Software anti-piracy system that adapts to hardware upgrades

A software product implemented on a computer readable medium, the software product having a corresponding original registration ID that represents the software product being registered to run on a specific computer having a set of hardware components, comprising:

• a code segment to obtain a product ID associated with the software product;
• a code segment to generate a hardware ID that identifies the set of hardware components within the specific computer;
• a code segment to compute a test ID from the product ID and hardware ID;
• a code segment to compare the test ID to the original registration ID;
• a code segment to enable the software product to operate on the specific computer if the test and original registration IDs match;
• and
• a code segment to determine if the set of hardware components is substantially different since the registration ID was computed if the test and original registration IDs do not match.

A method for registering a software product for use on a computer, comprising the following steps:

• obtaining a product ID of the software product;
• generating a hardware ID that identifies a set of hardware components within the computer;
• submitting the product ID and hardware ID to a registration authority;
• receiving a registration ID from the registration authority, the registration ID being computed from the product ID and hardware ID;
• and
• storing the registration ID.

A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for:

• obtaining a product ID of the software product;
• generating a hardware ID that identifies a set of hardware components within the computer;
• submitting the product ID and hardware ID to a registration authority;
• receiving a registration ID from the registration authority, the registration ID being computed from the product ID and hardware ID;
• and
• storing the registration ID.

A method for running a software product on a computer, the software product having a corresponding original registration ID that represents the software product being registered to run on the computer, the method comprising the following steps:

• obtaining a product ID of the software product;
• generating a hardware ID that identifies a set of hardware components within the computer;
• computing a test ID from the product ID and hardware ID;
• comparing the test ID to the original registration ID;
• if a match occurs, enabling the software product to operate on the computer;
• and
• if no match occurs, determining if the set of hardware components has substantially changed since the original registration ID was computed.

A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for:

• obtaining a product ID of the software product;
• generating a hardware ID that identifies a set of hardware components within the computer;
• computing a test ID from the product ID and hardware ID;
• comparing the test ID to an original registration ID;
• if a match occurs, enabling the software product to operate on the computer;
• and
• if no match occurs, determining if the computer is substantially the same computer associated with the original registration ID, enabling the software product to operate on the computer if the computer is substantially the same computer, and locking the software product to prevent it from operating on the computer if the computer is not substantially the same computer.

A method for running a software product on a computer that has been upgraded from an original set of hardware components to a new set of hardware components in which at least one hardware component is different since the last time the software product was executed on the computer, the software product having an associated original registration ID that represents the software product being registered to run on the computer with the original set of hardware components prior to upgrade, the method comprising the following steps:

• obtaining a product ID of the software product;
• generating a hardware ID that identifies the new set of hardware components within the upgraded computer;
• computing a test ID from the product ID and hardware ID;
• comparing the test ID to the original registration ID;
• if a match occurs, enabling the software product to operate on the upgraded computer;
• and
• if a match does not occur, determining whether the new set of hardware components is substantially different from the original set of hardware components, wherein an affirmative conclusion indicates that the upgraded computer is more like a new computer and the software product is prevented from operating, and wherein a negative conclusion indicates that the upgraded computer is more like the original computer and the software product is permitted to operate.

A computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for:

• obtaining a product ID of the software product;
• generating a hardware ID that identifies the new set of hardware components within the upgraded computer;
• computing a test ID from the product ID and hardware ID;
• comparing the test ID to the original registration ID;
• if a match occurs, enabling the software product to operate on the upgraded computer;
• and
• if a match does not occur, determining whether the new set of hardware components is substantially different from the original set of hardware components, wherein an affirmative conclusion indicates that the upgraded computer is more like a new computer and the software product is prevented from operating, and wherein a negative conclusion indicates that the upgraded computer is more like the original computer and the software product is permitted to operate.

A method for comprising the following steps:

• (A) registering a software product for use on a computer having an original set of hardware components, comprising the following steps:
• obtaining a product ID of the software product;
• generating an original hardware ID that identifies the original set of hardware components within the computer;
• submitting the product ID and hardware ID to a registration authority;
• receiving an original registration ID from the registration authority, the original registration ID being computed from the product ID and hardware ID;
• and
• storing the original registration ID;
• (B) subsequently running the software product on the computer, comprising the following steps:
• obtaining the product ID of the software product;
• generating the original hardware ID;
• computing a test ID from the product ID and hardware ID;
• comparing the test ID to the original registration ID;
• enabling the software product to operate on the computer if a match occurs;
• and
• locking the software product to prevent it from operating on the computer if no match occurs;
• (C) in an event that the computer is upgraded from the original set of hardware components to a new set of hardware components in which at least one hardware component is different since the last time the software product was executed on the computer, performing the following steps:
• obtaining the product ID of the software product;
• generating a new hardware ID that identifies the new set of hardware components within the upgraded computer;
• computing a new registration ID from the product ID and hardware ID;
• comparing the new registration ID to the original registration ID;
• enabling the software product to operate on the upgraded computer if a match occurs;
• and
• if a match does not occur, determining whether the new set of hardware components is substantially different from the original set of hardware components, wherein an affirmative conclusion indicates that the upgraded computer is more like a new computer and the software product is prevented from operating, and wherein a negative conclusion indicates that the upgraded computer is more like the original computer and the software product is permitted to operate.

A method for preventing multiple installations of a software product on different computers, comprising the following steps:

• registering the software product for use with a first computer having a first set of hardware components;
• in an event that the software product is subsequently installed on a second computer having a second set of hardware components different from the first set:
• detecting the different set of hardware components;
• discerning whether the second computer is substantially similar the first computer in which only a subset of the hardware components are different, and allowing the software product to operate on the second computer in the event that the second computer is substantially similar;
• disabling the software product from operating on the second computer in the event that the second computer is not substantially similar.