IMPLEMENTATION
Under the EU project PAIDFAIR, WIBU developed a pay-per-use technology called CodeMeter.
Using this system, the user buys usage credits online which are stored in his CodeMeter dongle.
He is then able to use his credits offline. “Using software in this way has many advantages for
both content providers and users”, explains Oliver Winzenried. “It makes the costs manageable and
lowers the barrier to use new products. It also avoids the risk of investments being wasted on technology that soon becomes obsolescent, and allows suppliers to easily increase their target market”.
CodeMeter is a new, patented technology which is currently being brought to market. The protection
is based on strong authentication and encryption in a small hardware device and a security controller.
A large memory enables it to store license keys and credits from many vendors. The system protects
stored usage credits and secret data as well as offering a “backup” against hardware failure.
The PAIDFAIR trial focused on the introduction of a real-time accounting system to protect and measure
usage of intellectual property across a wide range of scenarios, such as music distribution, digital broadcasting,
and e-payments. A web-based, fully automatic communication between all e-business partners was realised, including
automated offers, orders, licensing and payment transactions.
Within the PAIDFAIR project, this technology has been adopted to meet the requirements of various applications.
The system includes other technologies developed within the project: smartcard technology for payment and enabling
of usage credits, biometrical schemes for enabling, certified time stamps for secure activation and expiration dates,
and legal requirements for electronic sales transactions in different countries. It has been specified in various
demonstration applications realised by the PAIDFAIR partners.
