device, and installing the ID in a storage device of the computer device. The number of units of the plurality of software that can be stored is stored in the chip unit, and when the chip unit is connected to the computer device via the dongle unit, any one of the plurality of software is determined based on the number of units. And installing these specific software in the storage means, and setting a flag corresponding to the specific software to the I / O of the computer device.
D in the storage means, and the identification software is operated only when the ID in the storage means coincides with the ID of the computer device.

An identification number is set in the dongle means, and when the chip means is connected to the computer device via the dongle means, the software is deleted or added based on the contents of the chip means. Alternatively, the use period can be set. The dongle means is connected to a USB terminal or a PS / 2 terminal of the computer device, while the chip means inputs the number of units of the specific software to the dongle means, after which the number of units becomes zero, User information is written.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a license management method for identifying an ID of one computer device, and transmitting a flag of specific software that can be installed in storage means of the computer device from a software vendor via the Internet. And a flag corresponding to each software is stored together with the ID of the computer device in the storage unit when the specific software is installed, and only when the ID in the storage unit matches the ID of the computer device. , The specific software can be operated by the identification of the flag.

[0013] The software is selected from a group consisting of application software having a large number of functions, a plurality of plug-ins for adding auxiliary functions to the application software, and various fonts used in the application software.
The storage means is a hard disk device, an optical disk device or a memory card, and the flag and the ID in the storage means are encrypted or stored as an invisible file, and the flag stored in the dongle means A unit of a specific software, that is, a minimum unit is assigned to each bit.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a software license management method according to the present invention will be described below in detail. FIG.
1 shows a computer device 10 adopting the license management method according to the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a computer device usually includes, on a motherboard, a CPU 12 such as Pentium (registered trademark) or Athlon, and an SDRAM or memory 16 connected to the CPU 12 via a north bridge (MCH) 14. This MCH14 has a South Bridge (IC
H) a large-scale storage means, that is, a hard disk 20 connected via 18.

The ICH18 has an FW828 made by Intel.
When 01BA is used, the LAN function is built into the motherboard, so that this computer device has a unique ID.
Is set. For example, computer equipment in a company
L via a network with a server or other equipment in the company
It can be connected to an AN (network), or can be connected to servers or computer equipment in other companies, homes or laboratories via a modem, a telephone line or a dedicated line, and the Internet. Therefore, this unique ID, that is, the MAC address is set for each computer device so that the same number does not occur in other computer devices.

Instead, a computer device without a built-in LAN function in the ICH 18 has a commercially available Ethernet (registered trademark) card inserted into an ISA or PCI slot connected to the ICH 18. Also in this case, a unique ID is obtained for the computer device. Also, IC
The keyboard 21 has a USB terminal or PS / 2 on the H18.
Connected via terminals.

Therefore, for example, a user who has purchased any software such as application software, a plurality of plug-ins, fonts, etc., needs a CDROM storing these software and an installer for them, and an identification which can hold a license for the specific software. A dongle 22 having a preset number and a chip 24 storing a plurality of software units are provided at the same time.

First, the user connects the dongle 22 to any one of a plurality of USB terminals of a computer device owned by the user, and connects the chip 24 to the dongle 22. After that, the user starts the installer after installing the CDROM, and displays a list of software in the CDROM on the left side of the display 23, and a selection screen for specific software in which, for example, five windows are displayed on the right side of the list. Move to The five item windows can be arbitrarily set by the vendor, and indicate the number of software units preset in the chip 24.

In the specific software, for example, application software such as DTP software that can produce data for magazine or book layout, proofreading and printing is higher in price than any of various plug-ins and fonts for this application software. The setting is, for example, about three times. Accordingly, the list of software displayed on the left side of the display 23 includes, for example, application software groups that require three units, plug-ins or font groups that require two units, and plug-ins or font groups that require one unit. Three scrollable windows or pop-up windows are arranged above and below.

The user can sequentially move or select the names of the specific software from the list of software on the left to the five windows on the right, and install the desired specific software on the hard disk 20. That is,
For example, when the application software required for three units is clicked (selected) and drawn (moved) to the left window, the same application software name is filled in the three items of windows. This list can specify up to 1984 units of software.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, for example, a reserved area of upper 8 bytes (an identification number of 5 bytes and a write mode of 3 bytes) and a table of lower 248 bytes are defined in the dongle 22, as shown in FIG. That is, the table is decimal 0
From the lower (0) bit of the address to the upper (7) bit of the address 247, whether or not the operation for the specific software is specified for each bit or every several bits.

That is, in the dongle 22, a 5-byte upper area that cannot be rewritten from the user side is assigned to the identification number. Also, the middle area of the next 3 bytes is allocated for the write mode for the lower 248 bytes.
In the write mode of the 3-byte area, 1
Write modes such as initial write, additional write, limited time, transferred, and relay write of bytecode are preset, and can be changed to various write modes by an installer for specific software. In addition, the lower 248 bytes are
A logical level L, that is, 0, is set for each bit.

