A system (100) for determining whether a client (102) is authorized to access content in a communication network (114) is disclosed. The system includes a computer software product (106, 112) containing programming instructions for defining content access rules in connection with accessing the content and for identifying client selections related to the content. The computer software product (106, 112) further includes programming instructions for providing client entitlement data. The computer software product (106, 112) further includes programming instructions for comparing the client entitlement data with the content access rules and the client selections to determine whether the client is authorized to access the content. Optionally, the computer software product (106, 112) also includes programming instructions that allow additional rules to be added to the content access rules. These additional rules can be added by other parties that are involved in the process of providing the requested content to the client.