Patent ID: 8453233

Claim:
A method of identifying and/or verifying hardware and/or software of an appliance and of a data carrier which is provided to cooperate with the appliance, the method comprising: transmitting first authorization data of the hardware and/or software to a first unit, comparing the first authorization data of the hardware and/or software that has been transmitted to the first unit with first verification data stored in the first unit, authorizing the hardware and/or software once it has been ascertained that there is coincidence between the first authorization data provided by the hardware and/or software and the first verification data stored in the first unit, transmitting second authorization data of a data carrier to a second unit, comparing the second authorization data in the second unit with second verification data stored in the second unit, and authorizing the data carrier if there is coincidence between the second authorization data and the second verification data stored in the second unit, wherein a direct data exchange is carried out between the first unit and the second unit.