JP2011210012A - Server, method and program for managing content - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique that allows on-line content transaction including rental.SOLUTION: A content management server includes a means for receiving a transaction request for content data through a predetermined site together with a permission request for the next transaction related to at least either sublease or resale of the content data, a means for transmitting the contents data for the transaction requested and a control key to a first user terminal, a means for transmitting a next transaction control means that is used at the user site of the first user terminal for receiving a next transaction request from the other user for the obtained content data and notifies the next transaction request from the other user to the content management server, and a means for transmitting to a second user terminal the same content data as that sent by the transaction through the predetermined site and a control key in response to the next transaction requested by the next transaction request received from the next transaction control means used at the user site.

Description

  The present invention relates to digital content online transaction technology.

Currently, digital contents such as video, music, and electronic books are traded online via the Internet or the like. A user who is a consumer views the digital content acquired by the transaction with a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a PC) or a portable device. Hereinafter, digital content distributed without being stored in a recording medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) or a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) is simply referred to as content.

JP 2006-113848 A

  However, the content as described above is only a target of a sales transaction and is not currently a target of a rental transaction. On the other hand, the content stored in a recording medium such as a DVD is not only sold but also leased, so the opportunity for viewing by the user increases.

  In view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a technology that enables online transactions of contents including resale transactions or sublease transactions.

  In the aspect of the present invention, the following configurations are employed in order to solve the above-described problems.

  A 1st aspect is related with the content management server which manages the online transaction of content data. The content management server according to the first aspect includes a first receiving means for receiving a request for permission for a next transaction to be at least one of a subleasing and a resale of the content data together with a transaction request for the content data via a predetermined site; In response to the transaction in response to the transaction request, the content data requested for the transaction and a management key used for controlling access to the content data are transmitted to the first user terminal, and the first transmission unit in response to the transaction. Next transaction control means used at the user's site of the first user terminal to accept a next transaction request from another user for the content data acquired by the user terminal, and the user's site by the other user Next transaction that has a function to notify this content management server of the next transaction request according to the operation for The second transmission means for transmitting the control means to the first user terminal as a response to the permission request for the next transaction, and used at the user's site in response to an operation by the other user via the second user terminal. A second receiving means for receiving a next transaction request from the next transaction control means, and the second transaction means through the predetermined site according to the next transaction requested by the next transaction request received by the second receiving means; And third transmission means for transmitting, to the second user terminal, the same content data already sent to the one user terminal and the management key corresponding to the next transaction for that content.

In the first aspect, the content management server sends the target content data and the management key to the first user terminal in response to a content data transaction request from the user of the first user terminal. At this time, the next transaction control means is also sent from the content management server to the first user terminal. The next transaction control means is used by the user of the user of the first user terminal, and by another user who seeks the next transaction that will be at least one of sublease and resale for the content data sent to the user of the first user terminal In response to an operation via the second user terminal, the next transaction request is sent to the content management server according to the first aspect. Thereby, the content management server according to the first aspect can detect a next transaction request from another user, and the content data already sent to the first user terminal for this other user The same content data and its management key are sent to the second user terminal.

  Thus, according to the first aspect, the user of the first user terminal who has acquired the content data from the content management server by online transaction can receive another user via the site where the next transaction control means is used. In addition, the content data can be sublet or resold. Furthermore, in this aspect, when subletting or reselling, a notification to that effect is always sent to the content management server, and content data corresponding to the next transaction is sent from the content management server to another user. Appropriate content data sub-lending transactions or resale transactions can be performed without illegal duplication or the like.

  In the first aspect, preferably, the content management server uses the transaction request received by the first receiving unit and the second receiving unit or the charging information charged in each transaction of the next transaction request as the transaction request destination. The billing information storage means for storing the information in association with the information indicating the predetermined site or the information indicating the user of the first user terminal as the next transaction request destination, and the transaction based on the billing information stored in the billing information storage means The calculation means for calculating the sales amount for each of the request destination and the next transaction request destination, and the next transaction according to the sales amount for each of the transaction request destination and the next transaction request destination calculated by the calculation means Price determination means for determining the price of sublease or resale, and price information of the next transaction determined by the price determination means in response to the access from the next transaction control means, the second user Further comprising powder or a fourth transmitting means for transmitting to the user's site, the.

  In such an aspect, at a user's site where content data is acquired from a predetermined site by online transaction, the price for the sublease transaction or the resale transaction is automatically determined according to the sales amount of the user, and the next transaction control is performed. Acquired and presented by means of means.

  Therefore, according to this aspect, the price in the sublease transaction or the resale transaction can be completely managed by the content management server. Furthermore, each price in a sub-lending transaction or resale transaction is determined according to the sales amount of each user, so that the motivation for soliciting the next transaction by each user can be increased, and online transactions of content data can be further activated. Can do.

  In the above aspect, preferably, the total number of transactions through the predetermined site as the transaction request destination and the next transaction is calculated based on the charging information stored in the charging information storage means in the content management server. The total number of transactions through the user's site as the transaction request destination and the next transaction is totaled as the user site sales number, and based on the ratio of the acquired predetermined site sales number and the user site sales number And a return rate determining means for determining a sales return ratio to the user of the first user terminal.

  According to this, the user of the 1st user terminal who performed the sublease transaction and the resale transaction with other users can receive the amount of sales with the return rate determined as mentioned above. In addition, since the return rate of each sales amount is determined by the number of people who performed the next transaction through each user's site, it is possible to increase the motivation for soliciting the next transaction by each user and further activate online transactions of content data can do.

  Further, in the above aspect, preferably, the return rate determination means in the content management server determines the next transaction sales number of each user who is the next transaction request destination based on the charging information stored in the charging information storage means. Based on the acquired number of sales persons of each user, the additional return ratio to each user is determined.

