JP2010015410A - License issuing and managing system, method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a license issuing and managing system which prevents a license from being issued to a device which illegally uses a license. <P>SOLUTION: A license issuing and managing device 30 acquires license using conditions in license-using devices 40. The license issuing and managing device 30 refers to a license issuing condition management table, which manages the conditions of licenses issued to the license-using devices 40, to determine whether the licenses issued to the license-using devices 40 accord with the license using conditions thus acquired. When determining that the two accord, the license issuing and managing device 30 transmits license information to the license-using devices 40 and issues the licenses. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a license issuance management system, method, and program, and more particularly, a license issuance management system that performs license issuance management for a license using device that receives a license issuance and validates a function according to the license, The present invention relates to a method and a program.

  Depending on the acquired license, there is a device or software that activates a predetermined function. As a technique related to license management for such devices and software, there is a technique described in Patent Document 1. FIG. 11 shows a license management system in Patent Document 1. The monitoring device 202 is connected to the network A and the network B via the monitoring network. The network A has a node A, a node B, and a node C, and the network B has a node D, a node E, and a node F.

  The monitoring apparatus 202 sets one of the nodes in each network as a master node. In the example of FIG. 11, the node A is a master node in the network A, and the node E is a master node in the network B. Each master node issues and manages licenses for other nodes in the network. That is, the master node A issues and manages licenses for the nodes B and C, and the master node E issues and manages licenses for the nodes D and F.

  Hereinafter, license issuance / management in the network A will be described. The master node A notifies the monitoring device 202 of the license key and its own node ID. The monitoring apparatus 202 compares the notified contents with the management table at the time of master node registration, and confirms that the master node A is registered as a node that manages license keys. Thereafter, the monitoring device 202 transmits a confirmation response to the master node A. The master node A confirms the validity of the license with this confirmation response. When the master node A cannot receive the confirmation response three times or more, the master node A deletes the license from the corresponding management of the master node A.

  A node that requires a license, such as node B, notifies master node A of its own node ID and license key and requests distribution of the license. The master node A confirms the number of used license keys and determines whether it is within the range of the number of licenses. If the master node A is within the number of licenses, the master node A notifies the node B of license permission. When the master node A permits the license, the master node A registers the ID of the node B that uses the license in the license management table.

  The node B notifies the master node A of the license use confirmation including the license key and its own node ID at regular intervals. The master node A checks whether the node that has notified the license use confirmation is registered in the license management table. When the node B is registered in the license management table, the master node A returns a confirmation response to the node B. The master node A does not send back a confirmation response when the node B is not registered in the license management table. When the node B cannot receive the confirmation response three times or more, the node B discards the license registration and restricts the use of the corresponding license function.

JP 2006-155385 A

  In the license management system described in Patent Document 1, the number of licenses is managed between the monitoring device 202 and the master node, and license distribution is managed between the master node and a node that requires a license. This eliminates the need to issue and manage a license for each device using the ID of each device as a key. However, Patent Document 1 does not check the license usage status of the node that requested the license when issuing the license. Therefore, there is a problem that a license may be issued to a node that illegally uses the license.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a license issuance management system, method, and program capable of suppressing license issuance for a device that is illegally using a license.

  In order to achieve the above object, a license issuance management system according to the present invention includes a license issuance management apparatus that performs license issuance management for a license use apparatus that receives a license issuance and validates a function according to the license. A management system that acquires a license usage status in the license usage device and refers to a license usage status management table that manages a status of a license issued to the license usage device by the license issuance management device; It is determined whether or not the license issued to the device and the acquired license usage status match, and if both are determined to match, license information is transmitted to the license using device and a license issuance is issued Characterized by comprising means That.

  A license issuance management apparatus according to the present invention is a license issuance management apparatus that performs license issuance management for a license use apparatus that receives a license issuance and validates a function according to the license, and the license use status in the license use apparatus Referring to the license issuance status management table for managing the status of the license issued to the license using device, whether the license issued to the license using device matches the acquired license use status? If it is determined that the two coincide, license information is transmitted to the license using apparatus, and a license issuing means for issuing a license is provided.

  The license usage apparatus according to the present invention is a license usage apparatus that receives a license issued from a license issuance management apparatus and validates a function according to the license, and refers to a license management table that manages a used license. Generating a license usage status in the own device, transmitting a license acquisition request including the generated license usage status to the license issuance management device, and receiving license information from the license issuance management device as a response to the license acquisition request And a license acquisition means for registering the license in the own apparatus.

  The license issuance management method of the present invention is a method of performing license issuance management for a license using apparatus that uses a license issuance management apparatus and receives a license issuance and validates a function according to the license. The device acquires the license usage status in the license usage device, and refers to the license issuance status management table that manages the status of the license issued by the license issuance management device to the license usage device. A step of determining whether or not the license issued to the use device and the acquired license use status match, and if the license issuance management device determines that they match, the license information to the license use device And issue a license Characterized by a step.

  The license acquisition method of the present invention is a method in which a license using apparatus that receives a license issued from a license issuance management apparatus and activates a function according to a license acquires a license, and the license using apparatus uses the license. A step of generating a license usage status in its own device with reference to a license management table for managing a license that is being managed, and the license usage device sending a license acquisition request including the generated license usage status to the license issuance management device And the license using device receives license information from the license issuance management device as a response to the transmitted license acquisition request, and registers the license in the device itself.

  The program according to the present invention is a program for causing a license issuance management apparatus to execute a process for performing issuance management of a license for a license using apparatus that receives a license issuance and activates a function according to the license. A process for obtaining a license usage status in the license using device in the device, and a license issuance status management table for managing a status of a license issued to the license using device, and a license issued to the license using device, , A process for determining whether or not the acquired license usage status matches, and a process for transmitting license information to the license using device and issuing a license when it is determined that they match. It is characterized by making it.

  The program of the present invention is a program that causes a license using apparatus that receives a license issued from a license issuance management apparatus to validate a function in accordance with a license, and executes a process of acquiring a license. Referring to a license management table for managing licenses used by the license use device, processing for generating a license use status in the license use device, and issuing a license acquisition request including the generated license use status Processing for transmitting to the management device and processing for receiving license information from the license issuance management device and registering the license in the license using device in response to the transmitted license acquisition request. .

