Multi-tier Digital Supply Chain for License Integrity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional digital rights management systems face challenges in maintaining the integrity and trustworthiness of license management during device failures, as they rely on centralized managers and physical machine characteristics, leading to potential loss of licenses and reduced robustness.
Innovation Solution
A digital supply chain management system that distributes verifiable licenses across multiple inventory management nodes, enabling flexible deployment and verification without relying on physical machine characteristics, and maintains electronic records in a trusted storage hierarchy for improved security and consistency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a centralized manager system is used to control license verification, then license management can be simplified and centralized, but the system becomes vulnerable to catastrophic failures and license loss
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the centralized license management system into a hierarchical multi-tier architecture with root authority nodes at the top and distributed inventory management nodes at lower levels. Each node maintains local trusted storage with cryptographic verification capabilities, allowing the system to segment license verification across multiple independent components rather than relying on a single centralized manager.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-distributing cryptographic verification materials and license copies to multiple inventory management nodes before any failure occurs. Each node is pre-configured with the ability to independently verify licenses using cryptographic signatures from root authority nodes, ensuring verification capability exists in advance rather than needing to be re-established after failure.
2Ease of operation
If licenses are stored in trusted storage on a single computing device, then verification is straightforward, but the device must be restored to identical configuration after failure which is not always possible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the license storage function across multiple inventory management nodes in a hierarchical structure. Instead of requiring all licenses to be stored on a single device, the system distributes license copies and verification capabilities across multiple nodes, each maintaining local trusted storage. This allows verification to occur at any node in the hierarchy without requiring the original device configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary inventory management nodes that act as mediators between end devices and the root authority. These intermediary nodes hold cached copies of licenses and verification materials, allowing devices to verify licenses against local intermediaries rather than requiring direct connection to the original issuing device or root authority, thus enabling verification even when device configuration cannot be restored.
3Reliability
If verification always requires connection to the root of trust or centralized manager, then license authenticity is ensured, but the system cannot function with limited Internet access
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the verification hierarchy into multiple tiers where lower-level inventory management nodes can perform local verification using cached cryptographic materials from upper-level nodes. This segmentation allows verification to occur at the most decentralized level possible, with nodes operating autonomously when disconnected from higher tiers, while still maintaining cryptographic trust chains back to the root authority when connected.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-caching cryptographic verification materials, license copies, and verification keys in the trusted storage of distributed inventory management nodes before disconnection occurs. This allows nodes to perform unlimited local verification operations offline, with the preliminary caching of trust materials ensuring authenticity verification capability exists independently of continuous root of trust connectivity.
4Reliability
If a multi-tier distributed system is implemented, then robustness and recovery capability are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the license management functionality into standardized inventory management nodes with uniform interfaces and responsibilities. Each node follows the same verification protocol and maintains similar trusted storage structures, creating modular, interchangeable components. This segmentation into standardized units manages complexity by making each node independent and replaceable while collectively providing the robust multi-tier architecture.
Data Source
AI summary
Several embodiments enable management of a bulk package of licenses at a distribution server. The distribution server can store a fulfillment record of a set of licenses. The fulfillment record can indicate distribution statuses of the licenses. The distribution server can also maintain a distribution hierarchy for the set of licenses in the distribution server. The distribution hierarchy can identify one or more other distribution servers that transferred the set of licenses from a root of trust for the licenses to the distribution server and one or more end-user devices or distribution servers that received or fulfilled at least one of the licenses from that the distribution server. When the distribution server distributes a subset of the licenses to a target computing device, the distribution server can update both the fulfillment record and the distribution hierarchy.