  As another aspect of the present invention, a content management method that realizes any one of the above configurations, a content management program, or a computer that records such a program can be read. It may be a simple storage medium.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the technique which enables the online transaction of the content containing a resale transaction or a sublease transaction can be provided.

The conceptual diagram which shows the whole structure of a content transaction system. The conceptual diagram which shows the structure of a content management server. The figure which shows the example of a standard price table. The figure which shows the example of individual transaction DB. The figure which shows the example of management key DB. The figure which shows the example of transaction management DB. The figure which shows the example of a 1st price table. The figure which shows the example of a 2nd price table. The figure which shows the example of a basic | foundation return rate table. The figure which shows the example of an additional return rate table. The figure which shows the example of money amount distribution information DB. The sequence chart which shows the operation example of the content transaction system 1 when the user A makes a purchase transaction request to an official site. The sequence chart which shows the operation example of the content transaction system 1 when the user A requests | requires a rental transaction to an official site. The flowchart which shows the determination process of a next transaction price. The flowchart which shows money amount distribution processing.

  Hereinafter, a specific example of a content online transaction system (hereinafter simply referred to as a content transaction system) as a mode for carrying out the present invention will be described. In the following embodiment, an example is given in which an electronic book is a transaction target as content, but the present invention does not limit the type of content, so content such as video and music is the transaction target. Also good. The examples given below are illustrative, and the present invention is not limited to the configurations of the following examples.

[System configuration]
Hereinafter, a content transaction system as an embodiment will be described.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an overall configuration of a content transaction system. The content transaction system 1 includes a content management server 3, a content server 4, a payment server 5, and the like. The content transaction system 1 is communicably connected to the user terminals 9A and 9B, the user server 7 and the like via a network 2 such as the Internet. In the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the content management server 3, the content server 4, and the settlement server 5 are respectively connected to the network 2, but these are mutually connected to a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network). ) Or the like, and may be connected to the network 2 via another device.

  In the present embodiment, an example is shown in which the user server 7 is installed as a server device that operates a content transaction site (hereinafter referred to as a user site) opened by a user who operates the user terminals 9A and 9B. However, the user site may be configured to be usable on the network 2, and the user site may be installed on a server device in the content transaction system 1 or may be installed on a server device owned by the user himself / herself. It may be installed.

  The user terminals 9A and 9B are computers such as PCs and mobile phones, for example. The user terminals 9 </ b> A and 9 </ b> B are operated by a user who performs online transactions for electronic books via the content transaction system 1. The user terminals 9 </ b> A and 9 </ b> B have a content processing function for processing electronic book data acquired via the content transaction system 1. This content processing function restricts a user operation on electronic book data acquired by a transaction by referring to a copyright management key described later. This prevents unauthorized copying and browsing of the electronic book data for the user.

  For such a content processing function, a general technical means for limiting access (browsing, copying, etc.) to digital data may be used. As this means, there is a technique for processing a known copy guard such as DTCP (Digital Transmission Content Protection), CSS (Content Scramble System), and CPPM (Content Protection for Prerecorded Media). In addition, since this invention does not limit the technical implementation method of the content processing function of user terminal 9A and 9B, description is abbreviate | omitted here.

  In addition, the user terminals 9A and 9B have a general communication function capable of accessing the content transaction system 1 and receiving data, a general user interface function capable of displaying and operating a screen based on the provided data, and the like. The present invention is not limited to the hardware configuration and functional configuration of the user terminals 9A and 9B. Hereinafter, the user terminals 9 </ b> A and 9 </ b> B are collectively referred to as the user terminal 9, unless it is particularly necessary to distinguish them.

  The content server 4 is a server device that provides various digital contents that are subject to online transactions. In the present embodiment, since the electronic book is an online transaction target, the content server 4 provides various kinds of electronic book data. The content server 4 is realized as, for example, a WEB server or a file server.

  For each electronic book, the content server 4 stores the registration date, content ID, general sales code, title, category, author, purchase expiration date, rental expiration date, content storage location, copyright holder (publisher) along with electronic book data. And so on. The registration date is the date when the electronic book data is stored in the content server 4. The content ID is identification information for identifying the electronic book. The general sales code is a book JAN code, ISBN (International Standard Book Number), or the like related to the book. The content storage location indicates a location where the electronic book data is stored.

  The content server 4 sends such information about each electronic book to the content management server 3. Further, the content server 4 sends electronic book data to be requested to the content management server 3 in response to a request from the content management server 3.

The settlement server 5 performs a settlement process in response to a request from the content management server 3. The settlement server 5 charges, for example, a user who has performed online content transaction via the user terminal 9 and performs a settlement process by a settlement method selected by the user. When the payment process is normally completed, the payment server 5 sends a message to that effect to the content management server 3.

  Further, the settlement server 5 performs a return settlement process when the content transaction system 1 returns an amount corresponding to the sales amount of the user from the content transaction system 1 in addition to the above-described billing settlement for the user. In response to the request from the content management server 3, the payment server 5 pays the user specified by the request by the payment method specified by the user. In addition, since it is sufficient that a general online payment process is applied to the payment process itself by the payment server 5, a detailed description is omitted here. Further, the present invention does not limit the hardware configuration of the content server 4 and the settlement server 5 described above, and the functions of these servers may be installed in the content management server 3 or one server. It may be realized by an apparatus.

[Device configuration]
Hereinafter, the configuration of the content management server 3 in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of the content management server 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the content management server 3 includes a control unit 31, a storage unit 32, a communication unit 33, and the like connected by a bus 35 as a hardware configuration. The storage unit 32 is, for example, a hard disk, and stores various types of information used in processing executed by the control unit 31. The control unit 31 includes one or a plurality of processors such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and peripheral circuits (ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Radom Access Memory), interface circuit, etc.) used for processing of the processor. . The communication unit 33 is connected to the network 2
To the communication between the content management server 3 and the user terminal 9, the communication between the content management server 3 and the content server 4, the communication between the content management server 3 and the settlement server 5, and the like. The present invention does not limit the communication mode of these content management servers 3, and for example, IP (Internet Protocol) communication is used. The content management server 3 may be constructed by a general-purpose computer such as a PC or a dedicated computer. The present invention does not limit the hardware configuration of the content management server 3.