  The license issuance management system, method, and program according to the present invention can suppress license issuance for a device that is illegally using a license.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a license issuance management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The license issuance management system includes a license issuance management apparatus 30 and license use apparatuses 40-1 to 40-n (n is an integer of 2 or more). Each license using device 40 is a device or software that activates a function according to a license. The license issuance management apparatus 30 issues and manages licenses to the license use apparatus 40. As the license issuance management apparatus 30 and each license use apparatus 40, a computer system that realizes a predetermined function by operating a predetermined program can be used.

  The license manager 10 is a device developer and sells and manages licenses. The operator 20 pays a price to the license manager 10 and requests the license issuance for enabling the function corresponding to the license. Upon receiving a license issuance request, the license manager 10 issues a license to the license issuance management apparatus 30. The operator 20 registers a license in the license issuance management device 30. The license issuance management device 30 issues a license to the license using device 40 within the range of the registered license. Each license using device 40 validates the function according to the license when the license is issued from the license issuance management device 30.

  The license manager 10 issues a license corresponding to the purchased license to the operator (license purchaser) 20. At this time, the license manager 10 encrypts the license using the public key of the license issuance management apparatus 30. The operator 20 decrypts the license issued by the license manager 10 using the secret key of the license issuance management apparatus 30 and registers it in the license issuance management apparatus 30. Only the license issuance management apparatus 30 having the corresponding secret key can correctly decrypt the license issued by the operator 20. Therefore, the license issued by the license manager 10 can be registered only in the license issuance management apparatus 30 that is the payout destination. That is, it is possible to prevent the issued license from being input to a different license issuance management apparatus 30.

  The operator 20 instructs the license issuance management apparatus 30 to issue a license. Further, the operator 20 can instruct the license issuance management apparatus 30 to discard the license that has been issued to the license use apparatus 40. The license issuance management device 30 holds a license issuance status management table for managing which license is issued to each license using device 40. When the license issuance management apparatus 30 issues a license to the license use apparatus 40, the license issuance management apparatus 30 registers information related to the issued license in the license issuance status management table. Further, upon receiving an instruction to discard a license in a certain license using device, the license issuance management device 30 deletes information related to the corresponding license for the license using device from the license issuance status management table.

  When the license is issued, the license usage device 40 checks the usage status of the license itself and transmits a license acquisition request including the license usage status and the challenge to the license issuance management device 30. The license issuance management device 30 compares the license usage status received from the license usage device 40 with the license issuance status management table, and verifies the license status. As a result of the verification, the license issuance management apparatus 30 determines that the license use apparatus 40 has an illegal license if the license given to the license use apparatus 40 does not match the license use status in the license use apparatus 40. The license is not issued because it has been used.

  The license issuance management device 30 issues license information to the license use device 40 when the license given to the license use device 40 matches the license use status in the license use device 40. To do. At this time, the license issuance management apparatus 30 adds the signature of the license issuance management apparatus 30 to the license information. This signature is used on the license use device 40 side for the purpose of confirming that the license information is information transmitted from the license issuance management device 30. The signature is used for the purpose of confirming that the transmitted license information has not been falsified.

  Upon receiving the license information, the license using device 40 verifies the signature of the license information. The license use device 40 verifies the signature to confirm that the sender of the license information is the license issuance management device 30 and that the license information has not been tampered with. When the license use device 40 confirms that the signature is valid, that is, the sender of the received license information is the license issuance management device 30 and the license information has not been tampered with, the license information is stored in the license use device. Register. The license use device 40 validates the function according to the registered license.

  The license issuance management apparatus 30 can set an expiration date for the license issued to the license use apparatus 40. The license use device 40 transmits the license use status to the license issuance management device 30 before the license expires, and requests extension of the expiration date. The license issuance management apparatus 30 refers to the license issuance status management table and determines whether the license status managed by the license issuance status management table matches the license usage status. If the license issuance management apparatus 30 determines that the two match, the license issuance management apparatus 30 issues a license in which a new expiration date is set, in other words, an extended expiration date.

  The license issuance management apparatus 30 adds a signature to the license information whose validity period has been extended, and transmits the license information to the license use apparatus 40. The license use device 40 verifies the validity of the signature of the received license information. When the license using device 40 determines that the signature is valid, the license using device 40 registers the license information with an extended expiration date. When the license is registered, the license using device 40 can continue to use the function activated by the license. The license use device 40 transmits the license use status to the license issuance management device 30 every time the expiration date comes. Therefore, the license issuance management device 30 can periodically check the license usage status in the license usage device 40 after the license issuance.

  FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the license issuance management apparatus 30. The license issuance management apparatus 30 includes a license registration unit 31, a license issuance unit 32, and an expiration date extension unit 33. In addition, the license issuance management apparatus 30 holds license registration information 34 and a license issuance status management table 35. The license registration information 34 records license information registered in the license issuance management apparatus 30. The license registration information 34 records information for managing the number of licenses currently issued to the license using device 40 for each registered license. The license issuance status management table 35 records information for managing to which license using device 40 which license has been issued.

  In the present embodiment, for convenience, the license registration information 34 and the license issuance status management table 35 are handled as separate information. However, the license registration information 34 and the license issuance status management table 35 are separate information. There is no need. Instead of using separate information for the license registration information and the license issuance status management table, the management of the number of issued licenses and to which license using apparatus the license is issued may be managed in an integrated manner.

  The operator 20 inputs the license issued from the license manager 10 to the license registration unit 31. This license is encrypted with the public key of the license issuance management apparatus 30. The license registration unit 31 decrypts the encrypted license with the secret key of the license issuance management apparatus 30 and registers it in the license issuance management apparatus 30. When the license registration unit 31 registers the license, the license registration information 34 additionally records information related to the registered license, for example, the function activated by the license, the total number of licenses that can be issued simultaneously to the license using device 40, and the like. To do.