When a second computer device that operates faster than the first computer device is introduced, all the specific software written in the first hard disk therein is relayed to the second hard disk in the second computer device. It needs to be transferred.

In this case, after the dongle 22 is connected to the first computer device, after erasing all the specific software in the first hard disk, the dongle 22 writes the total number of units of the specific software that can be erased or relayed to the remaining 2 in the writing area. The mode shifts to the relay write mode for writing to a byte. Next, after connecting to the second computer device, the number of relay units is deleted after relaying or installing the specific software to the second hard disk.

In the chip 24, for example, the first two bytes are allocated to the number of units, and the next two bytes are allocated to the maximum number of units which are the same as the number of units but cannot be written. In the remaining lower 252 byte area, after the specific software is installed, the identification number of the dongle 22 being connected, user information, and the like are written.

That is, when the number of units written in the first two bytes is equal to the maximum number of units in the next two-byte area, it is defined as the license permission mode, and when it is zero, it is defined as the registration mode. Each chip 24
Similarly to the dongle 22, an identification number such as a serial number is set, but is not provided for simplification of the description. Thus, dongle 22 and chip 24 must have at least 256 bytes of writable RO that can be controlled by connected computing device 10 or dongle 22.
M (EEPROM or NVRAM).

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of the computer device 10 according to the present invention in which a chip 24 is connected to a USB terminal (not shown) of the computer device 10 via a dongle 22 before installing specific software. . The number of units of the chip 24 is set to 5 by the vendor, and thus the maximum number of units is 5. Next, the identification number and the initial write mode are set to the dongle 22 by the vendor, and thus all the pits in the table are set to zero.

On the CD ROM, hundreds of specific software and installers are pressed in advance, and a CD (not shown)
It is connected to the computer device 10 by a ROM drive.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of installing or storing the identification software of the dongle 22 and the specific software of a total of 5 units on the CDROM as described above. In FIG. 4, the lower 24 of the dongle 22
In the 8-byte table, a logical level H, that is, 1 is written to each of the corresponding five specific bits. In addition, the user is asked whether to perform user registration.

At the same time, in the middle area of the dongle 22, an additional writing mode is set in which specific software can be added only to the hard disk 20 storing the same identification number when a new chip 24 is connected. On the other hand, with the chip 24 connected to the dongle 22, the number of units for the first two bytes is rewritten to zero. At the same time, in the lower 248 bytes, user information such as the name and address input by the user is written together with the identification number of the dongle 22.

User registration of this chip 24 is completed by mailing it to the vendor. Of course, the additional writing mode is reversible, and is restored to the original initial writing mode when the specific software is uninstalled. The specific software can be used, activated, and operated by the license manager by identifying the bits or flags in the lower 248 byte area of the dongle 22.

Conventionally, the encryption generating unit described in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 8-95778 enables the operation of a primary program while being connected to a computer, and allows one unit to operate under the condition that an additional encryption unit is added. The operation of the additional program was enabled.

According to the present invention, the dongle 22 is 256
When using byte EEPROM or NVRAM,
Licenses for 1984 units of application software, plug-ins and fonts can be managed by one. Moreover, the chip 24 may be separated when the software operates.

Next, the dongle 22 in the additional writing mode in which, for example, five flags for specific software are set
Can directly uninstall the specific software when directly connected to the chip 24 having the same identification number as the identification number of the dongle 22, or, after the chip 24 has already been mailed for user registration, Can be moved to another hard disk. That is, the user starts the installer after installing the CDROM, and when the identification number of the dongle 22 matches the identification number stored in the hard disk 20, a selection screen similar to the above appears.

That is, on the left side of the display, a list of software groups classified by unit from, for example, three units is displayed, and on the right side, for example, the name of specific software is displayed in a window of five items. If the name of this specific software is selected, that is, the window area is clicked with a mouse or a pointer, etc., the entire window is colored with a dark background color. In this state, pressing the uninstall button with the mouse starts deletion of the corresponding software. , Then a blank window appears. Another specific software name can be set and installed in this blank window.

Instead of this, when the uninstallation is repeated five times for the five-item window and all five-item windows are blank, whether or not to move the specific software to the hard disk of another computer device is determined. Is asked. In this case, if you choose to move specific software,
As shown in FIG. 5, the dongle 22 shifts to the relay writing mode, and the specific software is installed on the hard disk 20 of the second computer device by the above-described procedure.

Further, when the dongle 22 in which, for example, five flags for specific software are set is directly connected to, for example, a chip 24 having two software units, additional installation of specific software is possible. That is, the user starts the installer after installing the CDROM, and a selection screen similar to the above appears.

