The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 04, 1998
Filed:
Feb. 26, 1996
Christopher D Coley, Morgan Hill, CA (US);
Ralph E Wesinger, Jr, Livermore, CA (US);
Network Engineering Software, Inc., San Jose, CA (US);
Abstract
Methods and apparatuses are disclosed for providing a system for automatically tracking use of a software and also for determining whether the software is validly licensed and enabling or disabling the software accordingly. Exemplary systems involve attaching a licensing system module to a software application. Records of valid licenses are stored in the database maintained by the software provider. The licensing system module transparently forms a license record inquiry message. The message is transparently sent to the database over a public network, such as the Internet, to determine whether a valid license record exists in the database for the software application. The database forms and returns an appropriate response message that is interpreted by the licensing system module. The software application can then be appropriately enabled or disabled by the licensing system module. The receipt of the license record inquiry can be recorded in the database to monitor software use.