# US 2008/0189791 A1 · Device running with embedded software and method for verifying embedded software license

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- Number: US 2008/0189791 A1
- Document ID: US20080189791A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 12/012,906
- Filed: 2008-02-05
- Published: 2008-08-07
- Earliest claimed: 2007-02-07
- Assignees: Hitachi, Ltd.
- Inventors: Kenichiro Yamato; Yohji Tanaka; Yuji Kobayashi
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20080189791A1

## CPC

- G06F 21/10: Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material (protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16) {; Digital rights management [DRM]}
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)

## Abstract

A device running with embedded software directly verifies the license of software to be executed in the device in order to prevent illegal copy and use of the embedded software. The device running with embedded software includes an information storage unit for storing the hardware specific information, and a verification function unit for determining the validity of the license information. The verification function unit includes a license information reception unit for receiving the license information, and a hardware specific information acquisition unit for acquiring the information from the information storage unit. The verification function unit determines, in a license verification unit, the validity of the license by matching the acquired hardware specific information with the hardware specific information included in the received license information.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A device running with embedded software comprising:
an information storage unit for storing hardware specific information; and
a verification function unit for determining the validity of license information;
wherein the verification function unit includes:
a license information reception unit for receiving the input of the license information;
a hardware specific information acquisition unit for acquiring the hardware specific information from the information storage unit; and
a first verification unit for determining the validity of the license by matching the acquired hardware specific information with the received license information.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The device running with embedded software according to claim 1,
wherein the license information includes the encrypted hardware specific information, and
the verification function unit includes a decryption unit for decrypting the encrypted hardware specific information.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The device running with embedded software according to claim 1,
wherein the license information includes bit information indicating the availability of a plurality of functions of the embedded software, and
the verification function unit includes a second verification unit for determining the availability of the plurality of functions based on the bit information.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The device running with embedded software according to claim 1, further comprising a license receiving unit for receiving the license information via the Internet.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The device running with embedded software according to claim 1, further comprising a hardware specific information notification unit for notifying a license information generator of the hardware specific information via the Internet.

### Claim 6

A method for a server running with embedded software to verify the license of the embedded software, the method comprising the steps of:
inputting license information including hardware specific information from the outside;
acquiring the hardware specific information held by the server from an information storage unit provided within the server; and
determining the validity of the license, by matching the hardware specific information included in the license information input from the outside, with the hardware specific information acquired from the information storage unit provided within the server.

### Claim 7 (depends on 6)

The method for verifying the embedded software license according to claim 6,
wherein the license information includes encrypted hardware specific information, and
the method further comprises the step of decrypting the encrypted hardware specific information included in the license information, after the input of the license information from the outside.

### Claim 8 (depends on 6)

The method for verifying the embedded software license according to claim 6,
wherein the license information includes bit information indicating the availability of a plurality of functions of the embedded software, and
the method further comprises the step of permitting the use of a relevant function corresponding to the bit information, after the license is determined to be valid.

### Claim 9 (depends on 6)

The method for verifying the embedded software license according to claim 6,
wherein the step of inputting the license information from the outside is a step of receiving the license information via the Internet.

### Claim 10 (depends on 6)

The method for verifying the embedded software license according to claim 6,
wherein the method further comprises the step of notifying a license information generation server of the hardware specific information via the Internet.