Process for implementing a method for the on-line sale of software product use licenses through a data network, and software component which allows carrying out said process

Abstract

Online sale of software product use licenses through a data network by offering software products (SOFT) through vendor sites, purchasing a license on-line on one of said vendor sites, and activating said license on-line by a different licensing site. A specific component (COMP) is provided with the software product (SOFT) and identifying data (IDV) of the vendor site are transmitted during the download of the software product (SOFT). When the component (COMP) is executed in an equipment, the component (COMP) locally accesses said data (IDV) and identifying data (IDL) of the licensing site and activates the license by setting up an on-line communication with the licensing site.

1 . A method of selling on-line, through a data network, software products use licenses, comprising:
 offering online, by a plurality of vendor sites, each of said software products to be downloaded on-line according to respective online downloading processes;   offering for purchase online a use license for one of said software products offered by one of said vendor sites and downloaded on-line; and   activating online the use license purchased according to the offering for purchase online the use license, by a licensing site different from said vendor sites.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 incorporating a software component with the software product;   executing by an equipment said software component together with said software product for managing the activating the purchased use license for said software product by the licensing site; and   associating a vendor site identifier to each of said on-line downloading processes of the software product by the vendor sites,   wherein the executing software component locally accesses said vendor site identifier, locally accesses identifying data of the licensing site, and launches a process for the managing the activating said purchased use license for the software product based upon the vendor site identifier and the identifying data of the licensing site.   
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the process for the managing the activating said purchased use license for the software product comprises setting up an on-line communication with said licensing site during which said software component obtains from said licensing site activation data necessary for activating said purchased use license. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein said identifying data of said licensing site is incorporated with said software product. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein said identifying data of said licensing site is incorporated with said software component. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 3 , wherein said software component activates the purchased use license for said software product after obtaining from the licensing site said activation data. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 3 ,
 wherein the offering for purchase online, by the vendor site, the use license for the software product comprises providing, from said vendor site, a purchase receipt, and   wherein said executing software component further comprise locally accessing said purchase receipt and transmitting the purchase receipt to said licensing site during said on-line communication, and   further comprising obtaining, by the executing software component, said activation data, based upon the purchase receipt.   
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the vendor site provides the purchase receipt by transmitting the purchase receipt to said licensing site prior to the obtaining by the executing software component said activation data. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to any of  claims 1 , further comprising:
 setting up, by an acquisition site, an on-line communication with one of said vendor sites; and   performing, by the acquisition site, said on-line downloading process for the software product as well as said on-line purchase of the use license for said software product.   
     
     
         10 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the executing software component further comprise locally accessing the vendor site identifier, setting up an on-line communication with said vendor site, and operating said on-line purchase of the use license for said software product. 
     
     
         11 . The method according to  claim 10 ,
 wherein the executing software component further comprises setting up an on-line communication with said licensing site and transmitting the vendor site identifier to said licensing site, and   further comprising:
 authorizing, by said licensing site, the on-line purchase of the software product on said vendor site, based upon the vendor site identifier; and 
 purchasing the use license for said software product according to the authorizing of the online purchase by the licensing site. 
   
     
     
         12 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising introducing the vendor site identifier in a downloadable file downloaded together with said software product during said online downloading process. 
     
     
         13 . The method according to  claim 2 ,
 wherein said software product is contained in a single downloadable file which is downloaded during said on-line downloading process, and   further comprising introducing the vendor site identifier as file properties metadata of said single downloadable file.   
     
     
         14 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the introducing said vendor site identifier as file properties metadata of said single downloadable file is done in each of said vendor sites prior to said software product online downloading process. 
     
     
         15 . The method according to  claim 13 , wherein the introducing said vendor site identifier as file properties metadata of said single downloadable file is done during said on-line downloading process. 
     
     
         16 . The method according to  claim 2 , wherein the associating the vendor site identifier comprises transmitting to a user, who operates said on-line downloading process, a code which is subsequently provided during the executing by the equipment said software component. 
     
     
         17 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising intervening, by a single supervising site different from said licensing site and from said vendor site, as an intermediary function among said software component, said vendor site and said licensing site. 
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein said single supervising site intervenes as an intermediary function in said on-line downloading process of the software product. 
     
     
         19 . A computer readable medium storing a software component for controlling an apparatus for managing activation of a use license for a software product incorporating the software component when said software product has been purchased online from a vendor site through downloading the software product to the apparatus, by:
 locally at the apparatus accessing identifying data of said vendor site and identifying data of a licensing site;   activating said use license for the software product by obtaining from said licensing site activation data necessary for activating said use license.   
     
     
         20 . The computer readable medium according to  claim 19 , further comprising incorporating said identifying data of the licensing site, and
 wherein the locally at the apparatus accessing comprises retrieving the licensing site identifying data.   
     
     
         21 . The computer readable medium according to  claim 19 , further comprising activating the use license for said software product according to the activation data. 
     
     
         22 . The computer readable medium according to  claim 19 , further comprising locally at the apparatus accessing a purchase receipt of the use license and transmitting said purchase receipt to said licensing site for the obtaining said activation data from said licensing site. 
     