  The operator 20 instructs the license issuing means 32 to issue a license. The operator 20 can arbitrarily designate the license issuing device 40 as the license issuance destination. When the license issuance is instructed, the license issuance means 32 instructs the license issuance destination license using apparatus 40 to transmit a license acquisition request. After issuing the license acquisition request transmission instruction, the license issuing unit 32 receives from the license use device 40 a license acquisition request including the current license usage status and the challenge in the license use device 40. Here, the challenge is used when the license using apparatus 40 receives a license issuance, and confirms that the license is a license issued in response to the license acquisition request transmitted by itself. is there. For the challenge, a random number generated on the license using device 40 side can be used.

  Upon receiving the license acquisition request, the license issuing unit 32 refers to the license issuance status management table 35 to check the license issued by the license issuance management apparatus 30 for the license using apparatus 40 that has transmitted the license acquisition request. The license issuing unit 32 determines whether or not the license use status included in the license acquisition request matches the license issue status for the license using device recorded in the license issue status management table 35. The license issuing means 32 determines that the use of the license in the license using device 40 is valid when the two match. The license issuing means 32 determines that the license use is illegal when the two do not match. The license issuing means 32 does not issue a license when it is determined that the license usage is illegal.

  The license issuing unit 32 transmits license information to the license using device 40 when the license use in the license using device 40 is valid, and issues a license with an expiration date. The license issuing means 32 includes the license main body (license information main body) to be issued and the challenge included in the license acquisition request in the license information transmitted to the license using device 40. Further, the license issuing unit 32 adds the signature of the license issuance management apparatus 30 to the license information. For the signature, a value obtained by hashing a combination of “challenge” and “license information body” using the secret key of the license issuance management apparatus 30 can be used.

  The license use device 40 requests the expiration date extension means 33 to extend the expiration date before the expiration date of the issued license expires. This expiration date extension request includes information similar to the information included in the license acquisition request, that is, the current license usage status and the challenge. Upon receiving a request for extending the expiration date, the expiration date extension means 33 refers to the license issuance status management table 35 and confirms the license status. The confirmation of the license state can be performed by the same method as the confirmation of the license state in the license issuing means 32.

  When it is determined that the license use in the license using device 40 is valid as a result of the confirmation of the license state, the expiration date extending means 33 transmits the license information with the extended expiration date to the license using device 40, and the license using device. Extend the license expiration date at 40. The license information transmitted by the expiration date extension means 33 at this time is the same information as the license information transmitted by the license issuing means 32, that is, the license information body, the challenge included in the expiration date extension request, the signature part, including. When it is determined that the license usage in the license using device is illegal, the expiration date extension means 33 does not transmit the license information with the extension of the expiration date, and does not extend the expiration date.

  The operator 20 can instruct the license issued to the specific license using device 40 to be discarded. When the operator instructs the license to be discarded, the license issuing unit 32 updates the license issuance status management table 35 so that the usage status of the corresponding license in the corresponding license using device is not used. In addition, the license issuing unit 32 updates the license registration information 34 to reduce the number of issued licenses of the corresponding license (the number of licenses in use) by the number of discarded licenses.

  FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the license use device 40. The license use device 40 includes a license acquisition unit 41 and an expiration date management unit 42. In addition, the license use device 40 holds a license management table 43. The license management table 43 records information related to the license currently used by the license using device 40. More specifically, the license management table 43 records the expiration date of each license for the license in use.

  When the license issuance management apparatus 30 instructs transmission of a license acquisition request, the license acquisition unit 41 refers to the license management table 43 to check the license currently used by the license use apparatus 40 and create a license use status. . The license acquisition unit 41 transmits a license acquisition request with a challenge added to the license usage status to the license issuance management apparatus 30. The license acquisition request may be transmitted spontaneously from the license using device 40 side according to an instruction from the operator 20 or the like.

  After transmitting the license acquisition request, the license acquisition unit 41 receives license information from the license issuance management apparatus 30 as a response to the transmitted license acquisition request. Upon receiving the license information, the license acquisition unit 41 verifies the validity of the signature, and confirms that the license information transmission source is the license issuance management apparatus 30 and that the contents of the license information are not falsified.

  The validity of the signature is verified by the following procedure. The license acquisition unit 41 first decrypts the signature part included in the license information with the public key of the license issuance management apparatus 30. Since the signature part can be decrypted with the public key of the license issuance management apparatus 30, it can be confirmed that the license information transmission source is the license issuance management apparatus 30. Next, the license acquisition unit 41 calculates a hash value of the combination of the received license information body and the challenge. The license acquisition unit 41 compares the decryption result of the signature part with the calculated hash value, and determines whether or not they match. If both match, it can be confirmed that the license information main body and the challenge are not falsified.

  The license acquisition unit 41 determines that the signature is valid when the signature part can be decrypted with the public key of the license issuance management apparatus 30 and the decryption result of the signature part matches the calculated hash value. . At other times, that is, when the signature part cannot be decrypted with the public key of the license issuance management apparatus 30 or the decryption result of the signature part does not match the calculated hash value, the license acquisition unit 41 Is not valid. When the license acquisition unit 41 determines that the signature is not valid, the license acquisition unit 41 does not register the license.

  When determining that the signature is valid, the license acquisition unit 41 determines whether the challenge included in the received license information matches the challenge included in the license acquisition request. When the license acquisition unit 41 determines that the challenges match, the license acquisition unit 41 stores the license information body in the license use device 40. At that time, the license acquisition unit 41 generates a new entry in the license management table 43, and records information on the stored license in the generated entry. The license use device 40 validates a function that is validated by the stored license. The license acquisition unit 41 does not register a license when the challenges do not match. By adding a signature and a challenge to the license information in the license issuance management apparatus 30 and confirming the validity in the license use apparatus 40, the diversion of the same license to another apparatus can be restricted.

  The expiration date management means 42 manages the expiration date of the license. The expiration date management means 42 refers to the license management table 43 and compares the current date (date and time) with the expiration date for each license registered in the license using device 40. The expiration date management means 42 refers to the license management table 43 before the license expiration date expires, checks the license currently used by the license usage device 40, and creates a license usage status. Further, the expiration date management unit 42 generates a challenge and transmits an expiration date extension request in which the challenge is added to the license usage status to the license issuance management device 30.

