초록 ▼

To determine whether digital content can be released to an element such as a computer application or module, a scaled value representative of the relative security of the element is associated therewith, and the digital content has a corresponding digital license setting forth a security requirement

To determine whether digital content can be released to an element such as a computer application or module, a scaled value representative of the relative security of the element is associated therewith, and the digital content has a corresponding digital license setting forth a security requirement. The security requirement is obtained from the digital license and the scaled value is obtained from the element, and the scaled value of the element is compared to the security requirement of the digital license to determine whether the scaled value satisfies the security requirement. The digital content is not released to the element if the scaled value does not satisfy the security requirement.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. A computer-readable storage medium comprising:an executable program stored on the computer-readable medium and having computer-executable instructions for determining whether digital content can be released to a computer-type operational element, a plurality of scaled va

The invention claimed is: 1. A computer-readable storage medium comprising:an executable program stored on the computer-readable medium and having computer-executable instructions for determining whether digital content can be released to a computer-type operational element, a plurality of scaled values representative of the relative security of the element being associated therewith, each scaled value of the plurality of scaled values corresponding to a predetermined security factor relating to the relative security of the element, each scaled value being selected from a corresponding scale with a spectrum of values ranging from a first value indicative of an element that has been deemed not secure with respect to the corresponding security factor to a second value indicative of an element that has been deemed highly secure with respect to the corresponding security factor, the determination being made with respect to each scaled value according to a corresponding pre-defined security requirement specifying a minimum value between the respective first value and the respective second value, the computer-executable instructions performing:obtaining from the element each scaled value; andfor each obtained scaled value, comparing the scaled value of the element to the minimum value of the corresponding security requirement to determine whether the scaled value is less than the minimum value of the security requirement, wherein the digital content is not released to the element if a predetermined number of the scaled values are less than the corresponding minimum values,each corresponding pre-defined security requirement being specified in a digital license corresponding to the digital content, each scaled value being specified with regard to the element and assigned thereto by a certifying authority based at least in part on how tamper-resistant the element is, the digital content not being released to the element unless an identification of the assigning certifying authority appears in the digital license,each scaled value being in a digital certificate associated with the element, the computer-executable instructions performing obtaining from the digital certificate each scaled value,the security value certifying authority having issued the digital certificate associating each scaled value with the element, the pre-defined trusted security value certifying authority information being maintained regarding security value certifying authorities to be trusted, the computer-executable instructions performing:obtaining the trusted security value certifying authority information;obtaining the identification of the security value certifying authority from the digital certificate associated with the element;comparing the obtained identification of the security value certifying authority to the trusted security value certifying authority information to determine whether the obtained identification of the security value certifying authority satisfies the trusted security value certifying authority information; andreleasing the digital content to the element only if the security value certifying authority satisfies the trusted security value certifying authority information.