  The content management server 3 implements each processing block shown in FIG. 2 by executing the application program stored in the storage unit 32 by the control unit 31. As such processing blocks, the content management server 3 includes an interface processing unit 41, a transaction processing unit 42, a management key processing unit 43, a price determination unit 44, an amount distribution processing unit 45, and the like. As a database (DB) and a table referred to by these processing blocks, an individual transaction DB 51, a management key DB 52, a transaction management DB 53, an amount distribution information DB 54, a standard price table 55, a basic return rate table 56, an additional return rate table 57, a second A one price table 58 and a second price table 59 are stored in the storage unit 32. Note that in this description, stored data that is changed arbitrarily or at a predetermined timing is referred to as DB, and stored data that is basically not changed is referred to as a table. Hereinafter, each processing block of the price estimation server 10 will be described.

  The interface processing unit 41 operates as an interface between the user terminal 9 and the content transaction system 1 in providing an online transaction service for various electronic book data provided from the content server 4 to the user terminal 9. For example, a WEB system is used as an interface between the content management server 3 and the user terminal 9. In the following, for convenience of explanation, an example in which the WEB system is used as the interface will be described as an example. However, a unique interface may be used.

  The interface processing unit 41 has a WEB server function and publishes on the network 2 an online transaction site (hereinafter referred to as an official site) operated by the content transaction system 1. The interface processing unit 41 provides data such as an online transaction screen for enabling online transactions for access from the user terminal 9. The interface processing unit 41 includes information (title, category, author name, copyright owner name, etc.) about various electronic books provided from the content server 4 in the online transaction screen data. A user who operates the user terminal 9 selects a book to be traded by operating the online transaction screen displayed on the display unit of the user terminal 9.

  The interface processing unit 41 further includes a display unit for allowing the user to select rental (rental) or purchase as a transaction type, a display unit for retail price, rental price, and rental period on the online transaction screen. For the retail price, rental price, and rental period, each data stored in the standard retail price field, standard rental price field, and standard rental period field of the standard price table 55 is used.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the standard price table 55. In the standard price table 55, as shown in FIG. 3, for each electronic book, the registration date, content ID, standard rental price, standard rental period, rental period decrease rate, first rental variation, standard retail price, second rental Each variation is stored. The standard price table 55 is generated based on information on each electronic book provided from the content server 4. Further, the standard price table 55 itself may be sent from the content server 4.

  In the registration date field, the date when the electronic book is registered in the content server 4 is stored. An identifier for identifying the electronic book is stored in the content ID field. The standard rental price field stores the rental price in the transaction on the official site and the data presented on the online transaction screen. The standard rental period field is an initial rental period handled in transactions via the official website, and stores data presented on the online transaction screen.

  The initial rental period field means a rental period set at the time of rental transaction. This initial rental period is reduced according to the rental period reduction rate. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the rental period decrease rate is set to “48H decrease at 48H”, the rental period remains the initial rental period (7 days) until 48 hours after the rental transaction is established. After 48 hours, the rental period is reduced by 48 hours to 5 days. Although FIG. 3 shows an example in which only one pattern rental period and rental price are stored, a plurality of patterns of rental periods and rental prices may also be provided in transactions through the official website. .

  In the first rental variation field, when the electronic book is rented via the official site, the rental period and the rental price that can be presented when the rented user subleases (or lends) the electronic book to another person. Is stored. In the example of FIG. 3, when a user who rents an electronic book whose content ID is “JAS2585555”, when subletting the electronic book, “7 days: 700 yen”, “5 days: 500 yen”, “3 Rental variations of "day: 300 yen" and "1 day: 100 yen" can be presented.

  In the standard retail price field, a price in a purchase transaction via the official site is stored. This standard retail price is also used as a price that can be presented when the purchased user resells the electronic book to another person when the electronic book is purchased through the official website.

  In the second rental variation field, when the electronic book is purchased through the official site, the rental period and rental price that can be presented when the purchased user subleases (or lends) the electronic book to another person. Is stored. In the example of FIG. 3, when a user who purchases an electronic book whose content ID is “JAS25845555” subleases the electronic book, “13 days: 1300 yen”, “11 days: 1100 yen”, “9 Rental variations of "day: 900 yen", "7 day: 700 yen", "5 day: 500 yen", "3 day: 300 yen", and "1 day: 100 yen" can be presented.

  The interface processing unit 41 includes, in the online transaction screen, a next transaction selecting unit for requesting the content transaction system 1 to permit the next transaction in which the user becomes at least one of sublease and resale. Specifically, in the next transaction selection unit, if rental is selected as the transaction type, whether or not to sublease to another person, if the purchase is selected as the transaction type, subleasing to another person or others It is possible to select whether or not to resell to. Hereinafter, a sublending transaction or a resale transaction is referred to as a next transaction.

  The user operates such an online transaction screen to select a desired electronic book, select a desired transaction type, select the type and presence of the next transaction, and finally obtain an online transaction. Execute. By this user operation, the interface processing unit 41 receives a transaction request including information such as the content ID, transaction type, next transaction type and presence / absence of the electronic book to be traded. The interface processing unit 41 sends the received transaction request to the transaction processing unit 42.

  Further, the interface processing unit 41 operates as an interface between the next transaction control means (to be described later) and the content management server 3 as processing related to the next transaction. Specifically, the interface processing unit 41 stores data (retail price, rental variation) that can be presented in the next transaction such as sublease and resale in the standard price table 55 in response to a request from the next transaction control unit described later. The data is extracted from the first rental variation field or the second rental variation field, the next transaction price field of the transaction management DB 53, and the data is provided to the user terminal 9.

