JP2006309720A - Software license management system, cellular telephone website server and software license management method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a license management system that can reduce unauthorized software use while facilitating a license acquisition procedure. <P>SOLUTION: The software license management system 1 has a cellular telephone website server 10, a software vendor terminal 20, a personal computer 31, a cellular telephone 32 capable of data communication with the personal computer 31, software 33 installed in the personal computer 31, and a communication network 60 for connecting the cellular telephone website server 10, software vendor terminal 20 and cellular telephone 32, and the cellular telephone website server 10 manages a management number of the cellular telephone 32 and a serial number of and a license for the software 33. The use of the cellular telephone 32 capable of personal identification as a license key can facilitate a license acquisition procedure and reduce unauthorized software use. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a software license management system, a mobile phone website server, and a software license management method, and more particularly to a software license management system and a software license management method using a mobile phone and a mobile phone website server as management means.

  Traditionally, software has been easy to duplicate and is likely to be used illegally. Therefore, when selling or renting software, a license agreement is concluded with the user, and after distribution, the software is used for unauthorized use. Prevention is in progress. There are various methods for managing software licenses. For example, a method of directly inputting a license key number into a personal computer, a method of decrypting a license encrypted through the Internet in a personal computer through a medium, etc., and a method of directly acquiring and decrypting an encrypted license Etc.

  A license issuing procedure for decrypting a license encrypted through a conventional Internet in a personal computer through a medium or the like will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a schematic system configuration diagram of a conventional software license management system. FIG. 10 shows a configuration from when the user 130a of the personal computer A 131a purchases the software A 133a, installs the software A 133a in the personal computer A 131a, and obtains a license through the communication network 160.

  In FIG. 10, a user 130a who owns a personal computer A 131a purchases software A 133a from a software sales company. After the purchase, it connects to the software sales company terminal 120 through the communication network 160 such as the Internet network, and inputs information such as personal information necessary for registration. The software sales company terminal 120 confirms information input from the user 130a of the personal computer A 131a. If the information is confirmed, the software sales company terminal 120 issues a license and permits use of the software. When the user 130b who owns the personal computer B 131b purchases the same software A 133a from a software sales company, a license can be issued in the same manner.

  However, in practice, the installation operation is troublesome, and the procedure that must be performed when a personal computer is replaced is complicated. As a result, the management method of software licenses becomes difficult, while on the other hand, it is difficult to execute fraud countermeasures and illegal use occurs. In addition, when a medium or the like is used for licensing, the medium itself may be copied, so that it may be illegally installed.

In Patent Document 1, a mobile phone capable of data communication with a software using terminal (PC) receives and stores the second license information from the license management server of the software provider. A software license management method is disclosed in which the use of software is permitted by combining the second license information supplied from the mobile phone terminal and the first license information provided in advance with the software. It is said that it will contribute to the proper use of the software without being limited to a single terminal.
JP 2004-139238 A

However, the conventional license issuing method described with reference to FIG. 10 has the following problems. That is,
The first problem is that the user 130a who owns the personal computer A 131a lends the software A 133a to another person who owns the personal computer B 131b, and uses the user information of the personal computer A 131a to reissue the license. If the application is made to the software sales company, the software sales company reissues the license because the personal information matches the registered content, so that unauthorized use occurs.

  The second problem is that it is difficult to manage personal information, serial numbers, and licenses that cannot be specified even if they are illegally used to manage all personal information, serial numbers, and licenses.

  The third problem is that when a personal computer user purchases a personal computer, the software sales company applies for a reissue to request a license issuance again. In this case, re-issue the necessary information again. However, in some cases, it is not possible to confirm whether or not the previous personal computer has been uninstalled even if the confirmation of the completion of the uninstallation is taken.

  The fourth problem is that the user purchases the software A 133a, installs it on the personal computer A 131, connects to the software sales company terminal 120 using the communication network 160, inputs information necessary for issuing the license, This requires that complicated operations such as installing and installing license data in the personal computer A 131 are required after the user issues the license.

  Further, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, since the license is held in the mobile phone, there is a possibility that data may be read by some method, and the license may not be read due to a mobile phone failure. In addition, the information ID is sent from the personal computer to the mobile phone. For this purpose, it is necessary to provide a special function that operates in response to the information ID received by the mobile phone.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a software license management method in which a license acquisition procedure is easy and the use of unauthorized software can be reduced by using a mobile phone that can identify an individual on a mobile phone website server.

The software license management system of the present invention
A cellular phone website server that manages a cellular phone website and manages information on the cellular phone and the contents of the software license acquired via the cellular phone website, a communication network, and a cellular phone website via the communication network A software sales company terminal connected to the mobile phone and a mobile phone, a personal computer capable of data communication with the mobile phone and installed with a serial number assigned software, and the mobile phone website server assigns a management number to the mobile phone Generate the software serial number via the mobile phone website and the mobile phone, notify the software serial number and management number to the software sales company terminal, and the received software sales company terminal is a personal computer Issued a software license to approve the use of the installed software, personal computer, to complete the installation of the software by the software licenses acquired via the mobile phone and the mobile phone Web site server.

