Patent ID: 8538889

Claim:
A computer-implemented software protection system, comprising: a computer comprising a processing unit coupled to a memory, the computer comprising: a license data store that stores an instance of an application hierarchy, wherein the instance of the application hierarchy stores state data and a property for a plurality of nodes, wherein the state data is associated with a rearm count that indicates a quantity of remaining rearms, wherein the property is associated with a genuine marker associated with an associated node; and, a software license component for manipulating state data of the instance of the application hierarchy to facilitate enforcement of software licensing, wherein the software license component stores a software licensing rule for manipulating the state data of the instance of the application hierarchy, the software licensing rule provides for propagation of a non-genuine property from a first node to another node upon determination of an application associated with the first node being non-genuine, wherein the software license component comprises an application program interface that facilitates access of a node of the instance of the application hierarchy stored in the license data store, the application interface providing information regarding the property of a particular node to a web-based validation component.