  Specifically, for an electronic book purchased from an official site, the period of the rental period stored in the second rental variation field of the standard price table 55 until the resale or sublease after the purchase transaction and Rental price patterns are used. When an electronic book rented from the official website is targeted, the rental period and rental stored in the first rental variation field of the standard price table 55 until the resale or subleasing after the rental transaction. Price patterns are used. Further, after resale or sublease, the value of the next transaction price field in the transaction management DB 53 is used.

  When receiving the next transaction request from the next transaction control unit, the interface processing unit 41 sends the received next transaction request to the transaction processing unit 42. This next transaction request includes information such as a content ID to be requested, a type of next transaction, and a user ID to be a transaction request source.

  The transaction processing unit 42 receives a transaction request indicating that an online transaction has been requested via the official site, or a next transaction request indicating that an online next transaction has been requested via the user site. When received from, various processes for establishing these transactions are executed. Specifically, when receiving the transaction request or the next transaction request, the transaction processing unit 42 instructs the payment server 5 to perform the payment process for the user who is the request source. At this time, the transaction processing unit 42 may send information such as a user ID and a payment method included in the transaction request or the next transaction request to the payment server 5.

  When the transaction processing unit 42 receives a response from the payment server 5 that the payment process has been completed normally, the transaction target or the next transaction target electronic book data and the copyright used in access control for the electronic book data A management key (hereinafter simply referred to as a management key) is acquired and transmitted to the requesting user terminal 9. The target electronic book data is acquired from the content server 4 by designating the content ID included in the transaction request or the next transaction request. The copyright management key is acquired from the management key processing unit 43.

  If the transaction processing unit 42 determines that at least one permission request for the next transaction is included based on the type and presence / absence of the next transaction included in the acquisition request, the electronic book data according to the transaction based on the transaction request Next transaction control means for enabling the user who has acquired the next transaction to be transmitted to the user terminal 9 together with the electronic book data and the management key. The user who has received the next transaction control means generates a WEB page that uses the next transaction control means, and provides the WEB page at his / her own user site. The next transaction to another person becomes possible, and sales can be obtained by the next transaction.

  The next transaction control unit is a function for acquiring and displaying data related to the next transaction (rental variation that can be presented in the next transaction, standard retail price, etc.) from the content management server 3 by being executed on the user site or the user terminal 9. In addition, it has a function of notifying the content management server 3 of a next transaction request including a content ID to be requested, a type of the next transaction, etc., in response to a next transaction request operation of either rental or purchase by another user. This next transaction control means is realized, for example, as a tag or script that can be added to the WEB page provided at the user site. The present invention is not limited to a specific embodiment of the next transaction control means, and any form capable of realizing each function as described above may be used.

An example of a tag is another HTML in HTML (HyperText Markup Language).
An iFrame tag that realizes an inline frame as a method of incorporating the “.” Is used. In this case, the transaction processing unit 42 holds in advance a tag including a WEB page for the next transaction, a program executed on the WEB page, and a URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of the WEB page. It sends to the user terminal 9 as a next transaction control means. The user who has received this tag can display information related to the next transaction and a selection unit that enables an operation related to the next transaction on the WEB page by including the tag in the WEB page provided at his / her user site. And subsequent transactions such as sublease or resale to others are possible.

  Thus, in the content transaction system 1, if the next transaction control means is provided, the user can perform the next transaction, and if the next transaction control means is not provided, the user cannot perform the next transaction. . The transaction processing unit 42 provides the next transaction control means that allows a user who has purchased an electronic book via the official site to be able to sublease and resell to another user, and rented the electronic book via the official site. The user is provided with next transaction control means that enables sublease to other users. On the other hand, the transaction processing unit 42 does not provide the next transaction control means to a user who has made a resale transaction or a sublease transaction via the user site, and makes a further resale transaction and a sublease transaction impossible.

  The transmission method of the electronic book data, the management key, and the next transaction control means to the user terminal 9 is realized, for example, by transmitting an e-mail including a URL where such data can be downloaded.

  When the transaction processing unit 42 transmits the electronic book data and the management key to the user terminal 9 in response to the transaction request or the next transaction request, the transaction processing unit 42 stores information related to the transaction in the individual transaction DB 51.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the individual transaction DB 51. The individual transaction DB 51 stores an update date, a user ID, settlement information, a content ID, a transaction source ID, a transaction type, and a transaction amount for each transaction including sublease and resale. The update date field stores information on the date when the transaction is completed and the record is added. The user ID field stores the identifier of the user who requested the transaction. The settlement information field stores information related to settlement in the transaction such as an account number, credit number, settlement method type, and the like. In the content ID field, an identifier of the electronic book that is the subject of the transaction is stored.

  The transaction ID field stores information indicating a user ID or an official site of a user who is a request destination (transaction source) of the transaction. When the transaction request destination is an official site, the transaction is a purchase transaction or a rental transaction. When the transaction request destination is a user ID, the transaction is the next transaction, that is, resale (or resale (or This is the case of (sale) transactions and sublending (or lending) transactions. The transaction type field stores information indicating purchase or rental as the transaction type. In the case of a sublease transaction, information indicating rental is stored in the transaction type field, and in the case of a resale transaction, information indicating purchase is stored in the transaction type field. In the transaction amount field, price information of the transaction is stored. For example, in the case of a rental transaction, the rental price corresponding to the rental period selected by the user is stored in this transaction amount field.

  Each transaction information as described above, that is, a user ID, settlement information, a content ID, a transaction source ID, a transaction type, and a transaction amount are included in the transaction request and the next transaction request. The transaction processing unit 42 extracts the transaction information from the transaction request or the next transaction request, and adds a new record including the transaction information to the individual transaction DB 51.

