Frank D Byrum

US Patent:

6970849, Nov 29, 2005

Filed:

Jun 27, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/604944

Inventors:

Marco A. DeMello - Redmond WA, US
Pavel Zeman - Kirkland WA, US
Vinay Krishnaswamy - Woodinville WA, US
Frank D. Byrum - Seattle WA, US

Assignee:

Microsoft Corporation - Redmond WA

International Classification:

G06F017/60
G06F011/30
G06F012/14
H04K001/00
H04L009/32

US Classification:

705 52, 713193

Abstract:

A server architecture for a digital rights management system that distributes and protects rights in content. The server architecture includes a retail site which sells content items to consumers, a fulfillment site which provides to consumers the content items sold by the retail site, and an activation site which enables consumer reading devices to use content items having an enhanced level of copy protection. Each retail site is equipped with a URL encryption object, which encrypts, according to a secret symmetric key shared between the retail site and the fulfillment site, information that is needed by the fulfillment site to process an order for content sold by the retail site. Upon selling a content item, the retail site transmits to the purchaser a web page having a link to a URL comprising the address of the fulfillment site and a parameter having the encrypted information. Upon following the link, the fulfillment site downloads the ordered content to the consumer, preparing the content if necessary in accordance with the type of security to be carried with the content. The fulfillment site includes an asynchronous fulfillment pipeline which logs information about processed transactions using a store-and-forward messaging service.

US Patent:

7017189, Mar 21, 2006

Filed:

Jun 27, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/604564

Inventors:

Marco A. DeMello - Redmond WA, US
Attila Narin - Bothell WA, US
Pavel Zeman - Kirkland WA, US
Vinay Krishnaswamy - Woodinville WA, US
John L. Manferdelli - Redmond WA, US
Frank D. Byrum - Seattle WA, US
Leroy B. Keely - Portola Valley CA, US
Yoram Yaacovi - Redmond WA, US
Jeffrey H. Alger - Redmond WA, US

Assignee:

Microsoft Corporation - Redmond WA

International Classification:

H04L 9/00
H04L 9/32

US Classification:

726 26, 713155

Abstract:

A digital rights management system for the distribution, protection and use of electronic content. The system includes a client architecture which receives content, where the content is preferably protected by encryption and may include a license and individualization features. Content is protected at several levels, including: no protection; source-sealed; individually-sealed (or “inscribed”); source-signed; and filly-individualized (or “owner exclusive”). The client also includes and/or receives components which permit the access and protection of the encrypted content, as well as components that allow content to be provided to the client in a form that is individualized for the client. In some cases, access to the content will be governed by a rights construct defined in the license bound to the content. The client components include an object which accesses encrypted content, an object that parses the license and enforces the rights in the license, an object which obtains protection software and data that is individualized for the client and/or the persona operating the client, and a script of instructions that provides individualization information to a distributor of content so that the content may be individualized for the client and/or its operating persona.

US Patent:

7047411, May 16, 2006

Filed:

Jun 27, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/604540

Inventors:

Marco A. DeMello - Redmond WA, US
Pavel Zeman - Kirkland WA, US
Vinay Krishnaswamy - Woodinville WA, US
Frank D. Byrum - Seattle WA, US

Assignee:

Microsoft Corporation - Redmond WA

International Classification:

G06F 1/24

US Classification:

713176, 713164, 713170, 713193, 713200, 713201

Abstract:

A server architecture for a digital rights management system that distributes and protects rights in content. The server architecture includes a retail site which sells content items to consumers, a fulfillment site which provides to consumers the content items sold by the retail site, and an activation site which enables consumer reading devices to use content items having an enhanced level of copy protection. Each retail site is equipped with a URL encryption object, which encrypts, according to a secret symmetric key shared between the retail site and the fulfillment site, information that is needed by the fulfillment site to process an order for content sold by the retail site. Upon selling a content items, the retail site transmits to the purchase a web page having a link to a URL comprising the address of the fulfillment site and a parameter having the encrypted information. Upon the following the link, the fulfillment site downloads the ordered content to the consumer preparing the content if necessary in accordance with the type of security to be carried with the content. The fulfillment site includes an asynchronous fulfillment pipeline which logs information about processed transactions using a store-and-forward messaging service.

US Patent:

7158953, Jan 2, 2007

Filed:

Jun 27, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/604222

Inventors:

Marco A. DeMello - Redmond WA, US
Yoram Yaacovi - Redmond WA, US
Pavel Zeman - Kirkland WA, US
Kathryn E. Hughes - Redmond WA, US
Frank D. Byrum - Seattle WA, US

Assignee:

Microsoft Corporation - Redmond WA

International Classification:

H04K 1/00
H04L 9/00

US Classification:

705 51, 713201, 713189, 713161

Abstract:

A server architecture for a digital rights management system that distributes and protects rights in content. The server architecture includes a retail site which sells content items to consumers, a fulfillment site which provides to consumers the content items sold by the retail site, and an activation site which enables consumer reading devices to use content items having an enhanced level of copy protection. An activation site provides an activation certificate and a secure repository executable to consumer content-rendering devices which enables those content rendering devices to render content having an enhanced level of copy-resistance. The activation site “activates” client-reading devices in a way that binds them to a persona, and limits the number of devices that may be activated for a particular persona, or the rate at which such devices may be activated for a particular persona.

