Patent ID: 7849018

Claim:
A method, comprising: providing, using a processor, an application and a component to a device, wherein: the component is associated with a licensing fee; and the application includes a first set of one or more application operations that are able to be performed without requiring the component to be used; receiving, at the processor, a request to access a second set of one or more application operations that do not overlap with the first set of application operations and which are provided at least in part by the component; recording information associated with the received request, wherein the recorded information is used in determining licensing fee related payment to be paid for the component; determining licensing fee related payment to be paid for the component by: accessing the recorded information and determining a number of times the component was provided based at least in part on the recorded information; obtaining a number of times associated with a volume license agreement for which the component can be provided and payment has been pre-paid; and determining whether any additional payment is due by comparing (1) the number of times the component was provided and (2) the obtained number of times associated with the volume license agreement for which the component can be provided and payment has been pre-paid, wherein it is determined that no additional payment is due in the event the number of times the component was provided is less than or equal to the number of times associated with the volume license agreement for which the component can be provided and payment has been pre-paid; and using the processor to provide the component to the device independent of the determination whether any additional payment is due.