  In response to an instruction from the transaction processing unit 42, the management key processing unit 43 generates a management key corresponding to the transaction target electronic book and corresponding to the transaction, and sends the generated management key to the transaction processing unit 42. A management key is generated for each transaction. The management key is a technical means for restricting access (viewing, copying, etc.) to electronic book data that is digital data, and is generated by applying a known copy guard technology such as DTCP, CSS, CPPM, etc. Is done. It should be noted that the present invention does not limit the technical realization method of the management key itself, and the description thereof is omitted here.

  The management key processing unit 43 stores necessary information in the management key, for example, according to the transaction form. Specifically, for example, in the case of a rental transaction or sublending transaction, information indicating that it is a rental transaction or sublending transaction, information on the remaining rental period, rental period decrease rate, etc. are stored in the management key, and purchased. In the case of a transaction or a resale transaction, information indicating a purchase transaction or a resale transaction is stored. By using such information by the above-described content processing function of the user terminal 9, the electronic book acquired by the rental transaction is not only prohibited from being copied, but also in the remaining rental period included in the management key. Only browsing is restricted.

  The remaining rental period included in the management key may be decreased by the management key itself according to the rental period decrease rate, or may be decreased by notifying data from the content management server 3. The content processing function of the user terminal 9 may be reduced.

  The management key processing unit 43 manages information about the management key using the management key DB 52. When the management key processing unit 43 generates a management key, the management key processing unit 43 adds information about the generated management key to the management key DB 52.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the management key DB 52. The management key DB 52 stores an update date, a user ID, a content ID, a transaction type, and a remaining rental period for each management key issued for each transaction. The remaining rental period field stores information on the remaining rental period when the transaction type indicates a rental transaction. The management key processing unit 43 acquires a user ID, a content ID, a transaction type, and a rental period together with a management key generation instruction from the transaction processing unit 42, and generates a record of the management key DB 52 including these.

  In addition, the management key processing unit 43 monitors the remaining rental period of each management key stored in the management key DB 52 at an arbitrary timing. The management key processing unit 43 updates the remaining rental period of each management key stored in the management key DB 52 according to the rental period decrease rate stored in the standard price table 55. Specifically, the management key processing unit 43 extracts the rental period reduction rate from the record of the standard price table 55 specified by the content ID for each record (each management key) related to the rental transaction of the management key DB 52, The remaining rental period is reduced according to the rental period reduction rate.

  Here, the maximum rental period included in the rental variation that can be presented when subletting is set to be equal to or shorter than the remaining rental period set in the electronic book (management key) to be sublent. This is because when an electronic book rented to the user A via the official website is sublet to the user B in a period (for example, 7 days) longer than the remaining rental period (for example, 5 days), This is because a contradiction arises as a sublending transaction in which the rental period of the electronic book of user B who has been subleased remains after the rental period of the electronic book of A ends.

  Therefore, when the remaining rental period of the management key DB 52 is updated, the management key processing unit 43 excludes the period excluded by the update and the combination of the sublease price corresponding to the period from the rental variation. Specifically, the management key processing unit 43 deletes the sublease price corresponding to the excluded period stored in the next transaction price field in the transaction management DB 53 (set to NULL).

  As a result of updating the remaining rental period in the management key DB 52, the management key processing unit 43 identifies a record whose remaining rental period is equal to or shorter than a predetermined period (for example, one day), and notifies the user identified by the user ID of this record to the user A warning to that effect is sent. This notification is realized, for example, by sending a mail to a mail address managed with respect to the user ID. Further, when the remaining rental period becomes zero (0) as a result of updating the remaining rental period of the management key DB 52, the management key processing unit 43 may delete the record from the management key DB 52. .

  The price determination unit 44 aggregates the transaction status for each electronic book based on each transaction information stored in the individual transaction DB 51 and reflects the aggregated transaction status in the transaction management DB 53. Furthermore, the price determination unit 44 determines the next transaction price that can be presented in the next transaction of each user according to the aggregated transaction status, and reflects the determined next transaction price in the transaction management DB 53. In the present embodiment, the price determination unit 44 adds a record when reflecting data in the transaction management DB 53.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the transaction management DB 53. In the transaction management DB 53, for each combination of the content ID, the transaction source (transaction request destination) ID, the transaction type, and the transaction amount in the individual transaction DB 51, the sales amount subtotal (retail subtotal and rental subtotal), the sales number (retail number and retail number) Number of rentals), sales deviation value (retail deviation value and rental deviation value), deviation value rank (retail deviation value rank and rental deviation value rank), and next transaction price are stored. For records where the transaction type of the individual transaction DB 51 indicates purchase, the transaction amount of that record is set to the retail price of the transaction management DB 53, and for records where the transaction type of the individual transaction DB 51 indicates rental, the transaction amount of that record is The rental price of the transaction management DB 53 is set.

The total number of people who have made purchase transactions for each transaction request destination for each electronic book is stored in the retail number field. The retail subtotal field stores the amount sold by the purchase transaction for each transaction request destination for each electronic book, that is, the amount obtained by multiplying the transaction amount of the purchase transaction by the number of retailers. In the case of a purchase transaction, there is no variation in the transaction amount, so one record of purchase transaction is set for each transaction request destination for each electronic book.

  On the other hand, the rental number field stores the total number of persons who have made rental transactions at the rental price for each transaction request destination and transaction amount (rental price) for each electronic book. In the rental subtotal field, the amount sold in the rental transaction of the rental price for each transaction request destination and transaction amount (rental price) for each electronic book, that is, the rental transaction amount is rented at the transaction amount. The amount obtained by multiplying the number of people is stored.

