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- Adaptive keys could replace hardware keys (or "dongles"), because:
Hardware keys are relatively costly.
Hardware keys do not fit to online distribution.
Adaptive keys require only software processing.
Adaptive keys could be as strict as hardware keys.
- Anti-piracy solutions depending on hardware profiles (e.g. Microsoft product activation) are not very strong, because:
Many machines can share the same hardware profile.
- Anti-piracy solutions depending on the volume serial numbers of hard disk drives are not very strong, because:
Volume serial numbers can be modified easily by a batch file (available for several Windows OS).
So, by copying the volume serial numbers into other computers, pirates can make as many copies as they want.
- Only adaptive keys enables the strongest anti-piracy without using hardware keys, because:
Today, strong anti-piracy solutions for consumer applications requires identification of computers.
Further, as described above, examination of hardware profiles is not enough. It requires examination of the file system structure of the computers.
So, the file system information of users' computers must be utilized as unique characteristic information of their computers.
Any technology which uses the file system information for the identification must be capable of updating license keys, or adaptive keys, in order to maintain their effectiveness in changing file system environment.
Thus, any such technology will have to utilize our solution with adaptive keys.
- Adaptive key technology is novel, and not easily thought of, because:
There have been common sense that keys should be unchangeable, in order to be reliable.
Using file system information as a basis of computer identification has been ignored, because such information is thought to be variable and unreliable.
But, as we have disclosed, using changing keys for the changing file system structures must be the only solution for strict anti-piracy solution which does not depend on hardware keys.
We provided sufficient details to embody our invention, and we have demonstrated the reliability in the form of sales record. We have sold an anti-piracy class library, for Java applications, to several software companies in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
- Software developers can protect their intellectual properties at lower cost and with more effectiveness, because:
As described above, adaptive keys have remarkable effects for preventing the unfair use, as compared with the conventionally-known unfair-use preventing methods which does not depend on hardware keys.
Adaptive keys can be used at installation, at star-up, and during the execution of the software to be protected.
Adaptive keys works completely on a software basis, and is well suited for protecting software that is distributed online via a communication network.
Adaptive keys are applicable to cross-platform software, because it requires only basic file I/O functionalities. So, there is no need to implement different anti-piracy codes for different OSs, e.g. when using Java.
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