Abstract: A method for loaning a digital work having one or more rights associated therewith within a system having repositories configured to enforce use of the digital work in accordance with the rights. A loan right is associated with a digital work and specifies how the digital work can be loaned. If a request for the digital work is valid, use of the digital work is transferred during a loan period from a repository to the requester in accordance with the loan. Loan right data for the digital work is then updated and use of the digital work by the requestor is deactivated upon exhaustion of the loan period.

Abstract: A method, system, and device for handling creation of derivative works and for assigning usage rights to the derivative works for enforcing usage rights associated with digital works, including detecting computer-related events that are indicative of manipulations of an original work for creating a derivative work; and maintaining a history of information, including at least one of rights associated with electronic content related to each of the events, origin of electronic content related to each of the events, and event related information that can be used to determine the origin of and rights associated with electronic content.

Abstract: A method, system and software for associating usage rights with digital content, including creating usage rights from a grammar, the usage rights specifying a manner of use indicating purposes for which the digital content is used and/or distributed by an authorized party; associating the usage rights with a digital content; processing a usage transaction specifying the usage rights to determine if access to the digital content is granted; and storing the usage rights in a distributed repository. The usage rights also specify one or more conditions which must be satisfied before the manner of use is exercised. The creating includes selecting symbols from a first set of predetermined symbols to define a valid sequence of symbols to indicate the manner of use, selecting one or more symbols from a second set of predetermined symbols to define a valid sequence of symbols to indicate the conditions.

Abstract: A method, system, and device for license-centric content use or distribution, including a user interface configured to enable a user to manage content by managing a license associated with the content instead of a specific instance of the content, wherein the use or distribution of the content is granted from the license.

Abstract: A method, system, and device for license-centric content use or distribution, including a pre-existing digital rights management (DRM) system having a unique interface to a repository of data thereof to govern use of content; a shared license repository configured to access the data to govern the use of the content and to communicate with the unique interface of the pre-existing DRM system; and a user interface configured to interact with the pre-existing DRM system, and configured to allow the user to send a license associated with the content from the shared license repository to the pre-existing DRM system or to another shared license repository.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for establishing a secure communications channel between a first repository and a second repository using a repository transaction protocol. A registration identifier and registration message including an identification certificate, and an identifier of a master repository that encrypted the identification certificate are generated by the first repository. The registration identifier and message are sent to the second repository and the identity of the first repository by is verified by verifying the identification certificate. Messages containing at least one session key are exchanged between the first and second repositories and a usage transactions related to a digital work are conducted between the first repository and the second repository using the session keys.

Abstract: A method, system and device for determining fees for access to digital works including associating a usage right with a digital work and which specifies a manner of use of the digital work and (i) a fee specification including a maximum price and a best price specification indicating a best price to be charged to a consumer upon exercising the manner or (ii) a price to be charged and a markup specification indicating a markup percentage to the price to be charged to a consumer upon exercising the manner of use; determining when the consumer is entitled to the best price or the markup specification and if so, returning a difference between the maximum price and the best price to the consumer or adding the markup percentage to the price to be charged to the consumer upon exercising the manner of use, respectively.

Abstract: A trusted rendering system for use in a system for controlling the distribution and use of digital works. A trusted rendering system facilitates the protection of rendered digital works which have been rendered on a system which controls the distribution and use of digital works through the use of dynamically generated watermark information that is embedded in the rendered output. The watermark data typically provides information relating to the owner of the digital work, the rights associated with the rendered copy of the digital work and when and where the digital work was rendered. This information will typically aid in deterring or preventing unauthorized copying of the rendered work to be made. The system for controlling distribution and use of digital works provides for attaching persistent usage rights to a digital work. Digital works are transferred between repositories which are used to request and grant access to digital works.

Abstract: Method for providing database content usage. The database content can be a digital work having one or more rights associated therewith. The method can be effected within a system having at least one repository configured to enforce use of the content in accordance with the one or more usage rights. A usage right is associated with database content, the usage right specifying rights for the usage of database content and usage fees for exercise of such usage. The database content is provided in accordance with the usage right, and the usage fees are reported as a transaction.

Abstract: Legality expressions are systematically pre-processed, organized, and stored to achieve faster real-time response, improved predictability, and increased reliability for queries against a large volume of legality expressions. Exponential improvements in both the time to locate the set of legality expressions matching specified search criteria and the processing costs of evaluating the request against the matching legality expressions are achieved using the disclosed systems, devices, and methods. The systems, devices, and methods are unique to the optimization of legality expression processing, but they can also enable the use of other optimization techniques for processing large amounts of data.