The mobile phone website server of the present invention
A mobile phone Web site server of the above-described software license management system, wherein mobile phone management number storage means for storing the registered mobile phone management number in association with the mobile phone phone number, and the serial number of the received software Software serial number storage means for storing in association with the management number of the mobile phone, license storage means for storing the software license issued from the software sales company terminal in association with the serial number and management number, and management number assignment / license A registration request receiving unit for receiving a registration request for a mobile phone, a management number is given to the mobile phone, and the management number is associated with the telephone number. Mobile phone management number assigning unit stored in the mobile phone management number storage means A license request receiving unit that receives a license request for software installation from a mobile phone, a registration confirmation unit that checks registration by referring to a mobile phone management number storage unit, and a software serial number storage unit that receives a software serial number from a mobile phone The software serial number receiving unit stores the data in association with the management number of the mobile phone, the management number and serial number transmission unit that sends the management number and serial number to the software sales company terminal for license acquisition, and the license from the software sales company terminal A license receiving unit for receiving the license, a license transmitting unit for transmitting the license to the mobile phone and storing the issued license in association with the serial number and the management number in the license storage unit, and a central processing unit for controlling the processing of each unit .

The software license management method of the present invention includes:
According to a first aspect, there is provided a software license management method for the software license management system described above, the step of installing software purchased from a software sales company on a personal computer, and a license for completing the software installation. In order to obtain, the step of connecting the personal computer to the mobile phone and requesting connection to the mobile phone website server, and the mobile phone website server confirmed as the registered mobile phone by the authentication are received from the personal computer. In response to the license request, the personal computer requests a software serial number via a mobile phone, and the personal computer outputs the software serial number information to the mobile phone website server. The mobile phone website server assigns the management number registered in the mobile phone to the software serial number and transmits it to the software sales company terminal, and the software sales company terminal sends the management number and serial number. A step of confirming and registering the license and issuing a license to the mobile phone website server; and a step of the mobile phone website server notifying the received license to a personal computer that installs software via the mobile phone And a personal computer that has received the license completes the installation of the software.

  In the second aspect, after the software is started a predetermined number of times or over a predetermined period, the software connects to the mobile phone via the personal computer and further requests connection to the mobile phone website server. If the mobile phone website server confirms whether the connected mobile phone is a registered mobile phone, and if the mobile phone is not registered in the mobile phone website server, Sends a warning to the user to the software, which displays a warning screen and prohibits the use of the software, and if the mobile phone is already registered, authenticates and sells the serial number and management number to the software The software sales company terminal sends the management number and serial number to the company terminal. If the information matches the registered information, the mobile phone website server is allowed to continue, the mobile phone website server permits the personal computer user to continue using the software, and the personal computer continues the software. Including a step of using.

  In a third aspect, a step of installing software for upgrading software purchased from a software sales company on a personal computer on which software is installed, and a step of confirming whether the software is installed on the personal computer; If the software is installed on the personal computer, the software connects the personal computer to the mobile phone and obtains a license for completing the installation of the upgrade software. A step of requesting a connection; a step of confirming whether the serial number of the connected mobile phone and software is registered in the mobile phone website server; If the mobile phone is not registered in the mobile phone website server, a warning for the user is sent to the software, the software displays a warning screen and prohibits the use of the software, and the mobile phone and the software If it is confirmed that the serial number is registered by the authentication, the computer outputs the serial number of the upgrade software to the mobile phone website server and requests the upgrade, and the mobile phone that has received the upgrade request. The Web site server updates the serial number already registered on the mobile phone to the serial number of the upgrade software, adds the mobile phone management number to the serial number of the upgrade software, and sends it to the software sales company terminal Stee The software sales company terminal confirms the management number and the serial number of the upgrade software, registers the license for the upgrade software, and issues the license for the upgrade software to the mobile phone website server. A step in which the mobile phone Web site server notifies the received version upgrade software license to the personal computer that installs the version upgrade software via the mobile phone; Completing the installation of the software.

  In the fourth aspect, in order to obtain the software for upgrading the software installed in the personal computer from the software sales company terminal, the personal computer is connected to the mobile phone and further connected to the mobile phone website server. A requesting step, a step of confirming whether the connected mobile phone and software serial number are registered in the mobile phone website server, and a mobile phone and software serial number not registered in the mobile phone website server If this is the case, a warning for the user is sent to the software, the software displays a warning screen and prohibits the use of the software, and the serial number of the mobile phone and the software is confirmed to have been registered by the authentication. If The computer requests the mobile phone website server to download the software for upgrading the software, and the mobile phone website server that has received the request for downloading the upgrade software is a mobile phone registered with the mobile phone. Assigning a serial number to the management number of the software and requesting the software sales company terminal to download software for upgrading the software, and the software sales company terminal confirming the management number and serial number and upgrading the software Downloading software to a mobile phone website server and a personal computer having the software installed via the mobile phone And butterflies.

