Method of distributing piracy protected computer software

Abstract

A method and a system for disabling execution of a software application stored within a computer absent data indicative of an authorized use of the software application are disclosed. At start up or during execution of a software application a user is prompted for user authorization information. Using a processor within a smart card the received user authorization information is compared with user authorization information stored in memory of the smart card to produce a comparison result. If the comparison result is indicative of an authorized user of the software application, then data indicative of the authorized use of the software application is provided from the smart card to the computer. Upon receipt of the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application execution of the software application is continued. When the data is not data indicative of the authorized use of the software application further execution of the software application is disabled. For example, biometric information in the form of a fingerprint may be used for user authorization.

1. A method for protecting a software application from piracy, comprising the steps of:
 providingstoring data indicative of an authorised use of the software application; 
 executing a first portion of the software application; 
 receiving user authorisation information; 
 using a processor within a peripheral device, comparing the received user authorisation information with user authorisation information stored in memory of the peripheral device to produce a comparison result and, if the comparison result is indicative of the authorised user of the software application, providing data from the peripheral device to the computer, the data indicative of the authorised use of the software application on the computer; 
 executing a second portion of the software application only upon receipt of the data indicative of the authorised use of the software application; 
 transmitting data related to the software application to the peripheral device; and, comparing the received data with data stored in memory of the peripheral device using the processor of the peripheral device; 
 and wherein the step of providing data from the peripheral device comprises the step of:
 selecting the data indicative of the authorised use of the software application on the computer according to the data related to the software application, the data selected from a plurality of instances of data, each instance of data indicative of the authorised use of a different software application. 
 
 
     
     
       2. A method for protecting a software application from piracy, comprising the steps of:
 providingstoring data indicative of an authorised use of the software application; 
 executing a first portion of the software application; 
 receiving user authorisation information; 
 using a processor within a peripheral device, comparing the received user authorisation information with user authorisation information stored in memory of the peripheral device to produce a comparison result and, if the comparison result is indicative of the authorised user of the software application, providing data from the peripheral device to the computer, the data being indicative of the authorised use of the software application on the computer; 
 executing a second portion of the software application only upon receipt of the data indicative of the authorised use of the software application; 
 wherein the step of comparing the received user authorisation information with the user authorisation information stored in memory of the peripheral device to produce a comparison result comprises the step of:
 comparing the provided user authorisation information with a plurality of instances of user authorisation information stored in memory. 
 
 
     
     
       3. A method for protecting a software application from piracy as defined in The method of  claim 2 , wherein the step of providing data from the peripheral device further comprises the step of:
 selecting data indicative of the authorised use of the software application from a plurality of instances of data, the selection based on the user authorisation information provided. 
 
     
     
       4. A method for protecting a software application from piracy as defined in The method of  claim 3 , further comprising the step of:
 selecting a version of the software application based on the data indicative of the authorised use of the software application received from the peripheral device. 
 
     
     
       5. A method for protecting a software application from piracy, comprising the steps of:
 providingstoring data indicative of an authorised use of the software application; 
 executing a first portion of the software application; 
 receiving user authorisation information; 
 using a processor within a peripheral device, comparing the received user authorisation information with user authorisation information stored in memory of the peripheral device to produce a comparison result and, if the comparison result is indicative of the authorised user of the software application, providing data from the peripheral device to the computer, the data being indicative of the authorised use of the software application on the computer; 
 executing a second portion of the software application only upon receipt of the data indicative of the authorised use of the software application; 
 storing a first instance of data in memory of the peripheral device; 
 storing a second instance of data in memory of the peripheral device; and, 
 using the processor of the peripheral device, comparing the second instance of data with the first instance of data to produce a comparison result, and if the comparison result is indicative of an authorised use of the software application, providing data indicative of the authorised use of the software application and calculateing a new second instance of data to replace the second instance of data. 
 
     
     
       6. The method of claim 5 wherein the providing data from the peripheral device comprises selecting data indicative of the authorized use of the software application from a plurality of instances of data, the selection based on the user authorisation information provided. 
     
     
       7. The method of claim 6, further comprising selecting a version of the software application based on the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application received from the peripheral device. 
     
     
       8. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting a version of the software application based on the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application received from the peripheral device. 
     
