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EP-4736034-A1 - METHOD FOR MONITORING THE VALIDITY OF A LICENCE, COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT AND COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM

EP4736034A1EP 4736034 A1EP4736034 A1EP 4736034A1EP-4736034-A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method, in particular a computer-aided method, for monitoring the validity of a time-limited licence for a device (1), in particular for a functionality of a device (1), preferably for a software product on a device (1), of a user, wherein the device (1) is assigned a blockchain structure (6) on which data concerning private transactions are stored in a deferred manner, wherein the data each comprise a timestamp block with information concerning the time of the transaction, and the validity of the licence is monitored on the basis of at least one timestamp block, in particular the last timestamp block (7) available in the blockchain structure (6). Furthermore, the invention relates to a computer program product and to a computer-readable medium.

Inventors

  • Hinkelmann, Andreas
  • Singh, Saurabh Narayan

Assignees

  • Siemens Aktiengesellschaft

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240802

Claims (12)

  1. 1. Method, in particular a computer-aided method, for monitoring the validity of a time-limited license for a device (1), in particular for a functionality of a device (1), preferably for a software product on a device (1), of a user, wherein the device (1) is assigned a blockchain structure (6) on which data on private transactions are stored at a time delay, wherein the data each comprise a timestamp block with information on the time of the transaction and whether the license is valid is monitored using at least one timestamp block, in particular the last timestamp block (7) present in the blockchain structure (6), characterized in that the blockchain structure (6) is stored or saved on a blockchain network, that the license is assigned a non-fungible token (2), which represents the respective license and which is stored in a device-related wallet (4) for releasing the respective device (1), wherein transaction data for transferring the non-fungible token (2) to a wallet (4) are stored in a user-related sidechain of a blockchain data structure (5), that the initial transfer of the non-fungible token (2) into a device-related wallet generates a block with an activation timestamp (8) in the blockchain structure (6), and that the activation timestamp (8) is signed by the private licensing network.
  2. 2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the blockchain network z is arranged locally at the user, preferably comprising a plurality of nodes at the user.
  3. 3. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the non-fungible token (2) is created on the basis of a smart contract.
  4. 4. Method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the non-fungible token (2) is generated in a private licensing network of a user and is transferred in particular via the Internet into the respective device-related wallet (4).
  5. 5. Method according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the first transfer of the nonfungible token (2) into a device-related wallet (4) of a user generates the blockchain structure (6)
  6. 6. Method according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the non-fungible token (2) contains information on the maximum period of use of the license, wherein, in particular, the smart contract causes the non-fungible token (2) to query the last available time stamp block (7) of the blockchain structure (6) and, based thereon, to calculate the remaining period of use of the non-fungible token (2) or of the license represented by it.
  7. 7. Method according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the private transactions are triggered by a time recording smart contract (9), wherein, in particular, the time recording smart contract (9) causes the call of a user-side Network Time Protocol (NTP) server (13) at regular intervals, wherein, preferably, the time recording smart contract (9) triggers a new private transaction upon contact with the user-side NTP server, for which data is stored in the blockchain structure (6), which contains a time stamp block (7) with information on current time based on the user-supplied NTP server (13).
  8. 8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that the time recording smart contract (9) causes the call of an external NTP server (14), in particular an NTP server of the private licensing network, at regular intervals.
  9. 9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the time recording smart contract (9) triggers a new private transaction upon contact with the external NTP server, the transaction data of which are stored in the blockchain structure (6) and comprise a time stamp block (7) with information on the current time based on the external NTP server (14).
  10. 10. Method according to one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that the time recording smart contract (9) triggers private transactions at regular intervals, the data of which are stored in the blockchain structure (6), which comprises a time stamp block (7) with information on the current time based on the internal clock of the device (1).
  11. 11. Computer program product which is designed to carry out the method according to one of the preceding claims when it is installed on a computer or on a computer network.
  12. 12. A computer-readable medium on which the computer program product according to claim 11 is stored.

Description

Description Method for monitoring the validity of a license, computer program product and computer-readable medium The present invention relates to a method, in particular a computer-aided method, for monitoring the validity of a time-limited license for a device, in particular for a functionality of a device, preferably for a software product on a device, of a user. Furthermore, the invention relates to a computer program product and a computer-readable medium. Particularly with software products, the business model whereby users acquire a right to use or a license for a software product for a specific period of time is becoming increasingly established. This means that after purchase and payment, the software product provided by a provider can be used for a defined period of time. The provider of the software product wants to ensure that after this period of use has expired, further use is no longer possible, or that an extension or a new purchase of the software product is necessary. The publication US 2023/ 0104585 Al - Zhang "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MONITORING SOFTWARE LICENSE INFORMATION, AND SERVER AND STORAGE MEDIUM" discloses the use of blockchain technology for the purposes of license management of digital products. The publication US 2023/0245102 Al - Mistele "NON FUNGIBLE TOKEN (NET) BASED LICENSING AND DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT (DRM) FOR SOFTWARE AND OTHER DIGITAL ASSETS" also uses blockchain technology to show how the license information is represented in a non-fungible token (NET). The publication US 2018/0314809 Al - Mintz et al. "ENTITLEMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM" combines blockchain technology with a smart contract concept for the license management of digital products, whereby a license token can contain executable code to validate access to the digital product. Such devices usually have an internal clock. Based on such internal time information, it is easy to monitor whether a license for a device, for example for a software product, is still valid or whether the license has expired in the meantime. Such monitoring is relatively simple, but not tamper-proof. As a rule, every device gives the user the option of changing the date and time on the internal clock. In practice, it would be possible to regularly reset the date so that - despite the expiration of the time-limited license - the license is still recognized as valid. This would mean that the device could continue to be used practically indefinitely without any problems. To counteract this problem, it is possible to connect the device in question to a Network Time Protocol (NTP) server. In particular, this can be a trusted, i.e. a particularly reliable NTP server. In this way, the correct time can be made available permanently. A Manipulation of the time is no longer possible. However, this solution is not suitable for all devices, especially since devices located in industrial plants, for example, are often not connected to the Internet and therefore a permanent connection to an NTP server is not possible. In addition, additional communication channels are required, which involves increased effort. In order to prevent unauthorized copying of licenses by a user, blockchain technology is increasingly being used to manage licenses. In this case, non-fungible tokens, i.e. unique, non-replicable tokens, can be used as digital twins of licenses. These are usually generated and provided by a provider and transferred to a wallet assigned to the respective device in order to release the device or a functionality of the device, preferably a software product on this device, for use by the user. Transaction data relating to the transfer to the device-related wallet is stored in a blockchain data structure. Due to the high level of security against manipulation of the blockchain data structure, it is determined which device from which user has the license. On the other hand, unauthorized duplication of the nonfungible token representing the license or manipulation of the blockchain data structure is largely excluded due to synchronization in a large number of nodes in a blockchain network. However, blockchain technology does not usually have a system clock, but rather only assigns a timestamp to the block in question, which reflects the time of the transaction. As long as no new Blocks are created, so no new timestamp is generated, which makes monitoring the remaining period of use of a license very difficult. In other words, the timestamp does not indicate the current time, but only the time of the last transaction. Another problem here is that the devices are not always permanently connected to the network, i.e. to other nodes in the blockchain network. In addition, the timestamps are based on probabilistic processes, so that a deviation from the real system time can occur. Against this background, the object of the present invention is to provide a method for monitoring the validity of a time-limited license, which is characterized by a high