  The initial record to be stored in the transaction management DB 53 is generated when the first transaction of a new electronic book is stored in the individual transaction DB 51, for example. In that case, the content ID, the calculation date, and the calculation period are stored. The calculation date field stores information on the date when the corresponding record is reflected in the transaction management DB 53, and the calculation period field stores information indicating the cycle for the aggregation processing by the price determination unit 44 for the electronic book. The The value of the calculation period field may be acquired from the content server 4 or set by a system administrator or the like. The price determination unit 44 calculates the date obtained by adding the calculation period stored in the calculation period field to the calculation date stored in the calculation date field among the transaction status data regarding each electronic book stored in the transaction management DB 53. Update processing of the transaction management DB 53 is executed for electronic books that are equal to or greater than the current day.

  When the price determination unit 44 finishes counting the number of retailers, the retail subtotal, the rental subtotal, and the rental number as described above, the retail deviation value and the retail deviation value rank for each transaction request destination for each electronic book, Rental deviation values and rental deviation value ranks are calculated for each transaction request destination and rental price.

  The price determination unit 44 obtains the distribution position in the retail deviation values of all the users regarding the retail deviation value for the electronic book of each user as the retail deviation value rank. For example, the distribution position is determined to be within the upper 30% and within the upper 50%. Similarly, the price determination unit 44 obtains the distribution position among the rental deviation values of all the users as the rental deviation value rank with respect to the rental deviation value of each user regarding the electronic book. The price determination unit 44 stores the sales deviation value rank and the rental deviation value rank thus obtained in the transaction management DB 53, respectively.

  The price determination unit 44 determines each rental price to be included in a rental variation that can be presented in the next transaction, based on the retail deviation value and the rental deviation value obtained as described above. The price determination unit 44 stores each determined rental price in the next transaction price field of each record in which the rental price corresponding to the same rental period is set. The price determination unit 44 determines the price of the next transaction based on the second price table when the retail deviation value rank or the rental deviation value rank is higher than a predetermined rank (for example, the top 30%). When the rental deviation value rank is equal to or lower than the predetermined rank, the price of the next transaction is determined based on the first price table.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the first price table 58. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the second price table 59. In the first price table 58 and the second price table 59, the next transaction price (rental price) that can be presented in the next transaction of each electronic book is the previous transaction type, transaction amount, retail deviation value rank, or rental deviation value. Stored in association with the rank. Further, the next transaction price stored in the second price table 59 is set lower than the next transaction price stored in the first price table 58. This is because it is possible to present a cheap price in the next transaction to users who contribute to the sales of electronic books.

  When the price determination unit 44 determines the price of the next transaction in this manner, the price determination unit 44 sets the next transaction price field in the transaction management DB 53. According to the example of FIG. 6, rental variations that can be presented when a transaction request destination (user) whose transaction ID is “456 DEF” sublease an electronic book whose content ID is “HMJKS857E” are set as follows. ing.

Rental period = 6 days, rental price (next transaction price) = 500 yen Rental period = 5 days, rental price (next transaction price) = 350 yen Rental period = 4 days, rental price (next transaction price) = 380 yen Rental period = 3 days, rental price (next transaction price) = 270 yen After the next transaction price is reflected in the transaction management DB 53 in this way, the price determination unit 44 requests the amount distribution processing unit 45 to perform processing.

  The amount distribution processing unit 45 returns the total sales amount of each transaction requesting user related to the target electronic book to each transaction requesting user according to the total number of resale transactions and subleasing transactions of each transaction requesting user related to the target electronic book. Determine the reduction rate to determine the amount to be paid. The amount distribution processing unit 45 calculates the return amount of each transaction request destination user by multiplying the determined return rate by the total sales amount of the target electronic book of each transaction request destination user, and each calculated return amount The settlement server 5 is requested to distribute the amount to each transaction requesting user. In addition, the return object to each transaction request destination user by the settlement server 5 is not limited to money but may be some advantage such as points. Further, the settlement server 5 processes the amount obtained by subtracting the amount determined according to the return rate from the total sales amount so as to be distributed to the target person other than the user such as the copyright holder or the copyright management organization. May be.

  In determining the return rate, the amount distribution processing unit 45 first calculates the total sales number of the official website and each transaction requesting user for the target electronic book, and calculates the total sales number of each person in the transaction management DB 53. Store in the number of sales people field. The money amount distribution processing unit 45 calculates the ratio of the total sales person number of all the transaction requesting users to the total sales person number of the target electronic book, and acquires the basic return rate corresponding to the calculated ratio from the basic return rate table 56. .

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of the basic return rate table 56. The basic return rate table 56 stores the value of the basic return rate for each ratio of the total sales number of all transaction requesting users. Although not shown in the example of FIG. 9, the basic return rate table 56 may be set to a different value for each electronic book. This basic return rate is set to be as high as possible if the contribution ratio of the number of sales persons of all business requesting users is high.

  Furthermore, the money amount distribution processing unit 45 determines whether or not to add an additional return rate to the transaction requesting user whose sales contribution is high based on the distribution of the sales number of each transaction requesting user in addition to the basic return rate. Further, an additional reduction rate to be added is determined based on the additional reduction rate table 57.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the additional return rate table 57. The additional return rate table 57 stores an additional return rate corresponding to the distribution (rank) of the sales number of each transaction requesting user. This additional return rate is set to be as high as possible within the possible range of the value of the transaction requesting user who has a high degree of sales contribution.

The amount distribution processing unit 45 adds the basic return rate and the additional return rate determined as described above, and calculates the return rate of each transaction request destination user. The amount distribution processing unit 45 stores the basic return rate, additional return rate, and return rate obtained in this way in the amount distribution information DB 54 for each transaction requesting user of each electronic book together with the number difference value and the number difference ranking. Store.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of the amount distribution information DB 54. The money amount distribution information DB 54 stores the calculation date, content ID, transaction source ID, basic return rate, number of people difference value, number of people difference ranking, additional return rate, and return rate for each electronic book and each transaction requesting user. The The number difference value and the number difference ranking will be described in detail in the section of the operation example.

[Operation example]
Hereinafter, an operation example of the content transaction system 1 in the embodiment will be described.

