Patent ID: 8244579

Claim:
A system for enforcing a property right in an item in accordance with usage rights, said system comprising: a processor; and a memory operatively coupled to the processor and containing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to carry out the steps of: preparing an item ticket specifying said item, said item ticket having a security mechanism incorporated therein, wherein said security mechanism can be unlocked to allow access to said item; and associating a license with said item ticket, said license specifying a first set of usage rights associated with the unlocking of said item ticket and a second set of usage rights associated with the use of said item, and including a mechanism for unlocking said security mechanism; wherein said license comprises data that is interpretable by a computing device to thereby specify the computing device to unlock said security mechanism incorporated in said item ticket using said mechanism in accordance with said first set of usage rights; and wherein said second set of usage rights includes data that is interpretable by the computing device and specifies how the computing device controls use of said item.