     
       9. A system for protecting a software application from piracy comprising:
 a computer including a processor configured to unlock and execute a locked software application and an input device configured to accept user authorization information indicative of an authorized use of the software application; and   a peripheral device including a memory and a processor, the peripheral device being configured to receive the user authorisation information and the processor being configured to compare the received user authorization information with user authorization information stored in the memory to produce a comparison result and, if the comparison result is indicative of the authorized user of the software application, the peripheral device is configured to provide data to the computer, the data being indicative of the authorized use of the software application on the computer;   wherein the computer is configured to unlock the software application for execution upon receipt of the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application.   
     
     
       10. The system of claim 9 wherein the peripheral device comprises a smart card and the software application is configured to operate with a single smart card. 
     
     
       11. The system of claim 10 wherein the memory of the peripheral device includes a serial number of a processor authorized to execute the software application and the computer is configured to unlock the software application only if the serial number in the memory of the peripheral device matches the serial number of the processor of the computer. 
     
     
       12. The system of claim 9 wherein the peripheral device comprises a smart card that is secured with a password or biometric information and may not be accessed unless the computer provides a password or biometric information identifying the user. 
     
     
       13. The system of claim 9 wherein the peripheral device comprises a smart card, and wherein the computer is configured to periodically check for the presence of the smart card and to pause execution of the software until the smart card is detected and the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application is received. 
     
     
       14. The system of claim 9, further comprising a contact imager for scanning a fingerprint of a user, the contact imager providing biometric data representative of the user's fingerprint to the peripheral device for comparison with biometric data stored in the memory of the peripheral device, wherein the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application is provided to the computer if the user's biometric data matches the biometric data stored in the memory of the peripheral device. 
     
     
       15. The system of claim 9 wherein the software application is encrypted and the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application comprises a decryption key for decrypting the encrypted software application. 
     
     
       16. The system of claim 9 wherein the peripheral device comprises a smart card containing biometric data of a user authorized to execute the software application stored in the memory of the smart card, and wherein the system further comprises:
 a smart card reader comprising a memory including biometric data of the user of the computer and a processor configured to compare the biometric data from the smart card to biometric data stored in the memory of the smart card reader, wherein the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application is provided to the computer if the biometric data stored in the memory of the smart card reader matches the biometric data stored in the memory of the smart card.   
     
     
       17. The system of claim 9 wherein the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application is encrypted by the peripheral device using asymmetric encryption prior to transfer to the computer. 
     
     
       18. The system of claim 9 wherein the peripheral device comprises a smart card, and wherein the system further comprises a computer pointing device including a smart card reader and a contact imager. 
     
     
       19. The system of claim 9 wherein the peripheral device comprises a smart card and the input device comprises a keyboard including a smart card reader and a contact imager. 
     
     
       20. The system of claim 9 wherein the peripheral device comprises a smart card, and wherein the system further comprises a track pad having a pointing device including a capacitive contact imager to provide fingerprint information. 
     
     
       21. The system of claim 9 wherein the peripheral device comprises a smart card having a capacitive contact imager. 
     
     
       22. The system of claim 9 wherein the memory of the peripheral device includes user authorization information of a plurality of users, and wherein the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application is provided to the computer if the received user authorization information matches the user authorization information of at least one of the plurality of users. 
     
     
       23. The system of claim 9 wherein the memory of the peripheral device includes user authorization information relating to a specific version of the software application, and wherein the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application indicates which version of the software application the computer is authorized to unlock for execution. 
     
     
       24. The system of claim 23 wherein the computer comprises a server, and wherein the memory of the server includes different versions of the software application. 
     
     
       25. The system of claim 9 wherein during execution of the unlocked software application the computer periodically requests the input of user authorization information for continued execution of the software application. 
     
     
       26. The system of claim 9 wherein the peripheral device comprises a smart card, and wherein the memory of the smart card comprises data indicating a maximum number of executions of the software application permitted by the computer, and further wherein a number indicating a current count of the executions of the software application is compared to the maximum number of executions of the software application permitted by the computer and further execution of the software application is disabled if the number equals the maximum number. 
     
     
       27. The system of claim 9 wherein the peripheral device comprises a smart card, and wherein the memory of the smart card comprises data indicating a time period for which execution of the software application by the computer is permitted, and further wherein a time signal provided by the processor of the computer is compared to the time period stored in the memory of the smart card and further execution of the software application is disabled if the comparison indicates that the time period has expired. 
     