  After transmitting the expiration date extension request, the expiration date management unit 42 receives license information with an extended expiration date from the license issuance management apparatus 30 as a response to the transmitted expiration date extension request. Upon receiving the license information, the expiration date management unit 42 verifies the validity of the signature, and confirms that the license information transmission source is the license issuance management apparatus 30 and that the contents of the license information are not falsified. . This signature verification can be performed in the same manner as the signature validity verification in the license acquisition unit 41.

  When determining that the signature is valid, the expiration date management unit 42 determines whether or not the challenge included in the received license information matches the challenge included in the expiration date extension request. If the expiration date management means 42 determines that the challenges match, the expiration date management means 42 stores the license information body with the expiration date extended in the license use device 40. At that time, the expiration date management means 42 rewrites the expiration date of the license in the license management table 43 with the extended expiration date. By extending the expiration date, the license using device 40 can continue to use the function according to the license.

  The expiration date management means 42 does not extend the expiration date when the signature is not valid or the challenge does not match. As an example in which the expiration date is not extended, the license issuance management apparatus 30 may discard the license after issuing the license. When the expiration date of the license expires, the expiration date management unit 42 invalidates the function corresponding to the license.

  FIG. 4 shows a sequence at the time of license registration and issue. Upon receiving the license purchase from the operator 20, the license manager 10 issues a license (step A1). The license manager 10 encrypts the issued license with the public key of the license issuance management apparatus 30 (step A2) and transmits it to the operator 20 (step A3). Upon receiving the license issuance from the license manager 10, the operator 20 registers the license in the license issuance management apparatus 30 (step A4).

  The license registration unit 31 (FIG. 2) of the license issuance management apparatus 30 decrypts the license with the secret key of the license issuance management apparatus 30 and registers the license in the license issuance management apparatus 30 (step A5). Since the license issued by the license manager 10 is encrypted with the public key of the license issuance management apparatus 30, only the license issuance management apparatus 30 that receives the license can decrypt the license. Therefore, the operator 20 cannot register a license in a license issuance management apparatus other than the license issuance management apparatus 30 to be issued. When the license is registered, the license registration unit 31 creates a new entry in the license registration information 34, and records the registered license information in the entry (step A6).

  FIG. 5 shows a data example of the license registration information 34. The license registration information 34 includes a function activated by issuing a license, an expiration date, the total number of licenses, a target device, and the number of issued licenses. The expiration date here is not the expiration date set for each license use device 40 but the final expiration date of the license. The number of licenses is the upper limit of the number of licenses that the license issuance management apparatus 30 can issue to the license use apparatus 40 at the same time. The identifier of the license using device 40 that has issued the license is recorded in the target device. In the number of issued licenses, the total number of issued licenses is recorded.

  Returning to FIG. 4, the operator 20 designates an arbitrary license use device 40 and instructs the license use device 40 to issue a license. The license issuing means 32 makes a license status report request to the license using apparatus 40 that is the license issuing destination, and instructs acquisition of the license (step A7). Upon receiving this instruction, the license acquisition unit 41 (FIG. 3) of the license use device 40 refers to the license management table 43 and generates a license use status (step A8). The license acquisition unit 41 includes the expiration date of the used license in the license usage status. Also, the license acquisition unit 41 generates a challenge for license acquisition verification using a random number (step A9). The license acquisition unit 41 transmits a license acquisition request including the license usage status and the challenge to the license issuance management apparatus 30 (step A10).

  Upon receiving a license acquisition request from the license use device 40, the license issuance means 32 refers to the license issuance status management table 35, the type of license issued by the license issuance management device 30 to the license use device 40, and its license Check the expiration date. The license issuing means 32 checks whether or not the license type and expiration date issued by the license issue management device 30 match the license type and expiration date in the license usage status received from the license usage device 40 (step A11). ).

  FIG. 6 shows a data example of the license issuance status management table 35. In the license issuance status management table 35, information on the expiration date of the issued license is recorded for each combination of the function activated by the license and the license using device 40. By referring to the license issuance status management table 35, for example, for the license using device 40-1, the license issued by the license issuance management device 30 is two licenses that activate “function A” and “function D”. Yes, it can be seen that the expiration dates are both “2008/5/31”.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of license usage status data transmitted by the license usage device 40. In this example, the license use device 40-1 uses two licenses for activating “function A” and “function D”, and the expiration dates thereof are “2008/5/31”. The license usage status is being sent. The license issuing unit 32 compares the license usage status (FIG. 7) with the row of the license usage device 40-1 in the license issue status management table 35 (FIG. 6), and determines whether or not they match.

  Since the row of the license usage device 40-1 in FIG. 6 and the license usage status shown in FIG. 7 match, the license issuing means 32 determines that they match (use status confirmation OK). When the license usage status included in the license acquisition request includes a license for a function that is not issued in the license issuance status management table 35, or the expiration date does not match Determines that the license issuance status does not match the license usage status (use status confirmation NG).

  Returning to FIG. 4 again, when the license issuance unit 32 determines that the license issuance status matches the license usage status, the license issuance unit 32 issues a license with an expiration date to the license use device 40 that has transmitted the license acquisition request (step A12). ). If the license issuance unit 32 determines that the license issuance status and the license usage status do not match, the license issuance device 32 may not use the license because the license using device 40 may illegally use the license.

  When issuing a license, the license issuing unit 32 refers to the license registration information 34 (FIG. 5) and compares the number of issued licenses with the total number of licenses. When the number of issued licenses matches the total number of licenses, the license issuing unit 32 does not issue a license because the number of issued licenses exceeds the total number of licenses when a new license is issued. The license issuing unit 32 issues a license when the number of issued licenses is smaller than the total number of licenses.

