SYSTEM FOR SECURE PROVISIONING AND ENFORCEMENT OF SYSTEM-ON-CHIP (SOC) FEATURES

A system and method are disclosed for provisioning IP features in a system-on-chip. A plurality of identical chips are fabricated, each of which is capable of have a number of features enabled or disabled. As a default, all features are disabled. A production process is later carried out, in which the chip is installed in a greater device. During this process, the manufacturer requests a license the IP owner for enablement of various features. Using secure communications, a license is granted identifying the features to be enabled, and a volume of units permitted to be manufactured. The license information is encrypted using a key already known to the chip, and sent to the manufacturer. The chip receives the license information during provisioning, extracts relevant provisioning information using the key, and a secure processing system provisions the relevant features. Log information is generated to allow the IP owner to verify license compliance.