  Since a mobile phone that can identify an individual is used and managed through a mobile phone website, a mobile phone that can be identified without being duplicated is handled as a license key, and unauthorized installation can be reduced. In addition, even if a new version of software is purchased, the software sales company can easily manage the license, and own the main body of the purchased software and the registered mobile phone. For example, the user can easily upgrade the version, and the software sales company can easily manage the license.

  In the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

  The first effect is that only the mobile phone registered on the mobile phone website is subject to license management, so even if the software is illegally lent out to others, the mobile phone registered in the mobile phone website server must be used. If it is not installed, unauthorized use of the software can be reduced.

  The second effect is that since a mobile phone that can identify an individual is used, authentication is performed on a mobile phone Web site, a management number is assigned on the mobile phone Web site, and the mobile phone is sent to a software sales company. It is only necessary to manage the management number and serial number sent from the Web site, so that the license management can be simplified.

  The third effect is that even if the model of the personal computer to be installed is changed by using the mobile phone, personal information is inherited, so the management number registered on the mobile phone website does not change, Therefore, it is easy to reissue a license.

  The fourth effect is that the user's operation can be simplified because the input of the license key and the complicated operation on the Internet are not performed when the software is installed.

  The fifth effect is that even if the software for upgrading is newly purchased, if the user owns the main body of the first purchased software and the mobile phone, the user can easily upgrade the software. The sales company can easily manage licenses.

  A feature of the present invention is that it can be registered from a mobile phone when receiving a software license from a software sales company for a device (hereinafter, described as a personal computer, but not limited thereto) such as a personal computer. The site (hereinafter referred to as a mobile phone Web site, which does not include a site that can be connected from a general personal computer) is registered and personally authenticated, and a management number is registered on the mobile phone Web site. By giving a license to the management number and the software serial number sent from the site server, the software sales company does not need personal authentication. Therefore, the software sales company can easily manage the license. In addition, by using a mobile phone, the site that has already been registered can be used continuously even when the mobile phone is replaced, so that the individual can be identified and the license can be easily reissued. . Furthermore, by passing through a mobile phone website linked with a mobile phone company that manages personal information, the user can easily acquire a license without complicated operations such as inputting personal information for acquiring the license.

  Next, a software license management system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram of a software license management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The software license management system 1 of the present invention is installed in a mobile phone website server 10, a software sales company terminal 20, a personal computer 31, a mobile phone 32 capable of data communication with the personal computer 31, and the personal computer 31. And a communication network 60 for connecting the mobile phone website server 10, the software sales company terminal 20, and the mobile phone 32 to each other. A plurality of mobile phones 32 are connected to the communication network 60, a personal computer 31 can be connected to each mobile phone 32, and software 33 can be installed in the personal computer 31. Here, one mobile phone website server 10 and the software sales company terminal 20 are connected to the communication network 60. However, there are a plurality of software sales companies, and each software sales company terminal 20 is connected. A plurality of mobile phone website servers 10 may be provided in cooperation with different mobile phone website servers 10. Here, a representative process will be described as a single location, but the same processing is performed even when there are a plurality of locations. The communication network 60 is connected to the mobile phone website server 10, the server of the software sales company terminal 20, and the mobile phone 32. Data may be transmitted and received between the mobile phone 32 and the personal computer 31 by local short-range communication such as Bluetooth or infrared communication.

  In FIG. 1, a user 30 who owns a personal computer 31 purchases software 33 from a software sales company, and the software 33 is installed in the personal computer 31. A license is required to complete the installation. As described in the prior art, there are various methods for licenses. In this embodiment, for example, the license file has an encryption key, and the software 33 is provided with a public key for decryption to decrypt the license file. However, the method is not limited to this, and widely known licenses are applicable. The software 33 has a serial number for identification. The personal computer 31 in which the software 33 is installed is connected to the mobile phone 32 in response to a request from the software 33. The connected mobile phone 32 is connected to the specified mobile phone website server 10 in response to a request from the software 33. The mobile phone website server 10 is connected to the software sales company terminal 20 of the software 33.

  A mobile phone website server 10 that is the core of the software license management system 1 of the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic block configuration diagram of the mobile phone website server according to the first embodiment of this invention.

  The mobile phone website server 10 performs a registration procedure for the mobile phone 32 and assigns a management number, and in response to a license request from the mobile phone 32, assigns a management number to the serial number of the software 33 and the software sales company terminal 20 When the license is received from the software sales company terminal 20, the license is issued via the mobile phone 32, and the license is managed.

  The mobile phone website server 10 includes an input unit 11, an output unit 14, a data processing device 12, a storage unit 13, an operator input unit 111 through which an operator can input commands and data, and an image display unit 141 that can display data on a screen. Have

  The storage unit 13 includes a mobile phone management number storage unit 131, a software serial number storage unit 132, and a license storage unit 133. The mobile phone management number storage unit 131 stores the registered management number of the mobile phone in association with the phone number of the mobile phone. The software serial number storage unit 132 stores the received serial number in association with the management number of the mobile phone. The license storage unit 133 stores the issued license in association with the serial number and the management number.