  When issuing the license, the license issuing unit 32 adds 1 to the number of issued licenses in the license registration information 34 and additionally writes the identifier of the license using device of the license issuing destination to the target device. Further, the license issuing means 32 records the expiration date of the issued license in the license issue status management table 35 (FIG. 6). For example, when the license issuing unit 32 issues a license for “function B” to the license use apparatus 40-1, the “function B” column in the “function B” column of the license use apparatus 40-1 row. Record the license expiration date.

  The license issuing means 32 adds the challenge transmitted by the license using device 40 to the license information body, and further adds a signature to the license information including the license information body and the challenge (step A13). Specifically, the license issuing unit 32 calculates a hash value of the license information with the challenge added to the license information body, and adds the hash value encrypted with the secret key of the license issuance management apparatus 30 as a signature. . The license issuing means 32 transmits the license information with the signature to the license using device 40 (step A14).

  The license acquisition unit 41 of the license using apparatus 40 receives the license information transmitted in step A14 as a response to the license acquisition request transmitted in step A10. Upon receiving the license information, the license acquisition unit 41 verifies the signature of the received license information (step A15). In the signature verification, the license acquisition unit 41 calculates a hash value of a combination of the license information body included in the received license information and the challenge. In addition, the license acquisition unit 41 decrypts the signature part of the license information with the public key of the license issuance management apparatus 30, and determines whether the decryption result matches the calculated hash value.

  The license acquisition unit 41 determines that the signature is valid when the signature part of the license information can be correctly decrypted with the public key of the license issuance management apparatus 30 and the decryption result matches the calculated hash value. . When determining that the signature is valid, the license acquisition unit 41 determines whether or not the challenge included in the license information matches the challenge included in the license acquisition request in step A10 (step A16). When the license acquisition unit 41 determines that the challenge matches, the license acquisition unit 41 registers the license information main body in the license using device 40 and validates the function according to the license (step A17). In addition, the license acquisition unit 41 registers the expiration date of the registered license in the license management table 43. When the license acquisition unit 41 determines that the signature is not valid or determines that the challenge does not match, the license acquisition unit 41 does not register the license.

  FIG. 8 shows a sequence for extending the license expiration date. In the license use device 40, a license with an expiration date is registered according to the sequence shown in FIG. 4 (step B1). The expiration date management means 42 (FIG. 3) refers to the license management table 43 and compares the expiration date of each license registered in the license use device 40 with the current date and time. When the expiration date management unit 42 determines that the expiration date of the license is about to expire, the expiration date management means 42 autonomously transmits a request for extending the expiration date to the license issuance management device 30 for the license, and updates the license ( Extend the expiry date).

  When the expiration date management unit 42 determines that the expiration date of the license is about to expire, it refers to the license management table 43 and creates a license usage status (step B2). The expiration date management means 42 generates a challenge using a random number (step B3). The expiration date management unit 42 transmits an expiration date extension request including the license usage status and the challenge to the license issuance management device 30 (step B4).

  The expiration date extension means 33 (FIG. 2) receives the expiration date extension request transmitted in step B4 from the license use device 40. Upon receiving an expiration date extension request from the license usage device 40, the expiration date extension means 33 refers to the license issuance status management table 35 and the license issuance status of the license usage device 40 managed on the license issuance management device 30 side and the valid status. It is determined whether or not the license usage status included in the term extension request matches (step B5).

  If the expiration date extension means 33 determines that the license issuance status and the license usage status match, the expiration date extension means 33 issues a license with a new expiration date set to the license use device 40 that has transmitted the expiration date extension request (step S40). B6). The expiration date of the license issued at this time is an expiration date that expires after the current expiration date. That is, the expiration date extension means 33 issues a license with an extension of the expiration date. If the expiration date extension means 33 determines that the license issuance status does not match the license usage status, it determines that the license usage device 40 has used the license illegally, and does not permit the subsequent license extension.

  The expiration date extension means 33 refers to the license registration information 34 (FIG. 5) when issuing a license whose expiration date has been extended, and compares the number of issued licenses with the total number of licenses. The expiration date extension means 33 issues a license whose expiration date has been extended after confirming that the number of issued licenses is less than or equal to the total number of licenses. Further, when the expiration date extension means 33 issues a license with an extension of the expiration date, it records the extended expiration date in the license issue status management table 35 (FIG. 6).

  The expiration date extension means 33 adds a challenge included in the expiration date extension request to the license information body whose expiration date has been extended, and further adds a signature to the license information including the license information body and the challenge. (Step B7). The signature is generated by the same method as at the time of license issuance (step A13 in FIG. 4). The expiration date extension means 33 transmits the license information with the signature to the license use device 40 (step B8).

  The expiration date managing means 42 of the license using device receives the license information transmitted in step B8 as a response to the expiration date extension request transmitted in step B4. Upon receiving the license information with an extended expiration date, the expiration date management means 42 verifies the validity of the signature (step B9). The expiration date management means 42 can decrypt the signature part of the license information with the public key of the license issuance management apparatus 30, and the decrypted content is equal to a value obtained by hashing a combination of the license information body and the challenge. If it is determined, the signature is determined to be valid.

  When determining that the signature is valid, the expiration date management means 42 determines whether or not the challenge included in the license information matches the challenge included in the expiration date extension request in step B4 (step B10). When it is determined that the challenge matches, the expiration date management unit 42 registers the license information body of the license with the extension of the expiration date in the license use device 40 (step B11). Further, the expiration date management unit 42 registers the extended expiration date in the license management table 43. The expiration date management means 42 does not extend the expiration date when it is determined in step B9 that the signature is not valid or when it is determined in step B10 that the challenge does not match.

  With the above operation, the license using device 40 can extend the expiration date of the license in use and continue to use the function according to the license. Further, by extending the expiration date in the sequence shown in FIG. 8 before the extended expiration date expires, the function corresponding to the license can be used further continuously. When a license with an extended expiration date is not registered, the expiration date management unit 42 invalidates a function corresponding to the license when the expiration date of the license expires. In this case, the license use device 40 stops using the function corresponding to the license when the license expires.

