Patent ID: 9372964
Filing Date: 2016-06-21
CPC Classification: G06F

Claim Text:
1. A method in a cloud computing environment, the method comprising: running an application software in the cloud computing environment by a virtual machine in a guest operating system, the virtual machine includes a first license file and a local license management software in the same guest operating system, the first license file being identified by a unique identifier and not being locked to any hardware; controlling usage of features and capacities of the application software provided by the virtual machine by the local license management software in combination with the first license file; receiving from the application software a request for access to a feature for which a license is required; consulting, by the local license management software, the first license file to determine whether or not to provide provisional access to the feature; and communicating, by the local license management software, with an administration node, the communicating including at least sending a request including at least the unique identifier to the administration node, wherein the administration node includes a second license file that is locked to the administration node and paired with the first license file of the virtual machine by means of the unique identifier, wherein the second license file is configured such that it can only operate when installed at said administration node and wherein the administration node is configured to use said second license file to determine whether or not access to said feature should be granted, wherein access to said feature is denied in the event that a predefined access limit has been reached.