  The data processing apparatus 12 includes a registration request receiving unit 121, a mobile phone management number giving unit 122, a license request receiving unit 123, a registration confirmation unit 124, a software serial number receiving unit 125, a management number / serial number transmitting unit 126, and a license receiving unit. 127, a license transmission unit 128, and a central processing unit 129.

  The registration request receiving unit 121 receives a registration request for the mobile phone 32, and the mobile phone management number assigning unit 122 assigns a management number to notify the mobile phone 32 and associates the mobile phone management number with the phone number to manage the mobile phone. The number is stored in the number storage unit 131.

  When the license request reception unit 123 receives a license request for software installation from the mobile phone 32, the registration confirmation unit 124 confirms registration by referring to the mobile phone management number storage unit 131. When the registration is confirmed, the software serial number receiving unit 125 receives the software serial number, and the software serial number storage unit 132 stores the received serial number in association with the management number of the mobile phone. At the same time, the management number / serial number transmission unit 126 combines the management number and the serial number and transmits them to the software sales company terminal 20.

  When the license receiving unit 127 receives a license from the software sales company terminal 20, the license transmitting unit 128 transmits the license to the mobile phone 32 and stores the issued license in the license storage unit 133 in association with the serial number and the management number. To do. The central processing unit 129 controls processing of each unit.

  Next, as a first embodiment of the software license management method, a software license management method when the user 30 of the personal computer 31 purchases the software 33 from the software sales company and receives license registration using the mobile phone 32 is described. The flow will be described. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an overall processing flow of the software license management system according to the first embodiment of this invention.

  The user 30a who owns the personal computer A 31a purchases the software A 33a from a software sales company (S11). The user 30a who purchased the software A 33a installs the software A 33a in the personal computer 31A 31a (S12). After starting the installation operation, the software A 33a requests the personal computer A 31a to connect to the mobile phone A 32a in order to obtain a license for completing the installation. The mobile phone A 32a is connected (S13). The software A 33a requests the mobile phone A 32a to connect to the mobile phone website server 10, and the mobile phone A 32a connects to the mobile phone website server 10 (S14).

  The connected mobile phone website server 10 receives the request at the license request receiving unit 123, authenticates the mobile phone A 32a at the registration confirmation unit 124, and determines whether the mobile phone is a registered mobile phone (S15). ). If registered, the process proceeds to step S20 (S15Y). If not registered (S15N), a registration request is made to the user A 30a to end the connection with the mobile phone A 32a (S16), and the license is The software A 33a that could not be obtained stops the installation work (S17).

  The user A 30a that could not be installed (S17) uses the mobile phone 32 to perform a registration procedure with the mobile phone website server 10 designated by the software sales company terminal 20 (S18), and the mobile phone website server 10 registers. The request accepting unit 121 accepts the registration request and the telephone number, the mobile phone management number assigning unit 122 performs authentication, adds the management number, registers (S19), and returns to step 12. At this time, the management number may be arbitrary, but the number is not duplicated. Further, registration information such as a management number and a telephone number may be managed by the mobile phone website server 10 and the registration information may not be transmitted to the software sales company terminal 20. Further, the process of registering the mobile phone 32 in the mobile phone website server 10 may be performed before the operation of installing the software 33 in the personal computer 31 is performed. Here, it is assumed that the mobile phone 32 is purchased from an official manufacturer or the like and personal information is managed by the mobile phone company, and prepaid mobile phones that cannot be identified by individuals are not subject to registration. Since the personal information of the mobile phone is registered with the mobile phone company, the mobile phone website server 10 does not have to manage the personal information itself if the personal information is available from the telephone company.

  After registration with the mobile phone website server 10 is completed, the user A 30a returns to step 12 and installs the software A 33a again (S12), and the software A 33a receives a license to obtain a license. The personal computer A 31a that requests the A 31a to connect to the mobile phone A 32a and connects the mobile phone A 32a (S13). The software A 33a requests the mobile phone A 32a to connect to the mobile phone website server 10, and the mobile phone A 32a connects to the mobile phone website server 10 (S14). The connected mobile phone website server 10 determines whether the mobile phone A 32a is a registered mobile phone (S15). In this case, since it is registered (S15Y), the process proceeds to step S20.

  The mobile phone website server 10 confirmed as the mobile phone A 32a registered by the authentication continues the connection state with the mobile phone A 32a, and the software A 33a of the personal computer A 31a in the connection state is the software A 33a. Information such as a serial number is output to the mobile phone website server 10 via the mobile phone A 32a to make a license request (S20). However, at this time, the cellular phone website server 10 may charge the registration of the cellular phone website server 10 or charge a new license fee and obtain the fee through the cellular phone company. Regarding personal information, since personal information such as confirmation of identity and password setting is registered with the mobile phone company when purchasing the mobile phone A 32a, the mobile phone website server 10 is the mobile phone A 32a. It only needs to be authenticated.

