DRM Kit Usage Methods

Developing Applications Using The SoftwareShield System > Creating Licensing Solutions > DRM Kit Usage Methods

## DRM Kit Usage Methods

There are three methods to protect and license your product using the SoftwareShield DRM Kit:

1. "IronWrapped" - This method is the simplest and very strong. It requires no changes to your code. It uses the sophisticated protection of IronWrapping. However, you will be restricted to one of the pre-defined license models (behaviour).

2. "Non-IronWrapped" (aka: Embedded) - This method requires changes to your source code. In this method you interface with the ClientProtector COM server from inside your application to define your own license enforcement model around the building blocks the ClientProtector provides. This method is extremely flexible and allows your team to realize virtually any license model you can imagine with a highly integrated UI right inside your application. However, the protection is significantly less than IronWrapping.

3. "Hybrid" - This method combines the best of both worlds. In this method, you IronWrap your application (either using a pre-defined license model or not) as well, you access the ClientProtector from inside your application to provide a highly integrated UI. This method is the strongest and just as flexible as the above (embedded) method.
   The Hybrid approach is the pinnacle of DRM capability. No other system provides such a high-level of protection combined with the complete and total flexibility of an embedded-type solution. You get 100% of the protection with 100% of the flexibility. No other DRM system even comes close to this.

Note that IronWrapping features only come with the IronWrap edition of the DRM Kit.