Patents by Inventor Andrew Christopher SMITH

Andrew Christopher SMITH has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20230289163
    Abstract: A method for managing software on a device is provided. The method comprises: receiving, from a third party associated with the device, by a software administrator of an organization different from the third party, release information regarding software versions for the device; creating, by the software administrator, a profile that specifies whether or not at least one of the software versions is allowed on the device; and transmitting the profile, by the software administrator to a server computer associated with the third or other parties, to promote enforcement of the profile for the device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2023
    Publication date: September 14, 2023
    Inventors: Andrew Christopher Smith, Thomas Owen Parry, Srdan Dikic, Spencer Leavitt George Quin, Christopher Donald MacDonald, Michael William Loosemore, Jason Lee Carter
  • Publication number: 20220327593
    Abstract: A first-party vendor provides a licensed first-party service on one or more electronic devices, the first-party service associated with a licensed third-party service provided by a third-party vendor on the electronic devices. When a customer purchases a first-party license for the first-party service, the customer may automatically be issued a third-party license that aligns with the first-party license. Furthermore, distribution and activation of the third-party license may be concealed from the customer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2022
    Publication date: October 13, 2022
    Inventors: Andrew Christopher SMITH, Richard Eric NICOLAISEN
  • Patent number: 11403685
    Abstract: A first-party vendor provides a licensed first-party service on one or more electronic devices, the first-party service associated with a licensed third-party service provided by a third-party vendor on the electronic devices. When a customer purchases a first-party license for the first-party service, the customer may automatically be issued a third-party license that aligns with the first-party license. Furthermore, distribution and activation of the third-party license may be concealed from the customer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Andrew Christopher Smith, Richard Eric Nicolaisen
  • Patent number: 10667124
    Abstract: A system, a computer program product and a method associate service licenses with a wireless device. A device identifier (device ID) which identifies the wireless device and a Subscriber Identity Module identifier (SIM ID) identifying a SIM card currently inserted in the wireless device are received. If the SIM ID is not currently associated with the device ID, a listing of service licenses associated with the SIM ID is aggregated with a listing of service licenses associated with the device ID. The wireless device is authorized to use service licenses listed in the aggregate listing of service licenses. A virtual SIM identifier may be associated with the SIM identifier and at least one additional service license. The at least one additional service license associated with the virtual SIM identifier may be stored in a database as a subscriber service profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 1, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Piotr Madej, Andrew Christopher Smith
  • Publication number: 20200107185
    Abstract: A system, a computer program product and a method associate service licenses with a wireless device. A device identifier (device ID) which identifies the wireless device and a Subscriber Identity Module identifier (SIM ID) identifying a SIM card currently inserted in the wireless device are received. If the SIM ID is not currently associated with the device ID, a listing of service licenses associated with the SIM ID is aggregated with a listing of service licenses associated with the device ID. The wireless device is authorized to use service licenses listed in the aggregate listing of service licenses. A virtual SIM identifier may be associated with the SIM identifier and at least one additional service license. The at least one additional service license associated with the virtual SIM identifier may be stored in a database as a subscriber service profile.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 1, 2018
    Publication date: April 2, 2020
    Inventors: Piotr MADEJ, Andrew Christopher SMITH
  • Publication number: 20200034131
    Abstract: A method for managing software on a device is provided. The method comprises: receiving, from a third party associated with the device, by a software administrator of an organization different from the third party, release information regarding software versions for the device; creating, by the software administrator, a profile that specifies whether or not at least one of the software versions is allowed on the device; and transmitting the profile, by the software administrator to a server computer associated with the third or other parties, to promote enforcement of the profile for the device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 8, 2019
    Publication date: January 30, 2020
    Inventors: Andrew Christopher Smith, Thomas Owen Parry, Srdan Dikic, Spencer Leavitt George Quin, Christopher Donald MacDonald, Michael William Loosemore, Jason Lee Carter
  • Patent number: 10379829
    Abstract: A method for managing software on a device is provided. The method comprises: receiving, from a third party associated with the device, by a software administrator of an organization different from the third party, release information regarding software versions for the device; creating, by the software administrator, a profile that specifies whether or not at least one of the software versions is allowed on the device; and transmitting the profile, by the software administrator to a server computer associated with the third or other parties, to promote enforcement of the profile for the device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2019
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Andrew Christopher Smith, Thomas Owen Parry, Srdan Dikic, Spencer Leavitt George Quin, Christopher Donald MacDonald, Michael William Loosemore, Jason Lee Carter
  • Patent number: 10090874
