A small company was this week granted a US patent that its CEO says will be used to extract royalties of $10 to $25 for each time a new computer has software or other settings updated over the internet, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

Bluecurrent Inc.'s patent is for a "method and system for web-based asset management." Its patent claims appear to translate to the automatic installation and updating of computer software and settings over the web.

CEO Shawn Thomas told The WSJ that it plans to notify companies of potential infringement within 45 days.

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