Patent ID: 6681212
Filing Date: 2004-01-20
Classification: G06F,G06Q

Abstract:
A system for software copyright protection and sales, said system on a server comprising:a data collection subsystem including means for receiving requests to purchase software over a network and generating software purchase information in response to such requests; acquiring means, coupled to the data collection subsystem, for acquiring at least one computer identification number (CIN) from a consumer computer; encryption means, coupled to the acquiring means and the data collection subsystem, for encrypting the at least one CIN from a consumer computer to produce an encrypted authorized CIN using a protection methodology, said protection methodology means including a null encryption of the CIN producing the CIN as the encrypted CIN; and a software protection subsystem, including automated embedding means for automatically embedding at least one protection mechanism into software selected for purchase to produce protected software, the embedded protection mechanism including: the said at least one encrypted authorized CIN, means for reading the said at least one CIN from a consumer computer, means for encrypting the said at least one CIN from a consumer computer to produce at least one encrypted CIN using said protection methodology, means for comparing the said at least one encrypted CIN from the consumer computer with the said at least one encrypted authorized CIN in the protection mechanism, and means for halting and continuing processing of the software if the said encrypted authorized CIN does not match the said at least one encrypted CIN from the consumer computer; and a software distribution subsystem, coupled to the software protection subsystem, for distributing the protected software to consumers over a network, wherein the protected software distributed by the software distribution system, when activated, retrieves and encrypts at least one CIN from a consumer computer and compares the encrypted CIN from the consumer computer with the at least one encrypted authorized CIN in the protection mechanism and halts processing of the software if the encrypted authorized CIN does not match the at least one encrypted CIN from the consumer computer.