That is, a software list is displayed on the left side, a specific software name is displayed on, for example, five items of windows on the right side, and two blank windows appear. You can set and install another specific software name in each blank window. The chip 24 whose number of units is set to 5 cannot exceed the maximum number of units of 5.

The dongle 22 and the chip 24 are required when specific software is added, or only the dongle 22 is required when changing and operating. However, FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram in the case where these dongles and chips are not required at all when operating specific software. In this case, the ID of the computer device has the same effect as the identification number in the dongle 22.

In FIG. 6, the USB of the computer device
The dongle 22 with the chip 24 is connected to the terminal. After that, the installer in the CDROM is started, and the chip 2
The desired specific software (in this case, one application software and two types of fonts) of the number of units set in step 4 is installed on the hard disk 20. As a result, the number of units in the chip 24 is rewritten to zero. In the dongle 22, the logical level H is temporarily written to a specific bit in the table, and the additional write mode is temporarily set in the middle area.

Next, another transfer software moves this table to the hard disk 20 of the computer device, adds the ID of the computer device, and generates an invisible file. After the transfer of the table, the transferred mode is set in the middle area of the dongle 22, the ID of the computer device is stored in the lower 248 bytes, and the process ends.

These identification numbers and the I
D and the table are compressed or encrypted in an undisclosed compression format and stored in an invisible file. or,
This transfer software is reversible, and can be restored to its original state when the dongle 22 is connected to a computer device having the same computer device ID stored in the dongle 22.

The specific software decompresses or decrypts the associated invisible file, and only when the ID in the hard disk 20 matches the ID of the computer device,
It can be used by the license manager by identification with the flag or based on the corresponding specific bit in the table. The specific software stored in the hard disk 20 can be copied to the hard disk 20 in the second computer device by a normal OS function. However, since the ID of the second computer device is different from the ID copied to the hard disk 20, the software does not operate.

Hard disk 2 of first computer device
When it is desired to move the specific software in the hard disk 20 of the second computer device to the hard disk 20 of the second computer device, first, while the dongle 22 is connected to the first computer device, the work of uninstalling all the specific software is performed. When the specific software is deleted, the user information is deleted, and at the same time, the additional writing mode in the dongle 22 is rewritten to the initial writing mode. Therefore, when the dongle 22 is connected to the computer device, the specific software can be deleted or added.

For installation of specific software having a limited time period, as shown in FIG. 7, a dongle 22 in which the writing mode is set to the limited time mode in advance can be used. In this dongle 22, a date code such as a 6-month use period or a final use period is written in two bytes following the first byte in the write mode area. First, when the user starts the installer after installing the CDROM, the software for five predetermined units, for example, six months from the installation date is installed based on the six-month date code, and then the last use date is set. Is displayed, and at the same time, the period set mode is set in the dongle 22. This limited time mode can also be used to rent software.

In the dongle 22 in this state, there are various restrictions such as the fact that certain software cannot be reinstalled and the dongle 22 must be kept connected to the USB terminal during use. However, if the chip 24 is purchased separately, the same operation as the ordinary dongle 22 can be performed. Although the writing mode set by the dongle 22 has been described so far with less than 10 modes, the type or combination of application software cannot be changed in the remaining 246 modes, but fonts and plug-ins can be freely set. It is possible to easily set a new application software restriction mode that can be selected and changed.

If the ID of one computer device is uniquely identified, the dongle 22 and chip 24 are no longer needed, and a database for the user installed at the vendor is used instead.

In this case, the license for the specific software can be obtained from the vendor via a network, ie, the Internet. At the same time, information such as user identification numbers, addresses and names, and tables for specific software are formed in the vendor database for each user. On the other hand, a basic information file including a computer device ID for installing specific software is generated on the user's hard disk.

First, the user accesses the home page of the vendor, pays a predetermined fee by notifying a credit number, for example, and, after approval of the credit company, generates a unit number and a table of the specific software on a hard disk in the computer device. . On the other hand, a table of the user's name or name, address, e-mail address, ID of the computer device used, and specific software is generated in the database of the vendor. The specified software is rewritten to zero in the permitted number of units online or after installation from a CDROM.

Instead of this, type or check the name of the software to be used in a predetermined encrypted electronic document issued by the vendor, write the corresponding fee, credit number, etc., and send it to the vendor as an e-mail. Send it. After confirming the payment, the vendor sends an installer including a table in which the bits of the corresponding specific software are set to the user's e-mail address, and similarly sends flags for these specific software. This flag forms an encrypted invisible file by combining the table including the flag, the ID of the computer device currently being accessed, and the table when the specific software is installed.

In other words, downloading specific software via the Internet requires high communication costs and may occupy a line for a long time. Therefore, the CDROM in which the specific software is stored in advance is distributed free of charge at a magazine appendix or at a computer equipment store, and needs to be prepared when the specific software is installed.

