GameShield™ License Models

GameShield™ defines a "License Model" as the terms and conditions (or rights and restrictions) that you grant an end-user and/or customer of your game as defined by your business model. More specifically, "supported GameShield license models" refers to the available license model enforcement options GameShield provides for your software.

GameShield is designed to be flexible and customizable to the license model you want to achieve. GameShield supports:

Time-based DRM: by minutes, hours, days, or by specified start/end dates
Usage-based DRM: by number of launches or activations
Feature-based DRM and Customized versions: pay-per-level, pay-per-item, microtransactional, or "create-your-own". These types of models are achieved by combining GameShield's IronWrap and COM-based protection
Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) - deliver a "token of ownership" to your software (a Serial Number) which can be physically packaged for retail sales and activated online.

GameShield's license models can be combined in numerous ways to create the exact license model your business requires.

License Model Categories

There are two categories of license models GameShield supports:

IronWrap license models - the logic for these models have been pre-defined for you and compiled directly into GameShield's protected applications and can be easily selected and implemented within the License Manager or New Project Wizard mode.
Fundamental license models - these are conceptual models that are supported by GameShield, and are implemented by you by interfacing with GameShield’s ClientProtector at run-time, or in combination with IronWrap. Your application can enforce these models in its own code.

IronWrap License Models

The IronWrap system provides a number of pre-defined license models for ease-of-use and to speed up the wrapping of your games. These models will determine how your IronWrapped application will behave. The following IronWrap license models are available in GameShield:

Node Locked Model - This model must have the application activated and copy protection released before running. This model allows you to lock a license to an individual machine based on its FingerPrint. This model would be commonly referred to as Full Purchase (ESD) or as Download-To-Own.
Trial Model 1 - The application will run for a duration measured in absolute days. This model is your standard Trial model.
Trial Model 2 - The application will run for a duration measured in hours and minutes of cumulative execution time - regardless of the absolute time that elapses between executions. This model would be commonly referred to as Try-Before-You-Buy (TBYB).
Trial Model 3 - The application will run always launch but will only run for a limited amount of time. The game will terminate after the duration has elapsed. Unlike Trial Model 2, the user may launch the application again and will run again for the limited amount of time. Also known as Session Limited Mode. This is ideal for Demo versions or Media Release versions.
Trial Model 4 - The application will run until a preset hard date. At this point, the application will no longer run. Also known as Date Expiry Model. This is ideal for Demo versions or Media Release versions.
Trial Model 5 - The application will allow the application to run only for a preset amount of times. Also known as Execution limited Model. This is ideal for limited releases such as Demo versions or Media Release versions.
User-Defined - You design your own custom application model, which may be similar or the same to various fundamental license models listed below, or refinements of IronWrap license models.
Always Execute - The application run with no restrictions with all the protection capabilities of the ClientProtector. However, the license file must be found and successfully parsed. You may wish to use this "model" if you are using a combined approach (a "hybrid" method) and want to have most of the license enforcement logic inside your application. This is also the model you wish to use if you only need to wrap advertisements into your application.
Bypass - Strictly speaking, this is not a model at all. It only uses the features found under the License Manager's IronWrapping tab. It will not reference any license file. You may wish to use this "model" if you are using the combined method and want to have absolutely all the license enforcement logic inside your application. You may also want to use this method if you only wish to have the security and protection of Ironwrap and do not want any licensing.
More coming - Because of the plug-in architecture of GameShield, it can be easily extended with new license models.

Fundamental License Models

GameShield supports conceptual models that are implemented by you by interfacing with GameShield's COM ClientProtector at run-time. Your application can utilize these models in its own code. IronWrap's license models are based on the fundamental license models listed below.

Copy Protected Node Locked Model - This model must have the application activated and copy protection released before running. This model allows you to lock a license to an individual machine based on its FingerPrint.
Seat-Based (Bulk) Licenses - This model allows you to deliver a "token of ownership" of your software which represents an arbitrary number of activations (seats).
Time-Limited Trial Licenses - This model allows you to deliver a time-limited trial version of your software that expires at some arbitrary point in time after the user first runs the software. When expired, your software can either stop functioning completely or change to some other model.
Absolute Expiration Licenses - This model allows you to deliver a time limited trial version of your software that expires at some absolute point in time (regardless of when the user first runs the software). When expired, your software can either stop functioning completely or change to some other model.
Demo Licenses - This model allows you to deliver a feature limited version of your software.
Periodic Expiration (Leased) Licenses - This model allows you to deliver a version of your software that repeatedly expires after some arbitrary number of days, weeks or months has passed. Customers must repeatedly re-activate in order to continue using your software.
Scalar (Edition Based) Licenses - This model allows you to deliver a single deployment of your software that can "behave" in one of several different "modes" or "editions". The editions are normally "scalar" because one edition has all the features of the edition before it - plus some.
Pay-Per-Feature Licenses - This model allows you to deliver software for which a user must individually pay for features. "Features" can be as simple as the functionality behind a button click or the ability to dynamically load a binary module. In this model features are completely independent from one another and can be individually purchased and activated or treated as a group.
Pay-Per-Use (of a feature) Licenses - This model is an extension of the above Pay-Per-Feature model and allows you to deliver software for which a user must individually pay for each use of a feature. Again, features can be as simple as the functionality behind a button click or the ability to dynamically load a binary module. In this model features are completely independent from one another and the uses for each of them can be individually purchased and activated.
Pay-Per-Use (by execution) Licenses - This model allows you to deliver software for which the user must pay every time they execute it.
Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Licenses - This model allows you to deliver a "token of ownership" to your software (a Serial Number) which can be physically packaged in a box for retail sale.
Custom-Defined Licenses - All of the above models can be combined in a myriad of ways to achieve a number of precise models to suit your particular business needs.

The free evaluation of GameShield contains several example programs that demonstrate the various license models. Download GameShield's Free Evaluation or contact us for a Live Product Demonstration.