Software license management method, electronic device, and recording medium
AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
InventorKosuke Haruki
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electronic device determines, upon receiving an acquisition request of license data necessary for installing the software or executing a specific function of the software, whether or not license data is issued by referring to management data indicating issue status of license data, stored in a secret area in the electronic device and controls permission or inhibition of issuing the license data stored in the secret area in the electronic device based on the determination result.
Claims11
A license management method for contents-processing software for downloading contents data from a computer to an electronic device in a state in which the computer is connected to the electronic device, comprising the steps of:
- determining, by the electronic device, upon receiving an acquisition request of license data necessary for installing the software or executing a specific function of the software, whether or not license data is issued by referring to management data indicating issue status of license data, stored in a secret area in the electronic device;
- and
- controlling permission or inhibition of issuing the license data stored in the secret area in the electronic device based on the determination result.
An electronic device capable of recording or playing back contents downloaded from a computer, comprising:
- means for storing license data necessary for installing software for contents transfer from the computer to a contents playback device, or executing a specific function of the software, and management data for managing an issue history of the license data;
- and
- means for, upon reception of a license data acquisition request from a computer connected to the contents playback device, determining permission or inhibition of issuing the license data for the acquisition request on the basis of the management data.
A computer-readable recording medium which records a computer program installed and used in a computer, wherein the computer program includes:
- a procedure of, in installing the computer program or executing a specific function of the computer program, requesting acquisition of license data of an electronic device which stores license data necessary for installing the computer program or executing the specific function, and management data for managing an issue history of the license data;
- and
- a procedure of permitting the install or the execution of the specific function on a condition that rightful license data is acquired from the electronic device.
A license management method for a contents playback device, comprising the steps of:
- requesting, in installing a computer program or executing a specific function of the computer program, acquisition of license data of an electronic device which stores license data necessary for installing the computer program or executing the specific function, and management data for managing an issue history of the license data;
- and
- permitting the install or the execution of the specific function on a condition that the rightful license data is acquired from the electronic device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.