Abstract: A method, system and software for securely rendering digital documents, including storing a digital document in a document platform; and storing a usage right associated with the digital document. The usage right specifies a manner of use indicating the manner in which the digital document can be rendered by the document platform. The digital document comprises plural parts of digital content. The usage right includes plural usage rights respectively associated with each of the plural parts of digital content. Whether one of the parts of the digital document may be rendered by the document platform is determined based a respective usage right. If the respective usage right allows the digital document to be rendered on the document platform, the corresponding part of the digital document is rendered by the document platform.

Abstract: A method, system and software for enforcing use of digital works in accordance with usage rights associated therewith, including receiving a request to use a digital work; and determining at a non-centralized repository, whether the request should be granted based on usage rights associated with the digital work, wherein the usage rights include a manner of use for indicating how the digital work can be used, and status information relating to the state of the usage of the digital work; enforcing use of the digital work on a computing device in accordance with the manner of use if the result of the determining step is that the request should be granted; and accomplishing one or more transactions with respect to the digital work, including copy, transfer, loan, play, print, backup, restore, delete, directory, folder, extract, embed, edit, execute, authorization, install, and uninstall transactions.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for managing use of protected content by providing a specific user interface to an application program used to render the content. The method includes identifying a user interface description associated with content, building a specific user interface based on the user interface description, and replacing the standard user interface of an application program used to render the content with the specific user interface. The specific user interface can be unique to the user, unique to a Web site, or otherwise customized.

Abstract: Through the use of digital rights management, one or more conditional or consequential rights can be associated with a document. The conditional or consequential rights are activated by one or more trigger events that allow or restrict access to one or more documents by one or more users.

Abstract: A rendering method, system and software for use in a distributed system for managing use and rendering of content in accordance with usage rights associated therewith, and including a rendering device that renders the content; and a distributed repository coupled to the rendering device and including a first mode of operation and a second mode of operation. The first mode of operation receives content from another distributed repository and enforces usage rights associated with the content and permits the rendering device to render the content in accordance with a manner of use specified by the usage rights. The second mode of operation requests the rendering of content received from another distributed repository. The distributed repository permits the content to be rendered only if a manner of use specified in the request corresponds to a manner of use specified in the usage rights.

Abstract: A method, system and software for securely rendering digital documents, including storing a digital document in a document platform; storing a usage right associated with the digital document and specifying a manner of use indicating the number of times the digital document can be rendered; determining whether the digital document may be rendered based the usage right; and if the usage right allows the digital document to be rendered on the document platform, rendering the digital document by the document platform. The digital document includes plural sections of digital content and the usage right includes plural usage rights respectively associated with each of the plural sections of content. The plural sections of digital content and the plural usage rights are a composite digital work. Each of the sections and corresponding usage right are separately accessible.

Abstract: Flags are used to mark portions of content in a digital work to permit marking or demarcation of portions of the document. The demarcated portions can be handled in various ways. For example, different usage rights can be applied to demarcated portions, the demarcated portionis can be culled for use as a summary, or the like. The flags can be used to demarcate portions of content that has been downloaded to keep track of payment and download status and thus add flexibility to electronic distribution of content. A flag usage rights element can be attached to limit and control access to flags in a desired manner.

Abstract: A rights management system, method and device for managing use of items having usage rights associated therewith by enforcement of the usage rights with repositories, including a client device adapted to request an item and receive the item and a usage right associated with the item and specifying a permitted manner of use of the item; and a server device adapted to send the item and the associated usage right to the client device in response to the request. The client device includes means for establishing a communication between the client device and a third party entity associated with the rights management system based on a received item and associated usage right.

Abstract: A rendering system adapted for use in a system for managing use of content and operative to rendering content in accordance with usage rights associated with the content. The system includes a rendering device configured to render the content and a repository coupled to the rendering device and operative to enforce usage rights associated with the content and permit the rendering device to render the content in accordance with a manner of use specified by the usage rights.

Abstract: A rights management system including one or more consequential rights associated with digital content, and specifying a manner of use of the digital content, a right management module that enforces the rights permitting use of the digital content in accordance with the rights upon occurrence of a consequential event. The consequential event is based on another usage right. In one embodiment, the consequential event is the exercise, expiration, or possession of another usage right.