  The mobile phone website server 10 receives the license request from the mobile phone A 32a at the license request receiving unit 123 and confirms the registration at the registration checking unit 124, and the software serial number receiving unit 125 receives the serial number of the software A 33a. Accept. The management number / serial number transmission unit 126 assigns the management number of the mobile phone A 32a to the serial number of the software A 33a and transmits the serial number to the software sales company terminal 20 (for the first time with the S2 software, the software sales company terminal 20 The management number of the mobile phone A 32a and the serial number of the software A 33a sent from the telephone website server 10 are confirmed, and license registration is performed (S22) The serial number is not registered with another management number. If it is not registered (S22Y), it is unregistered and a license is issued to the mobile phone website server 10 (S23) The mobile phone website server 10 accepts the license by the license accepting unit 127, and the mobile phone from the license sending unit 128 Software A 33a via A 32a A license is issued to the personal computer A 31a to be installed (S24), and the personal computer A 31a receiving the license completes the installation of the software A 33a (S25), at which time the serial number has already been registered with another management number. If it has been registered (S22N), the mobile phone website server 10 is notified of duplicate registration as another registration (S26), and the mobile phone website server 10 notifies the user A 30a via the mobile phone A 32a. A warning is issued to stop the installation work (S27).

  A specific example of software 33 installation and license acquisition will be further described. 4 and 5 are schematic block configuration diagrams for explaining a specific example of software installation of a personal computer.

  In FIG. 4, the user of the personal computer A 31a purchases the software A 33a and registers it in the mobile phone website server 10 using the mobile phone A 32a. When the user who purchased the software A 33a installs the software A 33a in the personal computer A 31a, the software A 33a makes a request to connect to the mobile phone A 32a, and the mobile phone A 32a connects to the personal computer A 31a. Then, the software A 33a requests the mobile phone website server 10 to issue a license via the mobile phone A 32a, and the license is issued. After that, when a request for reissuing the license is made to the mobile phone website server 10 via the mobile phone A 32a, it is reissued because it is registered. However, even if the same software A 33a is installed on the same personal computer A 31a, if a request for reissuing the license is made on the mobile phone B 32b, the mobile phone website server 10 already has the serial number. Since it is registered by the mobile phone A 32a, the license is not reissued even if the software A 33a is the same personal computer A 31a.

  In FIG. 5, when the user of the personal computer A 31a replaces the personal computer A 31a with the personal computer B 31b and installs the software A 33a, the license is re-established by connecting to the mobile phone website server 10 through the mobile phone A 32a. Can be issued. At this time, when the mobile phone B 32b is used, the license cannot be acquired as in FIG.

  As can be seen in these examples, mobile phone A 32a serves as the license key. Recording media such as software media can be lent easily, but if the mobile phone used for license acquisition is not lent together with the software, the license cannot be acquired even if the software is installed in the borrowing personal computer. Since it is considered difficult to rent a mobile phone as a set, it is easy to issue and manage licenses by using a mobile phone that can identify an individual as a license key, and to reduce unauthorized use of software. it can.

  Next, a second embodiment of the software license management method of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a periodic continuous use confirmation method in the software license management system according to the second embodiment of this invention. Since the basic configuration of the system is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a description thereof will be omitted, but a method for reducing unauthorized use has been further devised.

  In the management method of the software license management system of the second embodiment, the software A 33a installed in the personal computer A 31a is activated after a predetermined number of times or after a predetermined period by the user. A request for connection to the mobile phone A 32a is made again for confirmation (S31). After the connection, the mobile phone A 32a issues a connection request to the mobile phone website server 10 and outputs the mobile phone information after the connection (S32). The mobile phone website server 10 checks whether the connected mobile phone is a registered mobile phone (S33). If the mobile phone is not registered in the mobile phone website server 10 (S33N), a warning for the user is transmitted to the software A 33a, and the software A 33a receives a license from the mobile phone website server 10. If the confirmation cannot be made, a warning screen is displayed to the user, and the use of the software A 33a is prohibited. (S34). Here, there may be some delay in prohibiting the use of the software 33.

  On the other hand, if the mobile phone A 32a has already been registered (S33Y), authentication is performed and the software A 33a outputs a serial number (S35). Even if the model of the mobile phone is changed, the registered site is taken over and handled as the mobile phone A 32a. In addition, the mobile phone website server 10 that has been confirmed as the registered mobile phone 32 transmits the serial number and the management number to the software sales company terminal 20 (S36). The software sales company terminal 20 confirms the management number and serial number sent from the mobile phone website server 10 (S37), and if it matches the registered information (S37Y), the mobile phone website server 10 permits the mobile phone website server 10 to continue. (S38). The cellular phone website server 10 permits continuous use of the personal computer A 31a in which the software A 33a is installed (S39), and the personal computer A 31a continues to use the software A 33a (S40).

  If it does not match the registered information (S37N), an information mismatch warning is given to the mobile phone website server 10 (S41). The cellular phone website server 10 displays a warning screen on the personal computer A 31a in which the software A 33a is installed, and disables use after a certain number of startups (S42).

  As described above, in the second embodiment, since the license can be periodically confirmed, an illegal use of software can be further reduced.