    Abstract: A system, a computer program product and a method associate service licenses with a wireless device. A device identifier (device ID) which identifies the wireless device and a Subscriber Identity Module identifier (SIM ID) identifying a SIM card currently inserted in the wireless device are received. If the SIM ID is not currently associated with the device ID, a listing of service licenses associated with the SIM ID is aggregated with a listing of service licenses associated with the device ID. The wireless device is authorized to use service licenses listed in the aggregate listing of service licenses. A virtual SIM identifier may be associated with the SIM identifier and at least one additional service license. The at least one additional service license associated with the virtual SIM identifier may be stored in a database as a subscriber service profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 2, 2018
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Piotr Madej, Andrew Christopher Smith
  • Patent number: 10015279
    Abstract: The present disclosure involves systems, software, and computer-implemented methods for reconciling application assignments of different types to users and devices, and associating appropriate licenses for the applications to the users from purchase accounts managed by an external application store. An example method includes identifying a change in an assignment configuration for a user, the assignment configuration including a plurality of assignments of an application to the user; determining a winning assignment from the plurality of assignments; in response to determining the winning assignment, determining that the winning assignment requires a change to an external application store; and in response to determining that the winning assignment requires a change to the external application store, instructing the external application store to perform a configuration change corresponding to the winning assignment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Andrew Christopher Smith, Haseem Ul Haq Kheiri, Qiusheng Wang, Paul Douglas Morley, Kelsey McKinnon Smith
  • Publication number: 20180108059
    Abstract: A first-party vendor provides a licensed first-party service on one or more electronic devices, the first-party service associated with a licensed third-party service provided by a third-party vendor on the electronic devices. When a customer purchases a first-party license for the first-party service, the customer may automatically be issued a third-party license that aligns with the first-party license. Furthermore, distribution and activation of the third-party license may be concealed from the customer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 17, 2016
    Publication date: April 19, 2018
    Applicant: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Andrew Christopher SMITH, Richard Eric NICOLAISEN
  • Patent number: 9917609
    Abstract: A method implemented by an enterprise server to facilitate activation of a virtual subscriber identity module (SIM) service on a mobile communication device. The method includes detecting a triggering event and in response to detecting the triggering event: determining that a SIM application on a physical universal integrated circuit card (UICC) currently inserted into the mobile communication device is associated with a mobile network operator (MNO) providing one or more virtual SIMs to which the enterprise server has access; determining whether the SIM application on the physical UICC is associated with one of the virtual SIMs provided by the MNO; and if the SIM application on the physical UICC is associated with a virtual SIM provided by the MNO, sending a message to the mobile communication device indicating that the mobile communication device is enabled for a virtual SIM service.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2018
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Andrew Christopher Smith, Nathan Provo, Srdan Dikic
  • Publication number: 20180026668
    Abstract: A system, a computer program product and a method associate service licenses with a wireless device. A device identifier (device ID) which identifies the wireless device and a Subscriber Identity Module identifier (SIM ID) identifying a SIM card currently inserted in the wireless device are received. If the SIM ID is not currently associated with the device ID, a listing of service licenses associated with the SIM ID is aggregated with a listing of service licenses associated with the device ID. The wireless device is authorized to use service licenses listed in the aggregate listing of service licenses. A virtual SIM identifier may be associated with the SIM identifier and at least one additional service license. The at least one additional service license associated with the virtual SIM identifier may be stored in a database as a subscriber service profile.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 18, 2017
    Publication date: January 25, 2018
    Inventors: Piotr MADEJ, Andrew Christopher SMITH
  • Patent number: 9768815
    Abstract: A system, a computer program product and a method associate service licenses with a wireless device. A device identifier (device ID) which identifies the wireless device and a Subscriber Identity Module identifier (SIM ID) identifying a SIM card currently inserted in the wireless device are received. If the SIM ID is not currently associated with the device ID, a listing of service licenses associated with the SIM ID is aggregated with a listing of service licenses associated with the device ID. The wireless device is authorized to use service licenses listed in the aggregate listing of service licenses. A virtual SIM identifier may be associated with the SIM identifier and at least one additional service license. The at least one additional service license associated with the virtual SIM identifier may be stored in a database as a subscriber service profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2017
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Andrew Christopher Smith, Piotr Madej
  • Patent number: 9729180
    Abstract: A system, a computer program product and a method associate service licenses with a wireless device. A device identifier (device ID) which identifies the wireless device and a Subscriber Identity Module identifier (SIM ID) identifying a SIM card currently inserted in the wireless device are received. If the SIM ID is not currently associated with the device ID, a listing of service licenses associated with the SIM ID is aggregated with a listing of service licenses associated with the device ID. The wireless device is authorized to use service licenses listed in the aggregate listing of service licenses. If the SIM ID was currently associated with a second device ID, the service licenses associated with the SIM ID are removed from a listing of service licenses associated with the second device ID and the second wireless device is deauthorized from using these service licenses.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2014
