Patent ID: 8494964

Claim:
A computer-implemented method for managing limited-use software on a host computer, comprising: receiving usage rights information for a limited-use software application installed in a virtualized application data store on the host computer as a virtualized application using light weight virtualization, the usage rights information comprising a rule describing permitted use of the software application installed on the host computer; determining whether to enable or disable the installed virtualized application, the determination based at least in part on the usage rights information; responsive to determining to enable the installed virtualized application, making the installed virtualized application executable on the host computer by causing files of the installed virtualized application to be visible at their non-virtualized locations within a file system of an operating system of the host computer; and responsive to determining to disable the installed virtualized application, making the installed virtualized application non-executable on the host computer by causing the files of the virtualized application to not be visible at their non-virtualized locations within the file system of the operating system of the host computer and maintaining files of the installed virtualized application in the virtualized application data store on the host computer.