  Next, a third embodiment of the software license management method of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 7 is a schematic block configuration diagram for explaining an example of installation of version upgrade software in the software license management system according to the third embodiment of this invention. The basic configuration of the system is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  In the software license management method of the third embodiment of the present invention, in the installation of version upgrade software in the software license management system, the software A 33a is installed in the personal computer A 31a and the use of the software A 33a is continued. The process up to the installation of the upgrade software A ′ 33b on the computer A 31a has been devised as described in the following flowchart, and even if the upgrade software is newly purchased, the software Sales companies can easily manage licenses.

  Next, the flow of the software license management method when the user 30 of the personal computer A 31a purchases the upgrade software A ′ 33b from the software sales company and performs license registration using the mobile phone A 32a will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an overall processing flow of the software license management system according to the third embodiment of this invention.

  The user 30 who owns the personal computer A 31a and uses the software A 33a purchases the upgrade software A ′ 33b from the software sales company (S51). The user who purchased the upgrade software A ′ 33b performs the installation work of the upgrade software A ′ 33b on the personal computer A 31a (S52). After starting the installation operation, the upgrade software A ′ 33b confirms whether the software A 33a is installed (S53).

  If the software A 33a is not installed (S53N), the new software is installed, so steps S13 to S27 in FIG. 3 are executed (S54), and the installation of the upgrade software A ′ 33b is completed. (S55).

  If the software A 33a is installed (S53Y), the personal computer A 31a is requested to connect to the mobile phone A 32a in order to obtain a license for completing the installation of the version upgrade software A '33b. The personal computer A 31a that has received the request connects the mobile phone A 32a (S56). The upgrade software A ′ 33b requests the mobile phone A 32a to connect to the mobile phone website server 10, and the mobile phone A 32a connects to the mobile phone website server 10 (S57). The connected mobile phone website server 10 receives the request at the license request receiving unit 123, authenticates the mobile phone A 32a at the registration confirmation unit 124, and determines whether the mobile phone is a registered mobile phone (S58). ). If registered, the process proceeds to step S61 (S58Y). If not registered (S58N), a registration request is made to the user 30 to terminate the connection with the mobile phone A 32a (S59) and obtain a license. The upgrade software A ′ 33b that could not be installed stops installation (S60).

  The mobile phone website server 10 confirmed as the mobile phone A 32a registered by the authentication (S58Y) continues the connection state with the mobile phone A 32a, and the upgrade software A ′ for the personal computer A 31a in the connection state 33b outputs information such as the serial number of the upgrade software A ′ 33b to the mobile phone website server 10 via the mobile phone A 32a to make a license request for upgrade (S61). The mobile phone website server 10 receives a license request for upgrade from the mobile phone A 32a at the license request accepting unit 123 and confirms registration at the registration confirming unit 124, and the software serial number accepting unit 125 upgrades the version. The serial number of the software A ′ 33b for the software A is received, and the registered serial number is updated to the new serial number of the software A ′ 33b for version upgrade (step S62). The management number / serial number transmission unit 126 assigns the management number to the new serial number of the software A ′ 33b for version upgrade and transmits it to the software sales company terminal 20 (S63).

  The software sales company terminal 20 confirms the management number sent from the mobile phone website server 10 and the new serial number of the software A ′ 33b for version upgrade, and performs license registration work (S64). If the new serial number of the software A ′ 33b for version upgrade is not registered with another management number (S64Y), the license is issued to the mobile phone website server 10 because it is not registered (S65). The cellular phone website server 10 accepts the license by the license accepting unit 127 and licenses the license from the license transmitting unit 128 to the personal computer A 31a that installs the software A ′ 33b for upgrading via the cellular phone A 32a. Issue (S66). The personal computer A 31a that has received the license completes the installation of the software A ′ 33b for version upgrade (S67). At this time, if the serial number has already been registered with another management number (S64N), the mobile phone website server 10 is informed that another registration has already been made as duplicate registration (S68). 10 warns the user 30 via the mobile phone A 32a and stops the installation operation (S69).

  Next, a fourth embodiment of the software license management method of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The fourth embodiment is also an example of installation of version upgrade software in the software license management system, as in the third embodiment of FIG. The basic configuration of the system is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  In the software license management method according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the upgrade software A ′ 32b purchased from the software sales company is installed in the personal computer A 31a when installing the upgrade software in the software license management system. However, in the software license management method of the fourth embodiment, the upgrade software A ′ 32b is downloaded from the software sales company terminal 20 via the mobile phone website server 10 and the mobile phone A 32a. To install on the personal computer A 31a. In the course of installing the upgrade software A ′ 32b in the personal computer A 31a, the device described in the following flowchart is devised, and even when the upgrade software is newly purchased. Software sales companies can easily manage licenses.

  Next, the user 30 of the personal computer A 31a purchases the upgrade software A ′ 33b from the software sales company and downloads it from the software sales company terminal 20 via the mobile phone website server 10 and the mobile phone A 32a. Thus, the flow of the software license management method when installing in the personal computer A 31a and performing version upgrade will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing an overall processing flow of the software license management system according to the fourth embodiment of this invention.

