JP2015109057A - License management server, license system, control method of license management server, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately perform each of processes relating to license management even in the case where an owner lends and operates a software article.SOLUTION: A license management server includes: an owner DB storage unit 61 which stores an owner management database DB1 managing owners of job applications; a borrower DB storage unit 62 which stores a borrower management database DB2 managing borrowers of the job applications 22; and a license management unit 51 which issues a license of each job application 22 to the borrower of the relevant job application 22 on the basis of the borrower management database DB2, and transmits management information relating to license management of each job application 22 to the owner of the relevant job application 22.

Description

  The present invention relates to a license management server, a license system, a method for controlling a license management server, and a program for managing licenses for a plurality of software products.

  Conventionally, as a license management server, in response to a content distribution request from a user, content (digital works such as music, movies, computer programs, etc.) is distributed, and a license ticket that enables the user to use the distributed content There is known one that is issued in response to a request from a user (see Patent Document 1). The license management server has a license information database that stores license usage rights of each user, and performs license management of each content based on the license information database. Further, the license management server has a right transfer function, and transfers the license usage right of the content from the transferor to the transferee based on the right transfer request from the user.

JP 2003-58657 A

By the way, when operating a business application for accounting work in an accounting office, an operation method is known in which a business application is lent to an advisor from the accounting office and used. In such a case, it is required to enable license authentication of the business application at the terminal of the rented advisor.
However, in the conventional configuration described above, the license management server stores and manages the owner of the content (license usage right), so that the license authentication from the lent advisor cannot be performed normally. was there. In other words, since the owner of the business application is an accounting firm, the license issue request from the adviser who is the loanee is determined to be illegal. On the other hand, it may be possible to transfer the license usage right from the accounting firm to the consultant and make the consultant the owner of the business application. Since it is transmitted first, inconvenience arises.

  The present invention provides a license management server, a license system, a license management server control method, and a program capable of appropriately performing each process related to license management even when an owner lends and operates a software product. It is an issue.

  The license management server of the present invention is a license management server that performs license management of a plurality of software products, and an owner DB storage unit that stores an owner management database that manages the owner of each software product, and each software product To a loanee DB storage unit for storing a loanee management database for managing a loanee who has been lent each software product from the owner of the software, and to a loanee of each software product based on the loanee management database A license management unit that issues a license for each software product and transmits management information related to the license management of each software product to the owner of each software product based on the owner management database. It is characterized by that.

  In this case, the management information is preferably billing information for the usage fee of each software product.

  The management information is preferably maintenance information for each software product.

  Furthermore, according to the software product loan application, the loan management database further includes a loanee registration unit for registering the loanee, and the owner management database includes the product identification information of the software product and the owner's user. Preferably, the ID is stored in association with the owned ID, and the loanee registration unit records the ownership ID and the user ID of the loanee in association with the loan ID in the loanee management database.

  A method for controlling a license management server according to the present invention is a method for controlling a license management server that performs license management of a plurality of software products, and an owner DB storage that stores an owner management database that manages the owner of each software product. Each software product based on the step, a loanee DB storage step for storing a loanee management database for managing a loanee lent the software product from the owner of each software product, and the loanee management database Based on the license issuance step for issuing a license for each software product to the product lender and the owner management database, management information relating to the license management of each software product is provided to the owner of each software product. And a management information transmission step for transmission. And wherein the Rukoto.

  According to these configurations, by storing both the owner management database and the loanee management database, the necessary processing (license issuance) for the loanee is performed on the loanee, Processing necessary for the owner (transmission of management information) can be performed for the owner. Therefore, even when the owner lends and operates the software product, each process related to license management can be appropriately performed.

  A license system according to the present invention is a license system including the above-described license management server and a client terminal that receives a license issued from the license management server. The license management server is a software product for the client terminal. The client terminal issues a common license that can be used for all versions of the software product, and the client terminal determines whether to unlock the software product based on the issued common license.

  According to this configuration, it is not necessary to perform license authentication (transmission of a license issuance request) for each version by issuing a common license for all versions and performing an unlock determination of the software product based on the common license. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform license authentication every time a new version is released, and the trouble of license authentication can be eliminated. Note that, as software products, for example, software products that are used in accounting operations and have different versions for each fiscal year are assumed.