US Patent:

7171692, Jan 30, 2007

Filed:

Jun 27, 2000

Appl. No.:

09/604939

Inventors:

Marco A. DeMello - Redmond WA, US
Pavel Zeman - Makawao HI, US
Vinay Krishnaswamy - Woodinville WA, US
Prashant Malik - Bellevue WA, US
Kathryn E. Hughes - Redmond WA, US
Frank D. Byrum - Seattle WA, US

Assignee:

Microsoft Corporation - Redmond WA

International Classification:

H04L 9/00
H04L 9/32
G06F 3/00
G06F 15/16

US Classification:

726 26, 719313, 719315, 709203

Abstract:

A server architecture for a digital rights management system that distributes and protects rights in content. The server architecture includes a retail site which sells content items to consumers, a fulfillment site which provides to consumers the content items sold by the retail site. The fulfillment site includes an asynchronous fulfillment pipeline which logs information about processed transactions using a store-and-forward messaging service. The fulfillment site may be implemented as several server devices, each having a cache which stores frequently downloaded content items, in which case the asynchronous fulfillment pipeline may also be used to invalidate the cache if a change is made at one server that affects the cached content items.

US Patent:

7430542, Sep 30, 2008

Filed:

Nov 10, 2004

Appl. No.:

10/985214

Inventors:

Marco A. DeMello - Redmond WA, US
Attila Narin - Bothell WA, US
Pavel Zeman - Kirkland WA, US
Vinay Krishnaswamy - Woodinville WA, US
John L. Manferdelli - Redmond WA, US
Frank D. Byrum - Seattle WA, US
Leroy Bertrand Keely - Portola Valley CA, US
Yoram Yaacovi - Redmond WA, US
Jeffrey A. Alger - Redmond WA, US

Assignee:

Microsoft Corporation - Redmond WA

International Classification:

H04K 1/00

US Classification:

705 54, 380279, 369 84

Abstract:

A digital rights management system for the distribution, protection and use of electronic content. The system includes a client architecture which receives content, where the content is preferably protected by encryption and may include a license and individualization features. Content is protected at several levels, including: no protection; source-sealed; individually-sealed (or “inscribed”); source-signed; and fully-individualized (or “owner exclusive”). The client also includes and/or receives components which permit the access and protection of the encrypted content, as well as components that allow content to be provided to the client in a form that is individualized for the client. In some cases, access to the content will be governed by a rights construct defined in the license bound to the content. The client components include an object which accesses encrypted content, an object that parses the license and enforces the rights in the license, an object which obtains protection software and data that is individualized for the client and/or the persona operating the client, and a script of instructions that provides individualization information to a distributor of content so that the content may be individualized for the client and/or its operating persona.

US Patent:

7523310, Apr 21, 2009

Filed:

Jun 28, 2002

Appl. No.:

10/185077

Inventors:

Attilla Narin - Bothell WA, US
Peter David Waxman - Bellevue WA, US
Thomas K. Lindeman - Redmond WA, US
Frank Byrum - Seattle WA, US

Assignee:

Microsoft Corporation - Redmond WA

International Classification:

H04L 9/00

US Classification:

713172

Abstract:

In a system for distributing and licensing rights-managed digital content, the way in which content is distributed and licensed can be affected by the trust relationships that are established between the various servers that participate in the system. In a typical system, a license server licenses content to particular identities, and an identity server defines those identities by issuing certificates for those identities. The license server issues licenses to identities that have been issued by trusted identity servers. Also, the license server can issue a license on behalf of any entity whose private key it holds. Thus, in one embodiment, the universe of people to whom the license server can issue licenses can be expanded by adding new identity servers to the list of trusted identity servers. In another embodiment, exceptions to the general trust of an identity server can be carved out by creating an exclusion list, which excludes particular identity certificate (e. g. , on the basis of e-mail address, domain name, etc.

US Patent:

7577999, Aug 18, 2009

Filed:

Feb 11, 2003

Appl. No.:

10/364627

Inventors:

Attila Narin - Bothell WA, US
Chandramouli Venkatesh - Sammamish WA, US
Frank D. Byrum - Seattle WA, US
Marco A. DeMello - Redmond WA, US
Peter David Waxman - Bellevue WA, US
Prashant Malik - Bellevue WA, US
Rushmi U. Malaviarachchi - Bellevue WA, US
Steve Bourne - Seattle WA, US
Vinay Krishnaswamy - Woodinville WA, US
Yevgeniy (Eugene) Rozenfeld - Bellevue WA, US

Assignee:

Microsoft Corporation - Redmond WA

International Classification:

G06F 21/24
H04L 9/00

US Classification:

726 27, 713175, 713176, 705 59

Abstract:

A licensor receives a request from a requestor including an identifier identifying the requestor and rights data associated with digital content, where the rights data lists at least one identifier and rights associated therewith. The licensor thereafter locates the identifier of the requestor in a directory, and locates in the directory based thereon an identifier of each group which the requestor is a member of. Each of the located requestor identifier and each located group identifier is compared to each identifier listed in the rights data to find a match, and a digital license to render the content is issued to the requestor with the rights associated with the matching identifier.