     
         23 . The computer readable medium according to  claim 19 , further comprising setting up an on-line communication with said vendor site and purchasing online the use license for said software product. 
     
     
         24 . The computer readable medium according to  claim 19 , further comprising setting up an on-line communication with said licensing site, and transmitting said identifying data of the vendor site to said licensing site for authorizing by the licensing site the on-line purchase on said vendor site. 
     
     
         25 . The computer readable medium according to  claim 19 , wherein the locally at the apparatus accessing said identifying data of the vendor site comprises reading the vendor site identifying data from a file. 
     
     
         26 . The computer readable medium according to  claim 19 , wherein the locally at the apparatus accessing said identifying data of the vend or site comprises reading the vendor site identifying data from file properties metadata of a file containing said software product. 
     
     
         27 . The computer readable medium according to  claim 19 , wherein the locally at the apparatus accessing said identifying data of the vendor site comprises requesting input of a code previously transmitted to a user by said vendor site during the on-line downloading of said software product. 
     
     
         28 . The method according to  claim 9 , wherein the acquisition site is a hosting server, and the method further comprises:
 acquiring, by the hosting server, the software product from the one vendor site; and   granting, by the hosting server as a vendor site, rental licenses for the software product according to the offering online by the vendor sites the software product and offering for purchase online the use license for the software product.   
     
     
         29 . The method according to  claim 17 , further comprising:
 registering the licensing site, the software products and conditions for the offering online by the plurality sites the software products and the software products use licenses, with the supervising site; and   registering the vendor sites with the supervising site,   wherein the supervising site intervenes as an intermediary function, based upon the registering the licensing and the vendor sites, in said on-line downloading process of the software product, said online purchase of the use license for the software product, or the managing the activating said purchased use license for the software product, or any combinations thereof.   
     
     
         30 . The method according to  claim 29 , wherein the supervising site provides the software component to the licensing site for the incorporating the software component with the software product. 
     
     
         31 . The method according to  claim 7 , wherein the purchase receipt contains the vendor site identifier and a type of the purchased use license for the software product, in response to receipt of a payment for the software product. 
     
     
         32 . A method of selling on-line a software product use license through a plurality of vendor sites, comprising:
 offering for online downloading the software product, by the plurality of vendor sites;   selling online, by the plurality of vendor sites, a use license for a software product downloaded into a device according to the offering; and   activating the use license for the downloaded software product by a licensing site different from the vendor sites.   
     
     
         33 . The method according to  claim 32 , further comprising:
 associating an identifier of one of the vendor sites, as a vendor site identifier, with the downloaded software product; and   incorporating a software component with the downloaded software product,   wherein the activating the use license comprises executing the software component to control the device by:
 authenticating the one vendor site based upon the vendor site identifier, and 
 obtaining activation data for the use license from the licensing site, based upon the authenticating the one vendor site. 
   
     
     
         34 . The method according to  claim 33 , wherein the authenticating the one vendor site by the executing software component comprises:
 transmitting the vendor site identifier to the licensing site,   receiving a purchase authorization for the downloaded software product from the licensing site, in response to the transmitting the vendor site identifier, and   purchasing the use license from the one vendor site according to the purchase authorization from the licensing site.   
     
     
         35 . The method according to  claim 33 , further comprising providing by the one vendor site a purchase receipt including the associated vendor site identifier. 
     
     
         36 . The method according to  claim 34 , wherein the downloaded software product has a trial period. 
     
     
         37 . The method according to  claim 35 , wherein the downloaded software product is other than a demonstration version type. 
     
     
         38 . The method according to  claim 32 , wherein a manufacturer of the software product manages the licensing site. 
     
     
         39 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a first server
 offering a software product for online downloading, 
 selling a use license for the software product downloaded according to the offering; 
   a second server authorizing activation of the use license sold for the downloaded software product; and   a client
 communicating with the first and second servers, 
 downloading the software product and purchasing the use license for the downloaded software product, from the first server, and 
 activating the use license for the downloaded software product from the second server authorizing the activation of the use license for the downloaded software product. 
   
     
     
         40 . The apparatus according to  claim 39 , further comprising a third server providing a use license activator,
 wherein:
 the second server incorporates the use license activator with the software product, 
 the first server associates a first server identifier with the downloaded software product, and 
 the activating the use license by the client comprises executing the use license activator to control the client by:
 authenticating the first server based upon the first server identifier, and obtaining activation data for the use license from the second server, based upon the authenticating the first server. 
 
   
     
     
         41 . The method according to  claim 2 , further comprising:
 setting up, by an acquisition site, an on-line communication with one of said vendor sites; and   performing, by the acquisition site, said on-line downloading process for the software product as well as said on-line purchase of the use license for said software product.   
     
     
         42 . A computer readable medium storing a software product incorporating a software component for controlling an apparatus for managing activation of a use license for said software product when said software product has been purchased online from a vendor site through downloading the software product to the apparatus, by:
 locally at the apparatus accessing identifying data of said vendor site and identifying data of a licensing site;   activating said use license for the software product by obtaining from said licensing site activation data necessary for activating said use license.