  In this case, the common license is preferably a trial version common license for operating software products as trial versions.

  According to this configuration, the trial version (with limited usage) is issued a common license, and the software product is unlocked based on the common license. There is no need to send a request. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of license authentication for the trial version, and to promote the willingness to purchase the regular version.

  Another license system of the present invention is a license system comprising the above-described license management server and a client terminal that receives a license issued from the license management server. The client terminal prints a license issuance request document. It has a print data generation unit that generates print data, and the print data generation unit inserts terminal-specific information of the client terminal itself into a license issuance request document.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to print a license issuance request document in which terminal-specific information is inserted in advance, so that it is not necessary for the user himself to enter the terminal-specific information. Therefore, there is no mistake in entering terminal-specific information, and the trouble of entry by the user can be eliminated.

  A program according to the present invention causes a computer to execute each step in the above-described license management server control method.

  According to this configuration, it is possible to cause the computer to execute the above-described control method of the license management server simply by installing the program on the computer.

1 is a system configuration diagram of a license system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is the block diagram which showed the control structure of the owner terminal (a) and the loanee terminal (b). It is the block diagram which showed the control structure of the license management server. It is the figure which showed the owner management database (a) and the loanee management database (b). It is the flowchart which showed starting operation of the business application. It is the flowchart which showed the license issue operation by the license management server. It is the figure which showed an example of the license issue request document to print.

  Hereinafter, a license management server, a license system, a license management server control method, and a program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the present embodiment, a license management server to which the present invention is applied and a license system including the same are illustrated. This license system handles business applications (for example, income tax calculation application and corporate tax calculation application) used for accounting work as software products, and is a system that issues a license to a client terminal in which the business application is installed. is there. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that a user who purchases and owns a business application lends and operates the business application to another user. Hereinafter, a user who owns a business application (ownership) is referred to as an owner, and a user who is lent the business application by the owner is referred to as a loanee. In the example of FIG. 1, the owner is an accounting office and the loanee is a consultant of the accounting office.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the license system 1 includes an owner terminal 2 that is a client terminal of the owner of the business application 22, a loanee terminal 3 that is a client terminal of a loanee of the business application 22, the Internet, and the like. A license management server 4 connected to the owner terminal 2 and the loanee terminal 3 via the network NW. The business application 22 lent to the loanee from the owner is installed on the loanee terminal 3 and used by the loanee terminal 3. Further, the license management server 4 performs license management for a plurality of business applications 22 including the loaned business applications 22.

  The owner terminal 2, the loanee terminal 3, and the license management server 4 are configured by a computer, and include an input means 7 having a keyboard 5, a mouse 6 and the like, and a display means 9 having a display 8 and the like. . Although not shown, the communication device includes a communication unit that performs data communication and a control unit that controls each unit.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the control structure of the owner terminal 2, the loanee terminal 3, and the license management server 4 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2A, the owner terminal 2 has a loan application unit 11, a management information receiving unit 12, and a management information display unit 13.

  The loan application unit 11 transmits a loan application for the business application 22 to the license management server 4 by communication means. The loan application includes the product code of the business application 22, the user information (user ID, password, etc.) of the owner, and the user information (user ID, password, etc.) of the loanee. Further, the loan application is transmitted in such a manner that these pieces of information are input to a web page on the license management server 4.

  The management information receiving unit 12 receives management information related to license management of the business application 22 from the license management server 4 by communication means. The management information receiving unit 12 receives billing information for the usage fee of the business application 22 or maintenance information (update information, defect information, etc.) of the business application 22 as the management information. The management information display unit 13 displays the received management information of the business application 22 by the display unit 9.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the loanee terminal 3 has a license management program 21 and the business application 22 installed. The license management program 21 is a program for managing the license of the business application 22 and includes a license storage unit 21 a that stores a license file of the business application 22. In this embodiment, since only one business application 22 is installed, the license management program 21 manages only one business application 22, but when a plurality of business applications 22 are installed. The license management program 21 performs overall license management for a plurality of business applications 22.

