Patent ID: 7158953

Claim:
A method of enabling the use of a digital work on plural computing devices, said method comprising the acts of: receiving, from a computing device, a request to enable the use of said digital work on said computing device, said request comprising first data indicative of a user, said digital work being associated with said user and requiring the presence of second data on said computing device in order to be used on said computing device; and if a limit associated with said user has not been reached, providing said second data to said computing device, wherein said limit comprises a restriction on the rate at which said user may enable computing devices to use said digital work, wherein said limit comprises a time-dependent number of computing devices on which use of said digital work may be enabled, wherein said time-dependent number is the sum of: a first predetermined number of computing devices on which use of said digital work may be enabled during a first time period; and the product of a second number and a third number, wherein said second number is the number of second time periods that have commenced or elapsed since the end of said first time period, and said third number is a number of computing device on which use of said digital work may be enabled for each of said second time periods, wherein said time-dependent number is capped at a maximum value if said sum exceeds said maximum value, and wherein said limit comprises restricting the number of computing devices on which said user may enable use of said digital work to five computing devices within the first ninety day period following the first enablement of a computing device by said user, plus an additional computing device for each ninety day period following the expiration of said first ninety day period, wherein the maximum number-of computing devices on which said user may enable use of said digital work is limited to ten notwithstanding the number of ninety day periods that have elapsed since said first enablement.