     
       28. The system of claim 9 wherein the peripheral device comprises a smart card, and wherein the memory of the smart card contains the biometric data of the user. 
     
     
       29. The system of claim 9 wherein the peripheral device comprises a smart card, and wherein the memory of the smart card comprises a write once ROM in which the user stores the user's biometric data upon installation of the software application in the computer. 
     
     
       30. A system for protecting software applications from piracy, the system comprising:
 a computer including a processor configured to unlock and execute a plurality of locked software applications and an input device configured to accept user authorization information indicative of an authorized use of one or more of the software applications; and   a peripheral device including a memory and a processor, wherein the peripheral device is in communication with the computer and configured to receive the user authorization information and identification of the one or more software applications for which authorization is requested, and wherein the processor is configured to compare the received user authorization information with user authorization information stored in the memory to produce a comparison result and, if the comparison result is indicative of the authorized user of the one or more software applications for which authorization is requested, the peripheral device is further configured to provide data to the computer, the data being indicative of the authorized use of the one or more of the software applications on the computer,   wherein the computer is configured to unlock the one or more software applications for execution upon receipt of the data indicative of the authorized use of the one or more software applications.   
     
     
       31. A system for protecting a software application from piracy comprising:
 a locked software application configured to be unlocked only by an authorized user; and   a smart card including a memory having user authorization information indicating an authorized user of the software application,   wherein during execution of the locked software application in a computer, the computer is configured to unlock the locked software application if user authorization information provided by the user matches the authorized user information stored in the smart card, and   wherein the smart card further comprises a processor configured to compare the received user authorization information with user authorization information stored in the memory to produce a comparison result and, if the comparison result is indicative of the authorized user of the software application, data indicative of the authorized use of the software application is provided to the computer to unlock the software application for execution.   
     
     
       32. The system of claim 31 wherein the software application is configured to operate with a single smart card. 
     
     
       33. The system of claim 31 wherein the smart card is secured with a password or biometric information and may not be accessed unless the computer provides a password or biometric information identifying the user. 
     
     
       34. The system of claim 31 wherein the memory of the smart card includes a serial number of a processor authorized to execute the software application, and wherein the computer is configured to unlock the software application only if the serial number in the memory of the smart card matches the serial number of a processor of the computer. 
     
     
       35. The system of claim 31 wherein the memory of the smart card includes biometric data that is compared to biometric data representative of the user's fingerprint, and wherein the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application is provided to the computer if the user's biometric data matches the biometric data stored in the memory of the peripheral device. 
     
     
       36. The system of claim 31 wherein the software application is encrypted, and wherein the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application is a decryption key for decrypting the encrypted software application. 
     
     
       37. The system of claim 31 wherein the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application is encrypted by the smart card using asymmetric encryption prior to transfer to the computer. 
     
     
       38. The system of claim 31 wherein the smart card includes a capacitive contact imager. 
     
     
       39. The system of claim 31 wherein the memory of the smart card includes user authorization information of a plurality of users, and wherein the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application is provided to the computer if the received user authorization information matches the user authorization information of at least one of the plurality of users. 
     
     
       40. The system of claim 31 wherein the memory of the smart card includes user authorization information relating to a specific version of the software application, and wherein the data indicative of the authorized use of the software application indicates which version of the software application the computer is authorized to unlock for execution. 
     
     
       41. The system of claim 31 wherein the memory of the smart card comprises data indicating a maximum number of executions of the software application permitted by the computer, wherein a number indicating a current count of the executions of the software application is compared to the maximum number of execution of the software application permitted by the computer and further execution of the software application is disabled if the number equals the maximum number. 
     
     
       42. The system of claim 31 wherein the memory of the smart card comprises data indicating a time period for which execution of the software application by the computer is permitted, and wherein a time signal provided by a processor of the computer is compared to the time period stored in the memory of the smart card and further execution of the software application is disabled if the comparison indicates that the time period has expired. 
     
     
       43. The system of claim 31 wherein the memory of the smart card contains the biometric data of the user. 
     
     
       44. The system of claim 31 wherein the memory of the smart card comprises a write once ROM in which the user stores the user's biometric data upon installation of the software application in the computer.