  The license storage unit 21a stores a license file acquired by the business application 22 by performing license authentication (transmission of a license issuance request). The license file functions as a license for use of the business application 22 from the license management server 4, and the unlock determination of the business application 22 is performed based on the license file stored here.

  The business application 22 includes an application main body 31, an activation control unit 32 that performs activation control of the application main body 31 based on the license file, and a license authentication unit 33 that acquires a license file. That is, the application main body 31 is a main body portion of the business application 22 that performs various processes related to accounting work according to the type of the business application 22 (for example, an income tax calculation process in the case of an income tax calculation application). On the other hand, the activation control unit 32 and the license authentication unit 33 are additional functions (license management functions) that perform activation control of the application main body unit 31 and license authentication of the business application 22 itself. Therefore, all the business applications 22 are provided with the same activation control unit 32 and license authentication unit 33 regardless of the type of the business application 22.

  The activation control unit 32 refers to the license storage unit 21 a of the license management program 21, performs unlock determination based on the stored license file, and performs activation control of the application main body unit 31. That is, the activation control unit 32 unlocks the application main unit 31 and stores the application main unit 31 when the license file of the business application 22 is stored in the license storage unit 21a in response to the user's activation operation. Start up. On the other hand, when the license file of the business application 22 is not stored in the license storage unit 21a in response to the user's activation operation, the activation of the application main body unit 31 is cancelled.

  The license authentication unit 33 includes a code generation unit 41, a license acquisition unit 42, and a license registration unit 43. The code generation unit 41 generates a lock code of the client terminal (in this example, the loanee terminal 3) in which the business application 22 is installed. This lock code is terminal-specific information uniquely set for each client terminal. Specifically, the code generation unit 41 acquires the MAC address of the client terminal (its network device), and generates a lock code using the MAC address.

  The license acquisition unit 42 transmits a license issuance request for the business application 22 to the license management server 4 and receives the license issuance of the business application 22 from the license management server 4. That is, the license file of the business application 22 transmitted from the license management server 4 as a reply to the license issuance request is received and acquired. The license issuance request includes the user information (user ID, password, etc.) of the loan recipient, the product code of the business application 22, and the generated lock code.

  The license registration unit 43 registers (records) the acquired license file in the license storage unit 21 a of the license management program 21. As a result, the license file of the business application 22 is added to the license storage unit 21a.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the license management server 4 includes a license management unit 51 that manages licenses for a plurality of business applications 22, and a DB (database) storage unit 52 that stores various databases used for license management. Yes.

  The DB storage unit 52 includes an owner DB storage unit 61 that stores an owner management database DB1 that manages the owner of each business application 22, and a loanee management database DB2 that manages a loanee of each business application 22. A loanee DB storage unit 62 that stores data, and a license DB storage unit 63 that stores a license management database DB3 that manages client terminals that use each business application 22 are included.

  The owner management database DB1 stores the owner ID, the owner user ID, and the product identification information (product number) of the business application 22 in association with each other (see FIG. 4A). That is, the owner's user ID and the product identification information of the business application 22 are stored in association with the ownership ID. As a result, which business application 22 each user owns is stored and managed.

  The loanee management database DB2 stores the loan ID, the possession ID, and the user ID of the loanee in association with each other (see FIG. 4B). That is, the ownership ID and the user ID of the loanee are stored in association with the loan ID. Accordingly, each user of the loanee is associated with the possession ID, and each user stores and manages which business application 22 has been lent by which user based on the possession ID.

  The license management database DB3 stores client terminals that use the business application 22. In the license management database DB3, a predetermined number of license issuance frames are provided for each business application 22 purchased (or lent) for each user. Each license issuance frame can be set for each client terminal, and a client terminal that uses the license issuance frame is set by registering the lock code of one client terminal in the license issuance frame.

  The license management unit 51 includes an owner registration unit 71, a loanee registration unit 72, a license frame generation unit 73, a license issuance unit 74, and a management information transmission unit 75.

  The owner registration unit 71 registers the owner in the owner management database DB1 in accordance with the purchase procedure of the business application 22 by the user. That is, the user ID of the purchased user and the product identification information of the purchased business application 22 are recorded in the owner management database DB1 in association with the ownership ID.

