JP4535787B2 - Trial license method and trial license device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a trial license method and a trial license system, and more particularly to a trial license method and a trial license system that prevent unauthorized use of software and eliminate a period during which a user cannot try software.

  Conventionally, when purchasing software from a software vendor or the like and using the software, license authentication is required or a free trial period is provided.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a software trial management system that generates a license key from a MAC address of a network card.

In Patent Document 2, when trial use of a sample is started, the trial period is checked, and when the trial period has expired, the trial use is disabled. A software trial management system is disclosed that allows a user to continue when a predetermined measure is taken.
JP 2004-086404 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-194748

  However, for software that requires license authentication and for specific software that has a free trial period for the purpose of considering the purchase of software by the user, a fixed license key is currently used for malicious users. When copied together with the software, the profits of software vendors, manufacturers and dealers that release the software could not be protected.

  On the other hand, when a dynamic license key is generated from unique data for each computer 21 and is issued to a user from a license issuing organization provided by a software vendor, manufacturer, dealer, or the like, the user obtains a dynamic license key. Since the software cannot be used until it is received, the user needs to use the software using a trial license that is valid for a certain period of time, but the license becomes invalid due to a change in the state of the computer 21 The software cannot be used until a license is received from the license issuing organization again.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, apart from the dynamic license key, the software generates a trial license from the MAC (Media Access Control) address of the computer 21 and the current date and time, and prevents unauthorized use of the software. The convenience of the user is improved by eliminating the period during which the user cannot try the software.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a trial license method performed by a trial license device in a computer that uses software, and a MAC address for reading a MAC (Media Access Control) address of a network adapter accommodated in the computer A reading step, a date and time information providing step for providing the current date and time, a MAC address read by the MAC address reading step each time the network adapter is replaced, and a current date and time provided by the date and time information providing step The trial license information providing step for generating a trial license, which is a license for using the software for a certain period of time, and the number of trial licenses generated in the trial license information providing step are counted. number A trial license information network adapter upper limit determination step for determining whether or not the network adapter has been exceeded, and if it is determined that the predetermined number has been exceeded as a result of the determination, a new network adapter may be replaced after that. A trial license method is provided in which no trial license is generated.
Furthermore, according to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a trial license device for a computer using software, a MAC address reading means for reading a MAC (Media Access Control) address of a network adapter accommodated in the computer; Based on the date and time information providing means for providing the current date and time, the MAC address read by the MAC address reading means each time the network adapter is replaced, and the current date and time provided by the date and time information providing means The trial license information providing means for generating a trial license which is a license for using the software only for a certain period, and the number of trial licenses generated in the trial license information providing means are counted, and the number of generation exceeds the predetermined number. Trial license information to determine whether or not Network adapter upper limit determination means, and if it is determined that the number exceeds the predetermined number as a result of the determination, a new trial license is not generated even if the network adapter is subsequently replaced. A trial license device is provided.

  According to the present invention, unauthorized use of software is suppressed and user convenience is improved.

  According to the present invention, a new user who uses specific software can start the specific software using the trial license information before recording the regular license on the computer 21.

  According to the present invention, when a user using specific software changes a network adapter accommodated in the computer 21 and the regular license information becomes unusable, the trial license information is recorded in the computer 21 again. As a result, specific software can be used immediately.

  According to the present invention, a user who is using specific software using trial license information does not receive regular license information from a license issuing organization, and the specific software exceeds a certain period determined by the specific software. If you continue to use the software, you will not be able to start the specific software.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Description of configuration]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the present embodiment includes a license issuing organization 27 and a computer 21.

  The computer 21 includes a recording medium 28, software 25, a network adapter 24, and a date / time information providing unit 26.

  The recording medium 27 stores license information of software having a MAC (Media Access Control) address of the computer 21, trial license information of specific software having a MAC address and date and time.

  The network adapter 24 has a unique MAC address.

  The software 25 includes a MAC address reading unit 251, a date determination unit 252, a trial license information creation unit 253, a trial license information encryption unit 254, and a trial license information network adapter upper limit determination unit 255. .

  The license issuing organization 28 issues a specific license provided by a software store or manufacturer.

[Description of operation]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the user purchases the software (step S1), the user includes the MAC address of the network card accommodated in the computer to the license issuing organization provided by the software store or manufacturer. A license purchase request is transmitted (step S2).

  Until the license is issued from the license issuing organization, the user generates a trial license for the software to try the software when the software is started in order to try the software (step S3). .

  If a trial license or a license is installed, it is activated (step S4), the software is used (step S5), and the process ends.