  The user 30 who owns the personal computer A 31a and uses the software A 33a requests the personal computer A 31a to connect to the mobile phone A 32a and receives the request in order to upgrade the software A 33a. The personal computer A 31a connects the mobile phone A 32a (S71). The software A 33a requests the mobile phone A 32a to connect to the mobile phone website server 10, and the mobile phone A 32a connects to the mobile phone website server 10 (S72).

  The connected mobile phone website server 10 receives the request at the license request receiving unit 123, authenticates the mobile phone A 32a at the registration confirmation unit 124, and determines whether the mobile phone is a registered mobile phone (S73). ). If registered, the process proceeds to step S76 (S73Y). If not registered (S73N), a registration request is made to the user 30 to terminate the connection with the mobile phone A 32a (S74) and obtain a license. The software A 33a that could not be installed stops the installation operation (S75). When registering to the mobile phone website 10, the mobile phone website server 10 designates the mobile phone website server 10 designated by the software sales company terminal 20 using the mobile phone A 32a (S91). Then, the registration request accepting unit 121 accepts the registration request and the telephone number, the mobile phone management number assigning unit 122 performs authentication, adds the management number, registers (S92), and returns to step S71.

  The mobile phone website server 10 confirmed as the mobile phone A 32a registered by the authentication (S73Y) continues to be connected to the mobile phone A 32a, and the software A 33a of the personal computer A 31a in the connected state is The telephone Web site server 10 is requested to download the software A ′ 33b for upgrading the software A 33a (S76).

  The mobile phone Web site server 10 receives a request for downloading the upgrade software A ′ 33b from the mobile phone 32 by the license request receiving unit 123 and confirms the registration by the registration check unit 124, and transmits a management number / serial number. The unit 126 adds a request for downloading the upgrade software A ′ 33b to the management number and serial number, and transmits the request to the software sales company terminal 20 (S77).

  The software sales company terminal 20 confirms the management number and serial number sent from the mobile phone website server 10 (S78), and if registered (S78Y), the upgrade software A'33b is sent to the mobile phone. It transmits to the Web site server 10 (S79). The mobile phone website server 10 receives the upgrade software A ′ 33b at the license receiving unit 127, and sends the upgrade software A ′ 33b from the license transmission unit 128 to the personal computer A 31a via the mobile phone A 32a. Transmit (S80). The received personal computer A 31a installs the upgrade software A ′ 33b and completes the upgrade (S81). At this time, if the management number and the serial number are not registered, the mobile phone website server 10 notifies the mobile phone website server 10 that it is not registered (S78N), and the mobile phone website server 10 confirms the unregistration (S82). ), The user 30 is warned via the mobile phone A 32a, and the installation operation is stopped (S83).

  In this case, the mobile phone web site, license, management number, and serial number are the same as those of the software A 33a that was installed first, and are not updated.

  In this way, in the fourth embodiment, if the user has the main body of the software A and the mobile phone A that are purchased first, the user can easily upgrade the version, and the software sales company can easily manage the license. be able to.

It is a typical block block diagram of the software license management system of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a typical block block diagram of the mobile telephone web site server of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the whole process of the software license management system of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a typical block block diagram for demonstrating the specific example of the software installation of a personal computer. It is a typical block block diagram for demonstrating the specific example of the software installation of a personal computer. It is a flowchart of the periodic continuous use confirmation method in the software license management system of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a typical block block diagram for demonstrating the example of installation of the software for upgrade in the software license management system of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the whole process of the software license management system of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the whole process of the software license management system of the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a typical system block diagram of the software license management system of a prior art example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,100 Software license management system 10 Mobile phone Web site server 11 Input part 12 Data processing device 13 Storage part 14 Output part 20,120 Software sales company terminal 30 User 31,131 Personal computer 32,132 Mobile phone 33,133 Software 60 , 160 Communication network 111 Operator input unit 121 Registration request receiving unit 122 Mobile phone management number giving unit 123 License request receiving unit 124 Registration confirmation unit 125 Software serial number receiving unit 126 Management number / serial number transmitting unit 127 License receiving unit 128 License Transmission unit 129 Central processing unit 131 Mobile phone management number storage unit 132 Software serial number storage unit 133 License storage unit 141 Image display unit S11 to S27, Steps S31 to S42, S51 to S69, S71 to S83, S91, S92

Claims (6)