  The loanee registration unit 72 registers the loanee in the loanee management database DB2 in accordance with the loan application transmitted from the owner terminal 2. That is, based on the owner's user ID included in the loan application and the product code of the business application 22, the corresponding owner ID is extracted from the owner management database DB1. Then, the owner ID and the user ID of the loanee included in the loan application are recorded in the loanee management database DB2 in association with the loan ID.

  The license frame generation unit 73 generates the license issuance frame in the license management database DB3 with the registration of the owner and the loanee. That is, when the owner registration unit 71 registers an owner in the owner management database DB1, a predetermined number of license issuance frames for the target business application 22 are generated for the owner user. When the loanee registration unit 72 registers the loanee in the loanee management database DB2, a predetermined number of license issuance frames of the target business application 22 are generated for the loanee user. .

  The license issuing unit 74 issues a license to the owner or loanee of each business application 22, and issues an issue request receiving unit 80, a license issue determining unit 81, a client terminal registration unit 82, a license, A generation unit 83 and a license transmission unit 84 are provided. The issuance request receiving unit 80 receives a license issuance request from the client terminal (in this example, the loanee terminal 3) through the communication means.

  The license issuance determination unit 81 determines whether or not a license file should be issued (transmitted) in response to the received license issuance request. Specifically, the license issuance determination unit 81 is based on the owner management database DB1 and the loanee management database DB2, and the user with the user ID included in the license issuance request is the owner of the target business application 22 or the loanee. It is determined whether it is a person. Further, based on the license management database DB3, it is determined whether or not the license issue frame of the target business application 22 for the user with the user ID is free. If the user is the owner or the loanee and the license issuance frame is empty, it is determined that the license file should be issued. Otherwise, it is determined that the license file should not be issued. To do.

  When the license issuance determination unit 81 determines that the license file should be issued, the client terminal registration unit 82 registers the lock code included in the license issuance request in the license issuance frame of the business application 22 targeted by the user. . As a result, it is set with which client terminal the user uses the target business application 22.

  The license generation unit 83 generates a license file when the license issue determination unit 81 determines that a license file should be issued. Based on the lock code, the license generation unit 83 generates a license file for making the target business application 22 available only to the client terminal of the lock code. This can prevent the license file from being used by a client terminal other than the target client terminal.

  The license transmission unit 84 transmits the generated license file to the client terminal that is the transmission source of the license issuance request (in this example, the loanee terminal 3) through the communication unit. The license issuing unit 74 issues a license to the loanee by transmitting the license file, and permits the lender to use the target business application 22.

  The management information transmission unit 75 transmits management information related to license management of each business application 22 to each owner (owner terminal 2) of each business application 22 based on the owner management database DB1 by communication means. Transmit (management information transmission step). As described above, the management information is billing information for the usage fee for each business application 22 or maintenance information for each business application 22. For example, when a usage fee for each year is imposed on the use of the business application 22, billing information for the usage fee is transmitted to the owner terminal 2 of the owner every year. When the management information is transmitted by the management information transmitting unit 75, the destination owner terminal 2 receives the management information transmitted by the management information receiving unit 12, and the management information display unit 13 receives the management information. Is displayed.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 5, the starting operation of the business application 22 will be described. This activation operation includes license processing, and is executed due to the activation operation using the input means 7 by the user.

  As shown in FIG. 5, first, the business application 22 determines whether or not the license file of the business application 22 is stored in the license storage unit 21a by the activation control unit 32 (unlock determination) (S1). ). When the license file is stored in the license storage unit 21a (S1: Yes), the activation control unit 32 activates the application main body unit 31 (S2). As a result, various processes by the application main body 31 can be executed, and this operation ends.

  On the other hand, when the license file is not stored in the license storage unit 21a (S1: No), the activation of the application main body unit 31 is canceled and license authentication is performed (S3 to S4). That is, the code generation unit 41 generates a lock code for the loan recipient terminal 3 (S3), and the license acquisition unit 42 transmits a license issuance request including the generated lock code to the license management server 4 (S4). . As a result, this operation ends.