  FIG. 12 is a sequence chart showing an operation example of the content transaction system 1 when the user A makes a purchase transaction request to the official site. In the following description, the user terminal 9A operated by the user A is expressed as a user A terminal, the user terminal 9B operated by the user B is expressed as a user B terminal, and a user site opened by the user A for the next transaction is described. This is referred to as user A site.

  The user A accesses the official site of the content management server 3 by operating the user A terminal when transacting electronic books. In response to this access, the interface processing unit 41 of the content management server 3 sends online transaction screen data to the user A terminal, and the online transaction screen is displayed on the user A terminal. On this screen, information on various electronic books provided by the content server 4 is displayed. Here, the user A operates the online transaction screen to select the electronic book G, select a purchase transaction, select rental and purchase as the next transaction, and finally request an online transaction. Is assumed to have been executed. By this operation, a transaction request is sent from the user A terminal to the content management server 3 (S10).

  In the content management server 3, when the interface processing unit 41 receives this transaction request, the transaction request is transferred to the transaction processing unit 42. In response to the transaction request, the transaction processing unit 42 instructs the payment server 5 to perform the payment process for the user who is the request source (S11). In this instruction, for example, the user ID of the user A included in the transaction request and the payment method information specified by the user A, and the standard retail price (standard price) acquired from the content ID of the electronic book G included in the transaction request. Information such as table 55) is sent to the settlement server 5.

  When the transaction processing unit 42 receives a payment completion response from the payment server 5, the transaction processing unit 42 acquires the data of the electronic book G from the content server 4 by designating the content ID included in the transaction request (S12). Subsequently, the transaction processing unit 42 requests the management key processing unit 43 to generate a management key corresponding to the content ID.

  The management key processing unit 43 is a management key corresponding to the electronic book G and corresponding to the purchase transaction based on the content ID and information (information indicating purchase) regarding the current transaction included in the request from the transaction processing unit 42. Is generated (S13). This management key stores information indicating purchase. The management key processing unit 43 adds the generated management key information to the management key DB 52 (S14). Thereby, a new record including the update date indicating the generated date, the user ID of the user A, the content ID of the electronic book G, and the transaction type indicating purchase is generated and added to the management key DB 52. Since the transaction type is purchase, nothing is set for the remaining rental period of the added record. The management key processing unit 43 sends the generated management key to the transaction processing unit 42.

The transaction processing unit 42 generates next transaction control means (for example, iFrame tag) that allows the user A to perform the next transaction of resale and sublease for which permission is required (S15). This
The transaction processing unit 42 sends the electronic book data of the electronic book G, the management key, and the next transaction control means to the user A terminal (S16). It goes without saying that these data may be downloaded from the content management server 3 by the user A.

  Thereby, the user A can browse the electronic book G by operating the user A terminal. At this time, in the user A terminal, a predetermined content processing function processes the management key and the electronic book data to display the browsing screen.

  When the transaction processing unit 42 transmits the electronic book data or the like to the user A terminal, the transaction processing unit 42 stores data related to the transaction in the individual transaction DB 51 (S17). Thereby, the update date indicating the date at that time, the user ID of the user A, the settlement information in the transaction, the content ID of the electronic book G, the transaction source ID indicating the official site, the transaction type indicating purchase, and the transaction indicating the purchase amount A new record including the amount is generated and added to the individual transaction DB 51.

  By the way, the user A is seeking the next transaction at the time of the purchase transaction, and obtains the next transaction control unit accordingly. Therefore, the user A generates a WEB page for resale and sublease that uses the next transaction control means, and the WEB page is uploaded to the user A site (S20).

  Here, the user B who desires online transaction of the electronic book G operates the user B terminal and browses the next transaction WEB page of the user A site. When this WEB page is displayed on the user B terminal, the next transaction control means operates to send a next transaction data request to the content management server 3.

  In the content management server 3, when the interface processing unit 41 receives the request, since the previous transaction is purchase, the standard retail price for resale from the standard retail price field and the second rental variation field of the standard price table 55 and Acquire rental variations for sublending. The interface processing unit 41 sends the standard retail price for resale and the rental variation for subleasing to the user A terminal (S21).

  Thereby, in the user B terminal, the display unit that enables the next transaction (rental or purchase) operation, the standard retail price for resale, and the rental variation for subleasing are displayed on the next transaction WEB page. In this example, the data for the next transaction is sent from the content management server 3 to the user B terminal. However, the data is sent from the content management server 3 to the user A site according to the method for realizing the next transaction control means. It may be.

  User B selects purchase or rental via the next transaction WEB page, and finally executes an operation of requesting an online next transaction. When the next transaction control means operates in response to this operation, a next transaction request is sent from the user B terminal to the content management server 3 (S22). This next transaction request may also be sent from the user A site to the content management server 3 in accordance with the method for realizing the next transaction control means.

  When the next transaction request is sent to the content management server 3 by the next transaction control means, the transaction processing unit 42 requests the settlement server 5 to perform a settlement process in the same manner as when the transaction request sent from the user A is received. The electronic book data of the electronic book G for the user B is acquired from the content server 4 (S24), and the management key processing unit 43 generates a management key for the electronic book G for the user B. (S25) Information on the generated management key is added to the management key DB 52 (S26). The processes from (S23) to (S26) are the same as the process when the transaction request is received by the user A, except that the processing target is the electronic book G for the user B.

  The transaction processing unit 42 sends the acquired electronic book data and management key of the electronic book G to the user B terminal (S27). At this time, the next transaction control means is not sent to the user B terminal. This is because when the next transaction is requested, no further next transaction is permitted.

  Thereby, the user B can browse the electronic book G acquired by the resale transaction or the sublease transaction via the user A site of the user A by operating the user B terminal. At this time, in the user B terminal, a predetermined content processing function processes the management key and the electronic book data to display the browsing screen.