  When a software license is issued from the license issuing organization to the user, the software trial license becomes invalid when the user installs the software license on the computer.

  If the user continues to use the software with a trial license without purchasing a software license, the trial license becomes invalid for a predetermined period of time.

  If the network adapter accommodated in the computer is replaced after the user purchases the software license, the purchased and installed license becomes invalid.

  When the license becomes invalid, the software acquires the MAC address of the new network adapter and generates a trial license again.

  When the network adapter is replaced more than a certain number of times determined by the license issuing organization, the software stops generating a new trial license. In order to make the software usable, the user needs to contact a license issuing organization to obtain a license.

  Hereinafter, processing in various cases of the present embodiment will be described.

1 Activation Selection Based on Software License Information 1.1 Software Activation Based on Regular License Information Specific software accommodated in the computer 21 is based on the MAC address unique to the network adapter 24 accommodated in the computer 21. In the case where the license information generated in the above is recorded on the recording medium 28 of the computer 21, the MAC address of the license information is compared with the current MAC address, and if there is a matching item, the activation is performed.

1.2 Software Activation with Trial License Information Specific software accommodated in the computer 21 is generated based on the recording date of the MAC address and trial license information specific to the network adapter 24 accommodated in the computer 21. When the trial license information thus recorded is recorded in the computer 21, the MAC address of the trial license information is compared with the current AMC address, and if there is a matching item, activation is performed.

1.3 Software cannot be activated when there is no trial license information The specific software accommodated in the computer 21 is the date and time when the MAC address unique to the network adapter 24 accommodated in the computer 21 and the trial license information are recorded. When the trial license information generated based on the above is recorded in the computer 21, the MAC address of the trial license information is compared with the current MAC address, and if there is no matching item, the activation is not performed.

1.4 Software Activation Not Available with Trial License Information Specific software accommodated in the computer 21 is based on the date and time when the MAC address unique to the network adapter 24 accommodated in the computer 21 and the trial license information are recorded. When the generated trial license information is recorded in the computer 21, the MAC address of the trial license information is compared with the current MAC address, and if they do not match, the software is not started.

2 Installation of Trial License Information for Specific Software on the Computer 21 2.1 Installation of Trial License Information The specific software accommodated in the computer 21 has the trial license information described in 1.3 and 1.4 above. If not recorded in the computer 21 or different from the MAC address, trial license information is generated for each network adapter 24 accommodated in the computer 21 based on the current MAC address and date, and recorded in the computer 21.

2.1.1 Reading MAC Address The software 25 reads the unique MAC address of the network adapter 24 accommodated in the computer 21 in the MAC address reading means 251.

2.1.2 Reading Date / Time Information Software 25 reads date / time information provided by computer 21 and provided by date / time information providing unit 26 in date / time information determination means 252.

2.1.3 Generation of Trial License Information The software 25 uses the trial license information generation unit 253 to obtain the information obtained by the MAC address reading unit 251 and the date / time information determination unit 252, and the trial license information generation unit 255 uses the trial license information. The information is encrypted by the information encryption means 254, and is classified and stored for each network adapter 24 in the trial license information 23 in the recording medium of the computer 21.

2.1.4 Generation of Trial License Information for Multiple Network Adapters The trial license information generation unit 253 generates trial license information for all network adapters 24 when the computer 21 contains multiple network adapters 24. .

2.2 Cannot install trial license information due to limited number of exchanged network adapters 24 The specific software accommodated in the computer 21 does not overwrite the previous trial license information when the trial license information is recorded in the computer 21. When the number of trial license information recorded for each network adapter 24 exceeds a certain number of network adapters 24 included in the specific software, the trial license information of the specific software is not installed.

3. Prevention of unauthorized use purposes Certain software imposes certain restrictions on trial license information for users who do not introduce regular license information to prevent the software from being used permanently.

3.1 Restrictions by date and time 1
The specific software 25 accommodated in the computer 21 includes the date and time information that the computer 21 has, the date and time when the trial license information included in the trial license information of the specific software accommodated in the computer 21 is installed, and the current date and time. In comparison, when a certain period of specific software has passed, the software is not started when trial license information is recorded.

3.2 Limitation by date and time 2
The specific software 25 accommodated in the computer 21 includes the date / time information provided by the date / time information providing unit 26 and the date / time when the trial license information 23 included in the trial license information of the specific software accommodated in the computer 21 is installed. And the date and time information provided by the date and time information providing unit 26 is set before the trial license information 23, it is considered that the user has intentionally altered the date and time information 26, and the trial license information 23 is immediately displayed. The software will not be activated.