  Next, the license issuing operation by the license management server 4 will be described with reference to FIG. In this operation, the owner DB storage unit 61 stores the owner management database DB1 (owner DB storage step), and the loanee DB storage unit 62 stores the loanee management database DB2 (the loanee DB storage). Step). Further, this operation is executed due to the issue request receiving unit 80 receiving a license issue request from the client terminal (the loanee terminal 3 in this example).

  As shown in FIG. 6, when a license issuance request is received by the issuance request receiving unit 80 (S11), the license issuance determination unit 81 uses the user ID included in the license issuance request based on the owner management database DB1. It is determined whether (hereinafter referred to as the user) is the owner of the business application 22 of the product code included in the license issuance request (hereinafter referred to as the target business application 22) (S12).

  If the user is not the owner of the target business application 22 (S12: No), whether or not the user is a loanee of the target business application 22 based on the loanee management database DB2. Is determined (S13). Strictly speaking, when the user ID of the user is stored in the loanee management database DB2, the product identification information is extracted from the owner management database DB1 using the corresponding ownership ID. Then, when the extracted product identification information and the target business application 22 are collated and the two match, the user is determined to be a loanee of the target business application 22, and this does not match. In this case, it is determined that the user is not a loanee of the target business application 22. In addition, when a plurality of user IDs of the user are stored in the loanee management database DB2 with different loan IDs, the above match determination is sequentially performed for all of the loan IDs, and any of the loan IDs is determined. If there is a match, it is determined that the user is a loanee of the target business application 22.

  If the user is not a loanee of the target business application 22 (S13: No), it is determined that a license file should not be issued in response to the received license issuance request, and a license issuance notification is transmitted. It is transmitted to the original (in this example, the loanee terminal 3) (S14). As a result, this operation ends.

  On the other hand, if the user is the owner or the loanee of the target business application 22 (S12: Yes, S13: Yes), whether or not there is a vacancy in the license issuance frame of the target business application 22 for the user Is determined (S15). If there is no free space in the license issuance frame (S15: No), it is determined that the license file should not be issued in response to the received license issuance request, and the license issuance notification is sent to the source of the license issuance request (in this example, the loaned (S14). As a result, this operation ends.

  On the other hand, if the license issuance frame is empty (S15: Yes), it is determined that the license file should be issued in response to the received license issuance request. The lock code included in the license issuance request is registered in the license issuance frame of the application 22 (S16).

  Thereafter, the license generation unit 83 generates a license file (S17), and the license transmission unit 84 transmits the generated license file to the transmission source of the license issuance request (in this example, the loanee terminal 3) (S18: (License issuance step). In response to this license issuance, the loanee terminal 3 receives the transmitted license file, and the license registration unit 43 registers the received license file in the license storage unit 21a. As a result, the business application 22 can be used in the loanee terminal 3, and this operation ends.

  According to the configuration as described above, by storing both the owner management database DB1 and the loanee management database DB2, the necessary processing (license issuance) for the loanee is made to the loanee. On the other hand, processing necessary for the owner (transmission of management information) can be performed for the owner. Therefore, even when the owner lends and operates the business application 22, each process related to license management can be appropriately performed.

  In the present embodiment, the loanee management database DB2 is configured to store the ownership ID in association with the user ID of the loanee, but instead of the ownership ID, the owner's user ID and product The identification information may be stored in association with the user ID of the loanee.

  In this embodiment, the license is issued to both the owner and the loanee. However, when a loan application is made, the license is issued only to the loanee (to the loanee). The license may be issued to the owner and the license is not issued to the owner.

  In this embodiment, the license issuing unit 74 is configured to issue (send) a license file that can use one business application 22. However, the license issuing unit 74 includes one type of business application. The configuration may be such that a license file of a common license (hereinafter simply referred to as a common license) that can use all versions of the business application 22 in 22 is issued (transmitted). For example, a common license for a business application 22 (for example, an income tax calculation application) having a different version for each fiscal year due to a legal revision is issued. In such a case, the loanee terminal 3 registers the issued common license in the license storage unit 21a by the license registration unit 43. In addition, the activation control unit 32 determines whether to unlock the business application 22 based on the issued common license. That is, when a normal license file is not recorded in the license storage unit 21a (S1: No), it is determined whether the common license is stored in the license storage unit 21a, and the common license is stored. The application main unit 31 is activated. With this configuration, it is not necessary to perform license authentication (transmission of a license issuance request) for each version. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform license authentication every time a new version is released, and the trouble of license authentication can be eliminated.