A mobile phone Web site server that manages a mobile phone Web site and manages mobile phone information and the contents of a software license acquired via the mobile phone Web site, a communication network, and the mobile phone Web via the communication network A software sales company terminal connected to the site and a mobile phone, a personal computer capable of data communication with the mobile phone and installed with a serial number assigned software;
The mobile phone website server generates a management number for the mobile phone, acquires the software serial number via the mobile phone website and the mobile phone, and obtains the software serial number and the management number. Notify the software sales company terminal,
The software sales company terminal that has received the notification issues a software license that authorizes use of the software installed in the personal computer,
A software license management system in which the personal computer completes installation of the software by the software license acquired through the mobile phone website server and the mobile phone. A mobile phone website server of the software license management system according to claim 1,
Mobile phone management number storage means for storing the registered mobile phone management number in association with the mobile phone number;
Software serial number storage means for storing the received software serial number in association with the management number of the mobile phone;
A license storage means for storing a software license issued from a software sales company terminal in association with the serial number and the management number;
Management number assignment / license issuance request means,
The management number assignment / license issuance request means is
A registration request receiving unit for receiving a registration request for the mobile phone;
A mobile phone management number assigning unit that assigns the management number to notify the mobile phone and stores the management number in association with the telephone number in the mobile phone management number storage means;
A license request receiving unit that receives a license request for software installation from the mobile phone;
A registration confirmation unit for confirming registration of the mobile phone with reference to the mobile phone management number storage means;
A software serial number receiving unit that receives the serial number of the software from the mobile phone and stores the software serial number in the software serial number storage means in association with the management number of the mobile phone;
A management number / serial number transmission unit for transmitting the management number and the serial number to a software sales company terminal for license acquisition;
A license receiving unit that receives the license from the software sales company terminal;
A license transmission unit that transmits the license to the mobile phone and stores the issued license in the license storage unit in association with the serial number and the management number;
And a mobile phone web site server having a central processing unit for controlling processing of each unit. A software license management method in the software license management system according to claim 1,
Installing software purchased from a software sales company on a personal computer;
Connecting the personal computer to the mobile phone and requesting a connection to the mobile phone website server to obtain a license for completing the installation of the software;
The mobile phone website server confirmed as the mobile phone registered by authentication receives a license request from the personal computer, requests the serial number of the software from the personal computer via the mobile phone, and A personal computer outputting the serial number information of the software to the mobile phone website server;
The mobile phone website server assigns the registered management number of the mobile phone to the serial number of the software and sends it to a software sales company terminal;
The software sales company terminal confirming the management number and the serial number and performing a license registration operation to issue a license to the mobile phone website server;
The mobile phone website server notifying the received license to the personal computer that installs the software via the mobile phone;
And a step of completing the installation of the software by the personal computer that has received the license. A software license management method in the software license management system according to claim 1,
After the software is activated a predetermined number of times or for a predetermined period of time, the software connects to the mobile phone via the personal computer, and further requests a connection to the mobile phone website server. Steps,
Checking with the mobile phone website server whether the connected mobile phone is a registered mobile phone;
If the mobile phone is not registered on the mobile phone website server, sending a warning to the user to the software, the software displaying a warning screen and prohibiting the use of the software;
If the mobile phone is already registered, authenticate and send the serial number and the management number to the software sales company terminal, the software sales company terminal confirms the management number and the serial number, If the information matches the registered information, the mobile phone website server is allowed to continue, the mobile phone website server permits the personal computer user to continue using the software, and the personal computer continues to use the software. And a software license management method. A software license management method in the software license management system according to claim 1,
Installing the software for upgrading the software purchased from the software sales company on the personal computer on which the software is installed;
Checking whether the software is installed in the personal computer;
If the software is installed on the personal computer, the software connects the personal computer to the mobile phone and obtains a license for completing the installation of the upgrade software. Requesting connection to a telephone website server;
Checking whether the connected mobile phone and the software serial number are registered in the mobile phone website server;
If the mobile phone is not registered on the mobile phone website server, sending a warning to the user to the software, the software displaying a warning screen and prohibiting the use of the software;
When the serial number of the mobile phone and the software is confirmed to be registered by authentication, the computer outputs the serial number of the upgrade software to the mobile phone website server and makes a request for version upgrade;
The mobile phone website server that has received the upgrade request updates the serial number already registered in association with the mobile phone to the serial number of the upgrade software, and sets the management number of the mobile phone to the version Giving to the serial number of the software for up and sending to the software sales company terminal,
The software sales company terminal confirms the management number and the serial number of the upgrade software, performs a license registration operation for the upgrade software, and installs the upgrade software on the mobile phone website server. Issuing a license;
The mobile phone website server notifying the received license of the upgrade software to the personal computer that installs the upgrade software via the mobile phone;
And a step of completing the installation of the version upgrade software by the personal computer that has received the license. A software license management method in the software license management system according to claim 1,
In order to obtain the software for upgrading the software installed in the personal computer from the software sales company terminal, the personal computer is connected to the mobile phone and further connected to the mobile phone website server. Requesting steps,
Checking whether the connected mobile phone and the software serial number are registered in the mobile phone website server;
If it is the serial number of the mobile phone and the software that are not registered in the mobile phone website server, a warning for the user is sent to the software, and the software displays a warning screen and uses the software. Forbidden steps,
When the serial number of the mobile phone and the software is confirmed to be registered by authentication, the computer requests the mobile phone website server to download the software for upgrading the software;
The mobile phone website server that has received the request for downloading the upgrade software gives the serial number to the management number of the mobile phone registered in the mobile phone, and the software sales company terminal version of the software Requesting download of software for upgrade,
The software sales company terminal confirms the management number and the serial number, and installs the software for upgrading the software via the mobile phone website server and the mobile phone. And a software license management method comprising: downloading to the personal computer.

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