As described above, flags for specific software that can be installed on the hard disk 20 of the computer device are obtained from the software vendor via the Internet in the form of a table, and are compressed or encrypted together with the ID of the computer device. . When the specific software is installed from the CDROM or via the Internet, a table including a flag corresponding to each specific software is stored in the hard disk 20 together with the ID of the computer device.

Next, the specific software can be operated only when the ID in the hard disk 20 matches the ID of the computer device.

Alternatively, when the computer device is connected to the software vendor database via the Internet, permission to install the specific software on the hard disk 20 of the computer device may be given.

In the present invention, the specific software is:
It is selected from the group consisting of application software such as DTP or graphic software that integrates a large number of functions, a plurality of plug-ins that add auxiliary functions to this application software, and various fonts used in the application software. As the large-scale storage means, for example, 20 GB hard disks 20, 6
A 40 MB optical disk device or a 64 MB memory card can be used.

The table including the flag and the ID in the hard disk 20 are encrypted, compressed by a secret compression method, or stored as an invisible file. Dongle 22
Are assigned to specific software for each bit.

In a networked computer device, a password which can be used only by the computer can be generated by obtaining a key with the flag of the dongle means set from the network, and this password may be replaced with the dongle means. . Thus, in a network environment, a license can be added on demand.

[0059]

As described above, according to the present invention,
A single dongle or equivalent database via the Internet can safely and inexpensively secure virtually unlimited use of approximately 1984 units or hundreds of thousands of software. That is, the number of software that can be managed at one time is a sufficient number for general users.

Further, if the dongle is attached to main application software and distributed, additional chips for licensing may be purchased separately by the number of units, so that it is not necessary to stock and distribute a large number of software packages. As a result,
Each software can be sold or licensed at a low cost, with the distribution cost greatly reduced.

Conventional application software includes a large number of plug-ins that are not usually used, and if these plug-ins are sold separately as a unit, basic application software can be sold at low cost. Plug-ins can be easily purchased or licensed when adding or improving features.

The number of software units is managed, for example, by a multiple of five, and the designation and operation of specific software can be freely and safely performed by a dongle or a database within the range of those numbers, and the license transfer between computer devices can be performed. Easy to do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a computer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a memory map of a dongle and a chip according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a computer device with a chip connected to the computer device via a dongle, before installing specific software according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a computer device according to the present invention after specific software is installed.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a relay writing mode according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a transferred mode according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a limited time mode according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a computer device according to the present invention when specific software is installed via the Internet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Computer equipment 22 Dongle 24 Chip

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. Forming dongle means capable of holding a license of specific software, storing the number of units of a plurality of software which can be installed in storage means of one computer device in chip means, wherein said chip means replaces said dongle means. When connected to the computer device via the control unit, any one of the plurality of software is specified based on the number of units, flags corresponding to the specified software are stored in the dongle means, A license management method, comprising the step of installing the specific software in the storage means or operating the specific software after the installation by the identification. 2. Forming dongle means capable of holding a license for specific software, identifying the ID of one computer device, and storing the number of units of a plurality of software that can be installed in the storage device of the computer device in the chip means. And when the chip means is connected to the computer device via the dongle means, specifies one of the plurality of software based on the number of units, and installs the specified software in the storage means. And storing a flag corresponding to the specific software together with the ID of the computer device in the storage unit, and identifying the flag only when the ID in the storage unit matches the ID of the computer device. A step in which the specific software can be operated. License management method with a flop. 3. The dongle means is set with an identification number, and when the chip means is connected to the computer device via the dongle means, the software is deleted or deleted based on the contents of the chip means. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein an additional or use period can be set. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said dongle means is connected to a USB terminal of said computer device. 5. The chip unit according to claim 1, wherein said chip unit inputs said unit number of said specific software to said dongle unit, and thereafter said unit number becomes zero, and thereafter user information is written. Method. 6. Identifying an ID of one computer device, acquiring a flag of specific software that can be installed in a storage unit of the computer device from the software vendor via the Internet, and when installing the specific software, A flag corresponding to software is stored in the storage unit together with the ID of the computer device. Only when the ID in the storage unit matches the ID of the computer device, the identification of the flag allows the specific software to be executed. License management method with steps that can be operated. 7. The software is selected from a group consisting of application software having a large number of functions, a plurality of plug-ins for adding auxiliary functions to the application software, and various fonts used in the application software. Item 7. The method according to any one of Items 1 to 6. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein said storage means is a hard disk device, an optical disk device, or a memory card. 9. The method according to claim 2, wherein the flag and the ID in the storage unit are encrypted or stored as an invisible file. 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the flag stored in the dongle means is assigned a specific software unit for each bit.