3.3 Restrictions on Network Adapter Replacement The specific software accommodated in the computer 21 records the trial license information for each network adapter without overwriting the previous trial license information when the trial license information is recorded in the computer 21. When the number of information exceeds a certain number of network adapters 24 included in the specific software, the software is not started when trial license information is recorded.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement of the 1st Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

21 Computer 22 Non-existent license information
23 Trial License Information 24 Network Adapter 25 Software 26 Date / Time Information Providing Section 27 License Issuing Organization 28 Recording Medium 251 MAC Address Reading Unit 252 Date / Time Judgment Unit 253 Trial License Information Creation Unit 254 Trial License Information Encryption Unit 255 Trial License Information Network Adapter Upper limit judgment means

Claims (12)

A trial license method performed by a trial license device in a computer using software,
A MAC address reading step of reading a MAC (Media Access Control) address of a network adapter accommodated in the computer;
A date and time information providing step for providing the current date and time;
Each time the network adapter is replaced, a license for using the software only for a certain period based on the MAC address read by the MAC address reading step and the current date and time provided by the date and time information providing step. a trial license information providing step of generating a trial license is,
A trial license information network adapter upper limit determination step for counting the number of generations of trial licenses in the trial license information providing step and determining whether the number of generations exceeds a certain number;
With
As a result of the determination, if it is determined that the number exceeds the predetermined number, a new trial license is not generated even if the network adapter is subsequently replaced .   A trial license method according to claim 1, comprising:
  As a result of the determination, when it is determined that the predetermined number is exceeded, all trial licenses generated in the past are invalidated and use of the software by all the trial licenses is prohibited. Trial license method.   A trial license method according to claim 1, comprising:
  The trial license is stored in the computer without being overwritten every time it is generated, and the network adapter to which the trial license has already been allocated by being accommodated in the computer is removed from the computer and removed. A trial license method characterized in that, when a network adapter is accommodated again, the software can be used using the trial license already assigned.   A trial license method according to claim 1, comprising:
  The trial license becomes invalid when a regular license for using the software is obtained from outside the computer. If the network adapter is replaced after that, the regular license becomes invalid and the trial license is used again. A trial license method characterized in that a license is generated.   A trial license method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
  A trial license method, wherein a plurality of the network adapters are simultaneously accommodated in the computer, and the trial license is generated for each MAC address of the plurality of network adapters.   A trial license method according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
  Compare the current date and time when the trial license to be compared this time is generated, and if the date and time of generation is later than the current date and time, the trial license for comparison is invalidated and the trial license is invalidated. The trial license method for prohibiting trial use of the software according to the above. A trial license device for a computer using software,
MAC address reading means for reading a MAC (Media Access Control) address of a network adapter accommodated in the computer;
Date and time information providing means for providing the current date and time;
Each time the network adapter is replaced, a license for using the software only for a certain period based on the MAC address read by the MAC address reading unit and the current date and time provided by the date and time information providing unit. and the trial license information providing means for generating a trial license is,
A trial license information network adapter upper limit determination unit that counts the number of generations of trial licenses in the trial license information providing unit and determines whether the generation number exceeds a certain number;
With
The result of the determination, the case where it is determined to exceed a certain number, a trial license apparatus characterized by not perform generation of a new trial license even if replacement of subsequent network adapter.   The trial license device according to claim 7,
  As a result of the determination, when it is determined that the predetermined number is exceeded, all trial licenses generated in the past are invalidated and use of the software by all the trial licenses is prohibited. Trial license device.   The trial license device according to claim 7,
  The trial license is stored in the computer without being overwritten every time it is generated, and the network adapter to which the trial license has already been allocated by being accommodated in the computer is removed from the computer and removed. When the network adapter is accommodated again, the trial license device can use the software by using the trial license already assigned.   The trial license device according to claim 7,
  The trial license becomes invalid when a regular license for using the software is obtained from outside the computer. If the network adapter is replaced after that, the regular license becomes invalid and the trial license is used again. A trial license device characterized in that a license is generated.   A trial license device according to any one of claims 7 to 10,
  A plurality of network adapters are simultaneously accommodated in the computer, and the trial license apparatus generates the trial license for each MAC address of the plurality of network adapters.   The trial license device according to any one of claims 7 to 11,
  Compare the current date and time when the trial license to be compared this time is generated, and if the date and time of generation is later than the current date and time, the trial license for comparison is invalidated and the trial license is invalidated. The trial license device for prohibiting trial use of the software according to the above.

Images