Systems and methods for secure transaction management and electronic rights protection

Abstract

The present invention provides systems and methods for secure transaction management and electronic rights protection. Electronic appliances such as computers equipped in accordance with the present invention help to ensure that information is accessed and used only in authorized ways, and maintain the integrity, availability, and/or confidentiality of the information. Such electronic appliances provide a distributed virtual distribution environment (VDE) that may enforce a secure chain of handling and control, for example, to control and/or meter or otherwise monitor use of electronically stored or disseminated information. Such a virtual distribution environment may be used to protect rights of various participants in electronic commerce and other electronic or electronic-facilitated transactions. Distributed and other operating systems, environments and architectures, such as, for example, those using tamper-resistant hardware-based processors, may establish security at each node. These techniques may be used to support an all-electronic information distribution, for example, utilizing the “electronic highway.”

1 - 90 . (canceled)  
     
     
         91 . A method of securely managing a document to protect the rights of a first entity having rights to the document, the method comprising: 
 securely receiving the document from the first entity at an electronic appliance of a second entity, the document having one or more electronic controls associated therewith, the controls expressing one or more conditions that must be satisfied in order to make at least one use of the document; and    allowing the second entity to make use of the document in accordance with the one or more controls;    wherein the electronic appliance or software running thereon is operable to impede the second entity from making the at least one use of the document without satisfying the one or more conditions.    
     
     
         92 . The method of  claim 91 , wherein at least one of the one or more conditions relates to a period of time during which access by the second entity may be allowed.  
     
     
         93 . The method of  claim 91 , further comprising: 
 removing the document from the second entity after expiry of a set period of time.    
     
     
         94 . The method of  claim 91 , further comprising: 
 rendering the document unusable by the second entity.    
     
     
         95 . The method of  claim 91 , wherein at least one of the one or more conditions relates to a right to transfer the document to a third entity.  
     
     
         96 . The method of  claim 95 , further comprising: 
 notifying the first entity of a transfer of the document to the third entity.    
     
     
         97 . The method of  claim 96 , wherein the notifying occurs before the transfer of the document to the third entity.  
     
     
         98 . The method of  claim 91 , wherein software running on the electronic appliance is operable to perform said allowing step.  
     
     
         99 . The method of  claim 98 , wherein the electronic appliance or software running thereon is operable to impede the second entity from tampering with the electronic appliance's performance of said allowing step.  
     
     
         100 . A method of controlling access to an electronic file by at least a first entity, a second entity having rights to the electronic file, the method comprising: 
 delivering a secure electronic copy of the file to an electronic appliance associated with the first entity;    assessing a level of access that the first entity will have to the secure electronic copy, the assessment based, at least in part, on at least one control delivered to the electronic appliance in connection with the secure electronic copy; and    granting the first entity access to the secure electronic copy, the access limited, at least in part, in accordance with the assessed level of access, thereby protecting the rights of the second entity.    
     
     
         101 . The method of  claim 100 , wherein the level of access granted includes at least the right to view the contents of the secure electronic copy.  
     
     
         102 . The method of  claim 101 , wherein the level of access is limited such that the first entity can view the contents of the secure electronic copy no more than a set number of times.  
     
     
         103 . The method of  claim 100 , wherein the secure electronic copy includes contents that may be printed in human-readable format, the level of access granted including at least a right to print the contents.  
     
     
         104 . The method of  claim 100 , wherein delivering a secure electronic copy of the electronic file includes authenticating the first entity.  
     
     
         105 . The method of  claim 104 , wherein authenticating the first entity comprises accessing at least one identifier associated with the first entity; and wherein granting the first entity access to the secure electronic copy further comprises: 
 determining the level of access based, at least in part, on the identifier.    
     
     
         106 . A method comprising: 
 securely receiving an electronic file at a first organization;    associating one or more controls with the electronic file;    determining the rights of a second organization to the electronic file based, at least in part, on the one or more controls;    transferring a copy of the electronic file to the second organization; and    receiving at the first organization a notification that the second organization has accessed or otherwise used the copy of the electronic file, thereby permitting the first organization to monitor access to or other use of the copy of the electronic file by the second organization.    
     
     
         107 . The method of  claim 106 , further comprising: 
 billing for one or more uses of the copy of the electronic file by the second organization.    
     
     
         108 . The method of  claim 106 , wherein the rights of the second organization include a right to modify the copy of the electronic file.  
     
     
         109 . The method of  claim 108 , further comprising: 
 maintaining the electronic file, or a copy thereof, at the first organization.    
     
     
         110 . The method of  claim 109 , wherein when the copy of the electronic file is modified at the second organization, the modifications are also subsequently made to the electronic file, or the copy thereof, maintained at the first organization.  
     
     
         111 . The method of  claim 110 , wherein when the electronic file, or the copy thereof, maintained at the first organization is modified, the first organization transfers a modified copy of the electronic file to at least a third organization.  
     
     
         112 . The method of  claim 110 , further comprising: 
 receiving at the first organization a notification that the second organization has modified the copy of the electronic file.    
     
     
         113 . A computer program package stored on a computer readable medium, the computer program package including instructions that, if executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform operations comprising: 
 requesting from a first entity rights to an electronic document;    receiving from the first entity a secure electronic copy of the document;    receiving from the first entity a control set associated with the secure electronic copy of the document, the control set expressing a set of one or more rights to the electronic copy of the document; and    accessing or otherwise using the electronic copy of the document in accordance with the set of one or more rights.    
     
     
         114 . The computer program package of  claim 113 , wherein at least one right in the set of rights is limited in duration.  
     
     
         115 . The computer program package of  claim 113 , wherein the control set and the electronic copy of the document are received together in a secure container.  
     
     
         116 . The computer program package of  claim 113 , further comprising instructions that, if executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to: 
 render the document unusable by the first entity.    
     
     
         117 . The computer program package of  claim 113 , wherein the set of rights includes the right to transfer a copy of the document to a second entity.  
     
     
         118 . The computer program package of  claim 117 , further comprising instructions that, if executed by a computer system, cause the system to: 
 notify the first entity of a transfer of the document to the second entity.    
     
     
         119 . The computer program package of  claim 118 , wherein the notification of the first entity occurs before the transfer of the copy of the document to the second entity.