Method and system for licensing digital works

Abstract

A method and system is presented for a digital licensing scheme that separates the license from the digital file containing the copyrightable material. According to the present invention, the files can be downloaded from any server, and transferred from user to user, even after the file has been licensed. The present invention utilizes producer software running on a vendor's computer, server software running on a computer provided by the license provider, and player software operating on the user's computer. Digitally encrypted communication streams keep communications between the producer software, the license provider, and the player software confidential. A software component running on the user's computer checks to make sure that the appropriate product license has been purchased. This is accomplished by comparing the product ID in the product license with the product ID contained in the product file. The software also checks that the person seeking to play the product file is the user that actually paid for the license. This is accomplished by comparing the user ID in the product license with a user ID in a user license. Finally, an operating system ID found in the user license is compared with the same information obtained from the currently running operating system, to ensure that the user license was created for the currently operating computer.

1 . A method for distributing digital licenses over a computer network from a centralized database for a product comprising the steps of: 
 a) registering a vendor's product by storing a product identifier in conjunction with an encryption key and providing said encryption key to said vendor to use to encrypt said product; and    b) issuing a product license to a user, via a computer network, said product license including said product identifier information, but not said product itself, and a decryption key that mates with said encryption key.    
     
     
         2 . A method for distributing digital licenses for a digital product comprising the steps of: 
 a) receiving a request, via a computer network, for product registration from a vendor, said request including a product name and a vendor identifier;    b) assigning a product identifier and an encryption key to said product and forwarding registration to vendor, said registration including a product identifier, said key and said vendor identifier;    c) receiving a request, via a computer network, from a user for a user license, said request including a user name and payment information;    d) assigning a user identifier to said user and forwarding a user license, via a computer network, to said user, said license including said user identifier;    e) receiving a request, via a computer network, for a product license from said user to use said product, said request including said user identifier and said product identifier;    f) issuing a product license to said user, via a computer network, said product license including a user identifier, the product identifier and a decryption key that mates with said encryption key.    
     
     
         3 . A method for obtaining a license for digitally distributed material, comprising the steps of: 
 a) downloading encrypted digital material carrying a product identifier;    b) purchasing a digital product license to use the material, said product license including a decryption key to decrypt the material and the product identifier.    
     
     
         4 . A method according to  claim 3 , further comprising the steps of: 
 c) obtaining a user license, said user license including a user identifier;    and wherein said digital license includes said user identifier.    
     
     
         5 . A method of obtaining a user license, comprising the steps of: 
 a) establishing a connection for data transmission between the user's computer and a license provider's computer;    b) transmitting via said data connection to the license provider a request for a user license including a user name and a system identifier that is unique to the user's computer;    c) receiving via data connection a user license from the license provider, said user license including a user identifier assigned by the license provider.    
     
     
         6 . A method of obtaining a user license according to  claim 5 , further comprising the step of: 
 d) storing the user license on said user's computer.    
     
     
         7 . A method of obtaining a user license according to  claim 5 , further comprising the steps of selecting and transmitting a password to the license provider and said user license incorporating said password.  
     
     
         8 . A system for distributing user licenses, said system including: 
 a) a server connected to a user computer for data connection therebetween;    b) means for receiving from the user via said data connection a request for a user license, said request including a system identifier;    c) means for assigning and storing a unique user identifier in association with said system identifier d) a database for storing user license records, each said user license record including a user identifier and a system identifier.    
     
     
         9 . A system for distributing user licenses according to  claim 8 , wherein each said user license record includes a user name.  
     
     
         10 . A system for distributing user licenses according to  claim 8 , wherein each said user license record includes a password.  
     
     
         11 . A system for distributing user licenses according to  claim 8 , wherein each said user license record includes the user's credit card number.  
     
     
         12 . A system for distributing licenses for a product, comprising: 
 a) a product registration process for assigning to a product a unique product identifier and an encryption key;    b) a user registration process for assigning to a user a unique user identifier; and    c) a license distribution process coupled to the user registration process and to the product registration process for providing to the user a product license containing the user identifier and a decryption key that mates with said encryption key.    
     
     
         13 . A system for managing rights in digital material comprising: 
 a) means for downloading a digital media product containing a product identifier;    b) means for storing downloaded digital material;    c) registry in device for playing the material, the registry containing a system identifier;    d) user license stored in the registry of the media player device, said user license containing a user identifier;    e) product license stored in memory that is operationally accessible to software running on the player, said product license containing the product identifier and the user identifier of the person authorized to play the material;    f) software for comparing the user identifier in the product license to the user identifier on the user license each time the software receives a request to play the product.    
     
     
         14 . A method for managing licenses for digital data comprising: 
 a) assigning a vendor ID to owners of rights in digital data;    b) registering a collection of digital data as a product with a product database, and assigning a product ID and an encryption key to the product;    c) storing the product ID and the encryption key with the vendor ID in the product database;    d) encrypting at least a portion of the collection of digital data with the encryption key, and    e) storing the encrypted digital data and product ID in a product file.    
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , further comprising: 
 f) assigning a user ID to a user who desires access to the encrypted digital data;    g) storing the user ID and a payment mechanism in a user database; and    h) storing the user ID and the payment mechanism electronically as a user license such that the user can access the user license without referring to the user database.    
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , further comprising: 
 i) receiving a request from the user to purchase access to the product file, the request including the product ID and the user ID;    j) verifying that the product ID is found in the product database and the user ID is found in the user database;    k) using the payment mechanism stored in the user database with the user ID to secure payment;    l) storing the user ID and the product ID in a product license database; and    m) storing as a product license the encryption key associated with the product ID in the product database along with the user ID and the product ID, such that the user can access the product license without referring to the product license database.    
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising: 
 n) in response to a request by the user to access the product file, searching for the product license containing the product ID of the product file;    o) comparing the user ID in the found product license with the user ID found in an accessible user license;    p) using the encryption key in the found product license to decrypt the encrypted digital data found in the product file.    
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the product database, the user database, and the product license database are combined into a single database.