  FIG. 9 shows a license transfer sequence accompanying a failure. Here, it is assumed that the license use apparatus 40-1 breaks down and the license issued to the license use apparatus 40-1 is transferred to the license use apparatus 40-2. That is, the license using device 40-2 is used as a substitute (backup) for the failed license using device 40-1, and the function that has been activated by the license using device 40-1 is activated by the license using device 40-2. Consider the case of continuing.

  The operator 20 issues a license to the license use device 40-1 and validates the function according to the license in the license use device 40-1 (step C1). Thereafter, when a failure occurs in the license use device 40-1, the operator 20 instructs the license issuance management device 30 to discard the license of the license use device 40-1 (step C2).

  The license issuance means 32 of the license issuance management apparatus 30 updates the license registration information 34 and the license issuance status management table 35, and registers license destruction for the license use apparatus 40-1 (step C3). More specifically, in step C3, the license issuing unit 32 deletes the license using device 40-1 from the target device of the license registration information 34 (FIG. 5) and decreases the number of issued licenses by one. Further, the license issuing unit 32 changes the row of the license using device 40-1 in the license issuing status management table 35 (FIG. 6) to no license.

  After registering the license cancellation, the operator 20 instructs the license issuance management apparatus 30 to register the license for the license use apparatus 40-2 (step C4). The license issuing means 32 refers to the license registration information 34 and confirms that it is within the total number of licenses, and then sends a license status report request to the license using device 40-2 to instruct license acquisition. (Step C5). Step C5 corresponds to step A7 in FIG.

  Thereafter, the license is registered in the license using device 40-2 in the same sequence as steps A8 to A17 in FIG. 4 (step C6), and the function corresponding to the license is validated (step C7). After issuing the license to the license use device 40-2, the license issuing unit 32 adds the license use device 40-2 to the target device in the license registration information 34, and increases the number of issued licenses by one. In addition, the license issuing unit 32 records the expiration date of the issued license in the row of the license use device 40-2 in the license issue status management table 35. When the operator 20 discards the license of the license use device 40-1 and issues the discarded license to the license use device 40-2, the license use device 40-2 is used as an alternative to the license use device 40-1. It becomes possible.

  FIG. 10 shows a sequence of another example of license transfer. Here, it is assumed that a license is issued to the license use device 40-1, and then the license is issued to the license use device 40-2 using the same license. In other words, consider that the license using device 40-2 uses the license that has become available by destroying the license of the license using device 40-1 and discarding the license of the license using device 40-1.

  The operator 20 issues a license to the license use device 40-1 and validates the function corresponding to the license in the license use device 40-1 (step D1). Thereafter, the operator 20 instructs the license issuance management apparatus 30 to discard the license of the license use apparatus 40-1 (step D2). The license issuance means 32 of the license issuance management apparatus 30 updates the license registration information 34 and the license issuance status management table 35, and registers license destruction for the license using apparatus 40-1 (step D3). This step D3 is the same process as step C3 of FIG.

  After registering the license cancellation, the operator 20 instructs the license issuance management apparatus 30 to register the license for the license used apparatus 40-2 with respect to the license discarded by the license use apparatus 40-1 (step D4). The license issuing means 32 refers to the license registration information 34 and confirms that it is within the total number of licenses, and then sends a license status report request to the license using device 40-2 to instruct license acquisition. (Step D5). This step D5 is the same processing as step C5 of FIG.

  Thereafter, the license is registered in the license use device 40-2 in the same sequence as steps A8 to A17 in FIG. 4 (step D6), and the function corresponding to the license is validated (step D7). After issuing the license to the license use device 40-2, the license issuing unit 32 adds the license use device 40-2 to the target device in the license registration information 34, and increases the number of issued licenses by one. In addition, the license issuing unit 32 records the expiration date of the issued license in the row of the license use device 40-2 in the license issue status management table 35. The process up to this point is the same as that up to step C7 in FIG.

  When the expiration date registered in step D1 approaches, the license use device 40-1 transmits an expiration date extension request including the license usage status and the challenge in the license use device 40-1 (step D8). This step D8 corresponds to step B4 in FIG. The expiration date extension means 33 (FIG. 2) of the license issuance management device 30 refers to the license issuance status management table 35 and refers to the license issuance status for the license usage device 40-1 and the license usage status in the license usage device 40-1. Are compared (step D9). This step D9 corresponds to step B5 in FIG.

  The license usage status transmitted by the license usage apparatus 40-1 in step D8 includes the expiration date of the license that has already been registered for cancellation by the operator 20. In step D3, the license issuance means 32 has already deleted the information indicating that the license has been issued to the license using device 40-1 from the license registration information 34 and the license issuance status management table 35. Therefore, the expiration date extension means 33 determines that the license use device 40-1 is illegally using the license (step D10).

  The expiration date extension means 33 does not issue a license with an extension of the expiration date to the license use device 40-1. As a result, the license being used in the license use device 40-1 expires, and the license use device 40-1 invalidates the function corresponding to the license (step D11). In this way, by setting an expiration date for the license, and extending the expiration date when the license issuance status matches the license usage status, the license using device will exceed the expiration date of the license in use. It can be prevented from being used. In other words, illegal license use can be eliminated.

  In the present embodiment, the license issuance management device 30 acquires the license use status in the license use device 40 when issuing a license, refers to the license issuance status management table 35, and issues the license issue status issued to the license use device. It is determined whether or not the acquired license usage status matches. When the license issuance management apparatus 30 determines that they match, the license issuance management apparatus 30 transmits license information to the license use apparatus 40 and issues a license. When the license is issued, the license usage status in the license usage device 40 is checked and the license is issued, whereby illegal use of the license in the license usage device 40 can be suppressed. In addition, since the license usage status is checked when the license is issued, it is not necessary to constantly monitor the license usage status in the license usage device 40.

  In the present embodiment, the license issuing unit 32 adds a license acquisition verification challenge to the license information body and transmits the license information to the license using apparatus 40. The license using device 40 confirms the challenge, confirms that the license has been issued to the own device, and registers the license. By doing so, for example, the license issued to the license use device 40-2 cannot be used by the license use device 40-1, and illegal reuse of the license can be suppressed. That is, it is possible to prevent the same license from being illegally used by another license using device 40.

