| CPC G06F 21/57 (2013.01) [G06F 21/44 (2013.01); G06F 21/6209 (2013.01); H04Q 3/0095 (2013.01)] | 19 Claims |

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1. A method of access control, comprising:
dynamically controlling an access to firmware running a certified feature in an energy meter and a non-certified feature in the energy meter, wherein the access is based on a bifurcation between the certified feature and the non-certified feature running in the energy meter, wherein the non-certified feature relates to a legally non-relevant feature,
receiving a request for the access to the firmware;
permitting the access to the firmware, in response to determining that the request relates to the certified feature; or
denying the access to the firmware, in response to determining that the request relates to the non-certified feature, wherein the request is considered not valid, when the request relates to the non-certified feature and wherein the legally non-relevant feature further includes a billing profile handler;
generating an error response when the request is related to the non-certified feature; and
sending the error response to a user associated with the request,
wherein permitting the access to the firmware allows implementation of a read operation, a write operation and an execute operation for the certified feature and denying the access to the firmware allows implementation of the read operation for the non-certified feature,
wherein the certified feature relates to a legally relevant feature and the non-certified feature relates to the legally non-relevant feature in the energy meter,
wherein the legally relevant feature includes at least one of: a metrology, demand registers, instrumentation, a load profile handler, a critical event handler, a display handler, and a display menu manager in the energy meter, and
wherein the legally non-relevant feature includes at least one of: an energy rate assignment, a demand rate assignment, a tariff calendar, a date and time handler, a profile handler, an event profile handler, and an image download handler in the energy meter.
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