Document Digest for Selective Feature Enablement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current digital rights management systems require users to purchase premium software to access advanced features, limiting document editing capabilities for users who only need specific functionalities, such as form filling and digital signing, and lack mechanisms to control and authenticate feature enablement within documents.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system where a set of rules associated with specific operations is defined for an electronic document, allowing selective feature enablement and authentication through a digital signature, enabling vendors to control feature access and usage rights within documents, ensuring only authorized changes can be made without affecting core content.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If premium software is required to access advanced features, then feature functionality is complete, but user accessibility and cost are improved when features are available in free versions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by enabling advanced features selectively for specific documents rather than globally. The document-level control mechanism allows the free version to provide premium features (like form filling and digital signing) only for authorized documents, while maintaining restrictions for other documents. This resolves the contradiction by making feature accessibility context-dependent rather than absolute.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments feature access control into document-specific permissions. Each document can have its own set of enabled features defined through a structured data format, allowing the system to granularly control which premium features are available in the free version for each document. This segmentation approach enables document integrity protection while providing targeted feature accessibility.
2Ease of operation
If advanced features are enabled in free software, then user cost is reduced, but control over feature usage and document modifications is weakened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary mechanism - a structured data format (XML-based) that acts as a mediator between the document author's intent and the software's feature execution. This intermediary layer defines which features are enabled for which documents, providing sophisticated control without requiring complex software licensing. The intermediary structure handles the complexity of feature management, keeping the user interface simple while enabling granular control.
3Productivity
If feature enablement is allowed in free version, then document editing capability is improved, but risk of feature enablement transfer and unauthorized use increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-defining feature permissions in the document structure itself. The structured data format embeds authorization information directly in the document, specifying which features can be used before the user attempts to access them. This preliminary configuration prevents unauthorized feature use and eliminates the risk of feature enablement transfer, as each document carries its own permission set that is validated by the software.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, implementing and using techniques for digital rights management. A set of content items is defined in an electronic document based on a set of rules. The rules in the set of rules are associated with one or more operations that can be performed on content items in the electronic document. The set of content items include only content items that are invariant to the operations associated with the rules in the set of rules. A representation of the content items in the set of content items is generated. An electronic document is also described.