  In this embodiment, the license issuing unit 32 adds the signature of the license issuance management apparatus to the license information. The license acquisition unit 41 determines whether or not the signature of the received license information is valid, and if it is determined to be valid, performs license registration. Since the signature is encrypted with the private key of the license issuance management apparatus 30, no apparatus other than the license issuance management apparatus 30 can generate the signature portion of the license information. For this reason, licenses that can be registered are limited to licenses issued by the license issuance management apparatus 30, and illegal use of licenses can be prevented.

  The signature may be obtained by encrypting a value obtained by hashing the contents of the license information with the secret key of the license issuance management apparatus 30. When the signature part of the received license information can be decrypted with the public key of the license issuance management apparatus 30 and the decrypted content is equal to the hashed value of the received license information, the license acquisition unit 41 receives the signature. Judged to be valid. For example, let us consider a case where the license information sent to the license use device 40-1 is tampered with and the license use device 40-2 performs license registration. In this case, although the signature part can be decrypted, the hash value (digest) of the license information does not match the decryption result of the signature. For this reason, the license is not registered in the license using device 40-2. By using the signature and registering the license when it is confirmed that the content of the license information has not been altered, illegal use of the license can be prevented.

  In this embodiment, the license issuing unit 32 issues a license with an expiration date set to the license using device 40. The expiration date management unit 42 refers to the license management table 43 to generate a license usage status and transmits the generated license usage status to the license issuance management device 30. The expiration date extension means 33 acquires the license usage status from the license usage device 40 and refers to the license issuance status management table 35 to determine whether the license issued to the license usage device 40 matches the license usage status. Judging. When it is determined that the two match, the expiration date extension means 33 transmits the license information with the extension of the expiration date to the license use device 40, and extends the expiration date of the license.

  When adopting a configuration in which an expiration date is set for the license, the license issuance management device 30 can check the license usage status in the license usage device 40 at a timing before the expiration date expires. When the license issuance management device 30 does not match the license issuance status and the license usage status, the license expiration date is not extended. Therefore, the license in the license usage device 40 is invalidated when the expiration date has passed. Therefore, illegal use of the license can be suppressed. Further, the license issuance management device 30 and the license use device 40 do not need to be connected at all times, and may be connected at the time of transmitting / receiving an expiration date extension request and a response thereto. By connecting when the expiration date is extended (during license continuation), license management can be performed while preventing illegal license use. Further, when the expiration date is extended, similarly to the time of license acquisition, the challenge and signature can be used to prevent the extension of the expiration date in different license use devices 40 and the forgery of the license.

  In this embodiment, the license manager 10 pays out license information specific to the operator 20 (license issuance management device 30) for each license issuance management device 30. Since the license issuance management device 30 issues a license to the license use device 40, the license administrator 10 does not need to issue / manage licenses for each license use device 40, and manages each license issuance management device 30. Just do it. Since the license manager 10 only needs to manage the license for the license issuance management apparatus 30, the license management load on the license manager 10 can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the license manager 10 issues a license to the license issuance management apparatus 30 and does not issue a license using information unique to the license use apparatus 40 as a key. The license issuance management apparatus 30 performs license registration in the actual license use apparatus 40. The operator 20 can arbitrarily issue a license to the subordinate license use device 40 within the range of the issued license. For this reason, for example, even when a certain license use device 40 fails, the operator 20 operates the license issuance management device 30 to invalidate the license in the license use device 40 and validate the license of the exchange device. In the present embodiment, the license transfer between the license using devices 40 can be performed without the intervention of the license manager, and the license manager 10 does not need to issue a license for the spare device for replacement.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the license issuance management apparatus 30 issues a license to the license use apparatus 40 after the management object of the license administrator 10 that issues the license is set as the unit of the license issuance management apparatus 30. . The license using device 40 autonomously confirms the validity of the license input from the license issuance management device 30 by using the public key infrastructure, and performs license registration. By doing so, it is possible to prevent illegal use of the license in the license use device 40 while reducing the license management load of the license administrator 10.

  The encryption / signature verification using the public key may be encryption / signature verification using the shared secret key. The challenge that the license use device 40 adds to the license use status at the time of the license acquisition request or the expiration date extension request may be information unique to the license use device 40 or time information. If the license issuance management apparatus 30 uses information or time information specific to the license use apparatus 40 for the challenge, the license issuance management apparatus 30 may add the challenge to the license information to be issued without acquiring the challenge from the license use apparatus 40. Good.

  The license issuance management device 30 and each license use device 40 do not need to be directly connected via a network. License registration from the license issuance management device 30 to the license use device 40 uses a command or the like, and the operator 20 It may be registered directly in each license using device 40. Further, the expiration date extension request and the challenge from each license use device 40 may be notified by means of an alarm message, a command reply or the like, and the operator 20 may be registered in the license issuance management device 30.

  Regarding the license usage status, it is not necessary to include all license usage statuses in use in the license usage device 40, as long as the usage status of the license acquisition target or the license for which the expiration date is extended is included. Good. For example, when acquiring the license for the function A, the license using device 40 may transmit to the license issuance management device 30 whether or not the license for the function A is used in the license usage status. . Further, when extending the license expiration date for the function A, the license using device 40 includes the license expiration date for the currently used function A in the license usage status and sends it to the license issuance management device 30. do it. The license issuance management apparatus 30 may issue a license or extend the expiration date when the usage status of the target license matches the issuance status.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the preferred embodiment, the license issuance management system, method, and program of the present invention are not limited to the above embodiment, and the configuration of the above embodiment. Various modifications and changes are also included in the scope of the present invention.

