초록 ▼

A method is provided to permit copies of software products to be installed on systems, with a predetermined delay before commencement of a designated test period. The predetermined delay provides for a cumulative elapsed time, beginning with the installation of the software product to be evaluated d

A method is provided to permit copies of software products to be installed on systems, with a predetermined delay before commencement of a designated test period. The predetermined delay provides for a cumulative elapsed time, beginning with the installation of the software product to be evaluated during the designated test period, to allow for miscellaneous starts of the computer system prior to productive use for the purpose of evaluation during the user trial period. The miscellaneous starts may be associated with software product installation procedures during preload activities, attachment of devices and/or adapters to tailor the system to a particular user configuration, or to otherwise "boot" or check the system prior to productive use.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A method for preventing continued use of a protected computer program product in a data processing system beyond a test period, comprising the steps of:determining that a predetermined amount of use of the data processing system has occurred, the predetermined amount of u

[ What is claimed is:] [1.] A method for preventing continued use of a protected computer program product in a data processing system beyond a test period, comprising the steps of:determining that a predetermined amount of use of the data processing system has occurred, the predetermined amount of use indicating that productive use of the data processing system has begun;responsive to the determination of the predetermined amount of use, setting the test period by storing a current date as a beginning of a designated test period;periodically determining whether the designated test period has ended by comparison of a current date with the stored date; andresponsive to the determination that the designated test period has ended, causing the protected computer program product to be disabled.