  In addition, in such a configuration, a configuration in which a common license of a trial version (a limited version) is distributed may be used. In this case, the activation control unit 32 determines whether or not the trial version common license is stored in the license storage unit 21a. If the trial version common license is stored, the application control unit 31 can be experienced. Start as a version. In other words, the business application 22 is operated as a trial version based on the trial version common license. According to such a configuration, it is not necessary to perform license authentication (transmission of a license issuance request) for each version of the trial version. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the trouble of license authentication for the trial version, and to promote the willingness to purchase the regular version. Note that a configuration may be used in which a usage time limit is provided for the trial version common license.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the configuration is such that online license authentication is performed. However, the configuration may be such that offline license authentication is performed. In such a configuration, the loanee terminal 3 connects a printing device (not shown), and the loanee terminal 3 generates print data for printing a license issuance request document (see FIG. 7) on the printing device. A data generation unit (not shown) is further included. In this configuration, the print data generation unit preferably inserts the lock code of the loan recipient terminal 3 itself generated by the code generation unit 41 into the license issuance request document. That is, in offline license authentication, the code generation unit 41 generates a lock code, and the print data generation unit generates print data of a license issuance request document in which the generated lock code is inserted, and outputs it to the printing apparatus. Then, the license issuance request form is printed by the printing apparatus. According to such a configuration, it is possible to print a license issuance request document in which a lock code is inserted in advance, so that the user does not need to enter the lock code. Therefore, there is no mistake in entering the lock code, and the trouble of entry by the user can be eliminated.

  1: License system, 3: Lender terminal, 4: License management server, 22: Business application, 51: License management unit, 61: Owner DB storage unit, 62: Lender DB storage unit, DB1: Owner Management database, DB2: Lender management database

Claims (9)

A license management server that manages licenses for multiple software products,
An owner DB storage unit for storing an owner management database for managing the owner of each software product;
A loanee DB storage unit for storing a loanee management database for managing a loanee who has been lent each software product from the owner of each software product;
Based on the loanee management database, issue licenses of the software products to the loanee of the software products, and based on the owner management database, to the owners of the software products, A license management server, comprising: a license management unit that transmits management information relating to license management of each software product.   The license management server according to claim 1, wherein the management information is billing information on a usage fee for each software product.   The license management server according to claim 1, wherein the management information is maintenance information of each software product. According to the loan application for the software product, the loan management database further includes a loanee registration unit for registering the loanee,
The owner management database stores product identification information of the software product and a user ID of the owner in association with the ownership ID,
The lender registration unit records the possessed ID and the user ID of the lender in association with a lending ID in the lender management database. Or the license management server according to item 1. The license management server according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A license system comprising: a client terminal that receives a license issued from the license management server,
The license management server issues a common license that can be used for all versions of software products in one type of software product to the client terminal,
The license system according to claim 1, wherein the client terminal determines whether to unlock the software product based on the issued common license.   6. The license system according to claim 5, wherein the common license is a trial version common license for operating a software product as a trial version. The license management server according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A license system comprising: a client terminal that receives a license issued from the license management server,
The client terminal has a print data generation unit that generates print data for printing a license issuance request.
The license data system, wherein the print data generation unit inserts terminal-specific information of the client terminal itself into the license issuance request document. A method of controlling a license management server that performs license management of a plurality of software products,
An owner DB storage step for storing an owner management database for managing the owner of each software product;
A loanee DB storage step for storing a loanee management database for managing a loanee who has been lent each software product from the owner of each software product;
A license issuance step for issuing a license for each software product to the lender of each software product based on the lender management database;
A management information transmitting step of transmitting management information related to license management of each software product to the owner of each software product based on the owner management database; Control method.   The program for making a computer perform each step in the control method of the license management server of Claim 8.

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