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2017
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Andrew Christopher Smith, Richard Eric Nicolaisen, Piotr Madej, Jia-Lin Chin
  • Publication number: 20170213305
    Abstract: A first-party vendor provides a licensed first-party service on one or more electronic devices, the first-party service associated with a licensed third-party service provided by a third-party vendor on the electronic devices. A cloud service of the first-party vendor may host one or more third-party license keys that are securely accessible to the first-party service, each third-party license key pointing to a corresponding global third-party license issued by the third-party vendor for access to the third-party service on the electronic devices. In some examples, distribution of a third-party license key to a particular device may be based on a current affinity of that device to a particular third-party license type, as determined from a mapping agreed upon by the first-party and third-party vendors between one or more types of first-party licenses and one or more types of third-party license, and from the first-party license type currently associated with the device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 21, 2016
    Publication date: July 27, 2017
    Applicant: BLACKBERRY LIMITED
    Inventors: Andrew Christopher SMITH, Srdan DIKIC, Julio Gilberto CHIU, Sandeep DAMARAJU, Kafeelurrahman KOTAPALI, Calin Marius BOZSITZ, Nicholas James VAFIADES, Piotr MADEJ, Dejan PETRONIJEVIC
  • Patent number: 9600810
    Abstract: The present disclosure involves systems, software, and computer-implemented methods for managing access of device management systems in license management operations associated with purchase accounts of a bulk licensing system. An example method includes identifying a request for a license management operation associated with a purchase account of a bulk licensing system, wherein the request includes a licensing identity associated with the purchase account; in response to the identifying, determining that the license management operation is to be performed based on the licensing identity; and in response to the determining, performing the license management operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 26, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2017
    Assignee: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Andrew Christopher Smith, Micheal Tyler
  • Publication number: 20170033823
    Abstract: A method implemented by an enterprise server to facilitate activation of a virtual subscriber identity module (SIM) service on a mobile communication device. The method includes detecting a triggering event and in response to detecting the triggering event: determining that a SIM application on a physical universal integrated circuit card (UICC) currently inserted into the mobile communication device is associated with a mobile network operator (MNO) providing one or more virtual SIMs to which the enterprise server has access; determining whether the SIM application on the physical UICC is associated with one of the virtual SIMs provided by the MNO; and if the SIM application on the physical UICC is associated with a virtual SIM provided by the MNO, sending a message to the mobile communication device indicating that the mobile communication device is enabled for a virtual SIM service.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 31, 2015
    Publication date: February 2, 2017
    Applicant: BLACKBERRY LIMITED
    Inventors: Andrew Christopher SMITH, Nathan PROVO, Srdan DIKIC
  • Publication number: 20160253159
    Abstract: A method for managing software on a device is provided. The method comprises: receiving, from a third party associated with the device, by a software administrator of an organization different from the third party, release information regarding software versions for the device; creating, by the software administrator, a profile that specifies whether or not at least one of the software versions is allowed on the device; and transmitting the profile, by the software administrator to a server computer associated with the third or other parties, to promote enforcement of the profile for the device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2015
    Publication date: September 1, 2016
    Inventors: Andrew Christopher Smith, Thomas Owen Parry, Srdan Dikic, Spencer Leavitt George Quin, Christopher Donald MacDonald, Michael William Loosemore, Jason Lee Carter
  • Publication number: 20160253641
    Abstract: The present disclosure involves systems, software, and computer-implemented methods for managing access of device management systems in license management operations associated with purchase accounts of a bulk licensing system. An example method includes identifying a request for a license management operation associated with a purchase account of a bulk licensing system, wherein the request includes a licensing identity associated with the purchase account; in response to the identifying, determining that the license management operation is to be performed based on the licensing identity; and in response to the determining, performing the license management operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 26, 2015
    Publication date: September 1, 2016
    Applicant: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Andrew Christopher Smith, Micheal Tyler
  • Publication number: 20160249218
    Abstract: A virtual pool of licenses associated with an identifier of a user is created. A license is added to the virtual pool by associating the license with the identifier of the user. Each license in the virtual pool was obtained in association with a SIM card. Reconciliation of services and features in use by one or more devices used by the user is performed in relation to the seats of the licenses in the virtual pool, and that a license state for the user is determined based on the reconciliation. The reconciliation checks whether the services and features match or are licensed by or consume corresponding seats of licenses that are in the virtual pool. All seats of all licenses in the virtual pool, regardless of which SIM card they were obtained in association with, are considered in the reconciliation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 6, 2016
    Publication date: August 25, 2016
    Applicant: BlackBerry Limited
    Inventors: Andrew Christopher SMITH, Richard Eric NICOLAISEN, Piotr MADEJ