1 is a block diagram showing a license issuance management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of a license issue management apparatus. The block diagram which shows the structure of a license usage apparatus. The sequence diagram which shows the sequence at the time of registration / issue of a license. The figure which shows the data example of license registration information. The figure which shows the example of data of a license issuance status management table. The figure which shows the example of data of a license usage condition. The sequence diagram which shows the sequence in the case of an expiration date extension. The sequence diagram which shows the sequence of a license transfer. The sequence diagram which shows another example of a license transfer. The block diagram which shows the system of patent document 1. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

10: License manager 20: Operator 30: License issuance management device 31: License registration means 32: License issuance means 33: Expiration date extension means 34: License registration information 35: License issuance status management tables 40-1 to 40-n: License use device 41: License acquisition means 42: Expiration date management means 43: License management table

Claims (20)

A license issuance management system including a license issuance management device that performs license issuance management for a license using device that activates a function according to a license upon receipt of a license,
The license usage status in the license usage device is acquired, and the license issue status management table that manages the status of the license issued by the license issue management device to the license usage device is referred to. Determining whether or not the acquired license usage status matches, and if the license usage status matches, the license issuing management includes license issuing means for transmitting license information to the license using device and issuing a license system.   The license issuance management system according to claim 1, further comprising license acquisition means for receiving license information transmitted from the license issuing means and registering a license in the license using device.   The license according to claim 2, wherein the license acquisition unit generates the license usage status with reference to a license management table that manages licenses used in the license usage device, and transmits the generated license usage status. Issuance management system.   4. The license issuance management according to claim 3, wherein the license acquisition unit transmits the license usage status with a challenge used for license acquisition verification, and the license issuance unit transmits license information including the challenge. system.   5. The license issuance management according to claim 4, wherein the license acquisition unit compares the challenge added to the license usage status with a challenge included in the received license information, and registers the license if they match. system.   The license issuing unit adds a signature of the license issuance management apparatus to the license information, and the license acquisition unit determines whether the signature of the received license information is valid, and the signature is valid. The license issuance management system according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the license is registered when it is determined that the license is registered.   The license issuing means adds a hashed value of the license information with the secret key of the license issuance management apparatus to the license information as a signature part, and the license acquisition means includes the signature part 7. The signature is determined to be valid if can be decrypted with the public key of the license issuance management apparatus and the decrypted content is equal to a hashed value of the content of the received license information. License issuance management system.   The license issuance management system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the license issuing unit issues a license with an expiration date set to the license using device.   Before the expiration date of the license, a license usage status in the license usage device is acquired, and the license issued to the license usage device matches the license usage status with reference to the license issue status management table And further comprising an expiration date extension means for transmitting the license information with the extended expiration date to the license using device and extending the expiration date of the license. Item 9. The license issuance management system according to Item 8.   The expiration date management of the license registered in the license usage device is performed, and the license management table for managing the license used in the license usage device is referred to before the expiration date of the registered license expires. The license issuance management system according to claim 9, further comprising expiration date management means for generating a license usage status and transmitting the generated license usage status.   The expiration date management means adds a challenge used for license acquisition verification to the license usage status and transmits the license usage status, and the expiration date extension means transmits license information with an extended expiration date including the challenge. Item 11. The license issuance management system according to Item 10.   The expiration date management unit compares the challenge added to the license usage status with a challenge included in the received license information, and if both match, the expiration date of the license is extended. License issuance management system.   The expiration date extension unit adds a signature of the license issuance management apparatus to the license information, and the expiration date management unit determines whether the signature of the received license information is valid, and the signature is valid. 13. The license issuance management system according to claim 9, wherein if it is determined that the license is valid, the expiration date of the license is extended.   The expiration date extension means adds a value obtained by hashing the contents of the license information with a secret key of the license issuance management apparatus to the license information as a signature part, and the expiration date management means The signature is determined to be valid when the signature part can be decrypted with the public key of the license issuance management apparatus and the decrypted content is equal to the hashed value of the content of the received license information. License issuance management system described in 1. A license issuance management device that performs license issuance management for a license using device that activates a function according to a license upon receipt of a license,
The license usage status is acquired in the license usage device, the license issuance status management table that manages the status of the license issued to the license usage device, and the license issued to the license usage device and the acquired license A license issuance management apparatus comprising: a license issuance unit configured to determine whether or not the usage status matches, and to transmit license information to the license using apparatus and issue a license when it is determined that both match. A license using device that receives a license issued from a license issuance management device and activates a function according to the license,
Referring to the license management table that manages the licenses being used, generates a license usage status in its own device, sends a license acquisition request including the generated license usage status to the license issuance management device, and acquires the license A license use device comprising license acquisition means for receiving license information from the license issuance management device as a response to the request and registering the license in the device itself. A method for performing license issuance management for a license using device that uses a license issuance management device to activate a function according to the license upon receipt of the license,
The license issuance management device obtaining a license usage status in the license usage device;
The license issuance management device refers to the license issuance status management table that manages the status of the license issued to the license using device, and the license issued to the license using device matches the acquired license use status. Determining whether or not to do;
When the license issuance management apparatus determines that they match, the license issuance management method includes a step of transmitting license information to the license using apparatus and issuing a license. A method of acquiring a license by a license using device that receives a license issued from a license issuance management device and activates a function according to the license,
The license using device refers to a license management table for managing a license used, and generates a license usage status in the device itself; and
The license using device transmitting a license acquisition request including the generated license usage status to the license issuance management device;
The license acquisition method comprising: the license using device receiving license information from the license issuance management device as a response to the transmitted license acquisition request and registering the license in the device itself. A program that causes a license issuance management apparatus to execute a process for performing issuance management of a license for a license using apparatus that receives a license issuance and activates a function according to the license, and
Processing for obtaining a license usage status in the license usage device;
Referring to the license issuance status management table that manages the status of the license issued to the license using device, it is determined whether or not the license issued to the license using device matches the acquired license use status. Processing,
A program for transmitting license information to the license using device and executing a process for issuing a license when it is determined that the two match. A program that causes a license using apparatus that receives a license issued from a license issuance management apparatus to validate a function according to a license, and that executes a process of acquiring a license,
Processing for generating a license usage status in the license using device with reference to a license management table for managing a license used by the license using device;
Processing for transmitting a license acquisition request including the generated license usage status to the license issuance management device;
As a response to the transmitted license acquisition request, a program for receiving license information from the license issuance management apparatus and executing a process of registering a license in the license using apparatus.

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