  When the transaction processing unit 42 transmits the electronic book data and the like to the user B terminal, the transaction processing unit 42 stores data relating to the next transaction in the individual transaction DB 51 (S28). Thereby, the update date indicating the date at that time, the user ID of the user B, the settlement information in the next transaction, the content ID of the electronic book G, the transaction source ID indicating the user ID of the user A as the transaction request destination, purchase or A new record including a transaction type indicating rental and a transaction amount indicating the purchase amount is generated and added to the individual transaction DB 51. Thereby, user A who has established a resale transaction or a sublease transaction with user B has obtained sales in the resale transaction or the sublease transaction. This sales information is tabulated by the price determination unit 44 by referring to the transaction amount of the individual transaction DB 51 added as described above.

  FIG. 13 is a sequence chart showing an operation example of the content transaction system 1 when the user A makes a rental transaction request to the official site. Each process from (S10) to (S28) is basically the same as the above-described operation example shown in FIG. 12 except that the transaction to be processed is different. Hereinafter, only processing different from the above-described operation example of FIG. 12 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, in this case, the transaction request sent from the user A terminal to the content management server 3 further includes transaction type indicating rental, rental period, and rental price information corresponding to the rental period (S10). In the present embodiment, the rental variation presented on the official website is limited to one so as to be stored in the standard price table 55, so the standard rental period and standard rental price stored in the standard price table 55 are traded. Included in the request. In this case, since only sublending can be permitted in the next transaction, the permission request for the next transaction included in the transaction request can include only information indicating sublending.

  The management key generated by the management key processing unit 43 stores information indicating that the transaction is a rental transaction, information on the remaining rental period, rental period decrease rate, and the like. In the stage of (S13), the data stored in the standard rental period field of the standard price table 55 is used for the remaining rental period, and the rental period decrease rate is stored in the rental period decrease rate field of the standard price table 55. Data is used.

  Moreover, in (S15), the next transaction control means which can make user A possible the next transaction of the sublending for which permission is required is generated. By the operation of the next transaction control means, only the sublease can be selected as the next transaction for the next transaction WEB page provided at the user A site opened by the user A.

  In (S17), the record added to the individual transaction DB 51 by the transaction processing unit 42 includes an update date indicating the current date, the user ID of the user A, payment information for the transaction, and a content ID of the electronic book G. , The transaction source ID indicating the official site, the transaction type indicating the rental, and the transaction amount indicating the rental price.

  As shown in FIG. 13, when the electronic book G is acquired by rental transaction, the remaining rental period is monitored by the management key corresponding to the electronic book data, and the management key processing unit 43 of the content management server 3 is arbitrarily set. At this timing, the remaining rental period of each management key stored in the management key DB 52 is monitored. The management key processing unit 43 extracts the rental period reduction rate from the record of the standard price table 55 specified by the content ID for each management key related to the rental transaction in the management key DB 52, and determines the rental period reduction rate according to the rental period reduction rate. Reduce remaining rental period.

  When the management key processing unit 43 detects that the remaining rental period of the electronic book G of the user A has become a predetermined period (for example, one day) or less as a result of updating the remaining rental period of the management key DB 52 (S30), the user A is notified of a warning to that effect (S31). Similarly, when the management key processing unit 43 detects that the remaining rental period of the electronic book G of the user B has become a predetermined period (for example, one day) or less (S30), the management key processing unit 43 notifies the user B of a warning to that effect. (S32).

  In relation to such a remaining rental period, the maximum rental period included in the rental variation that can be presented when subletting is set to be equal to or shorter than the remaining rental period of the electronic book G. Thereby, in order to display a rental variation for sublending on the WEB page for next transaction, at the stage when a request is issued from the next transaction control means to the content management server 3, the next transaction price field of the transaction management DB 53 includes: Only the rental prices corresponding to the remaining rental period of the electronic book G are set. Such an update process for the transaction management DB 53 is performed by the management key processing unit 43.

  Although not shown in FIG. 12, when the user B obtains the electronic book G by a rental transaction via the user A site, the monitoring control of the remaining rental period of the electronic book G is performed as described above.

  FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the next transaction price determination process. The next transaction price is determined by the price determination unit 44 using the individual transaction DB 51 and the transaction management DB 53.

  The price determination unit 44 monitors the values of the calculation date field and the calculation period field of the transaction management DB 53 at an arbitrary timing. The price determination unit 44 extracts, as a processing target, a record whose date obtained by adding the calculation period to the calculation date is after the current date (S40). If the corresponding record does not exist (S41; NO), the price determining unit 44 ends the process.

  When the corresponding record exists (S41; YES), the price determination unit 44 acquires the content ID from the record, and extracts a record indicating an unprocessed transaction for the content ID from the individual transaction DB 51 as a processing target. (S42). Specifically, the unprocessed transaction is a record whose update date in the individual transaction DB 51 is a date after the calculation date of the record extracted from the transaction management DB 53.

Based on the record extracted from the individual transaction DB 51, the price determination unit 44 totals the number of persons who performed the transaction and the subtotal amount of the transaction amount for each combination of the transaction source ID, the transaction type, and the transaction amount (S43). The number of people corresponds to the number of corresponding records, and the subtotal of the transaction amount corresponds to the total transaction amount of the corresponding record. As a result, the number of purchase transactions through the official website, the number of rental transactions through the official website, the subtotal of the transaction value of purchase transactions through the official website, and the transaction value of rental transactions through the official website Subtotals are aggregated. Also, as an example, the number of people who made a purchase transaction via the user site of user A (user ID = 123ABC), the number of people who made a rental transaction during the rental period T via the user site of user A, Subtotal of transaction amount in purchase transaction through user site, subtotal of transaction amount in rental transaction in rental period S through user site of user A, rental transaction in rental period T through user site of user A The subtotal of the transaction amount is aggregated.

  The price determination unit 44 stores each value related to the purchase transaction in the total number of transactions and the total amount of transaction in the retail number field and the retail subtotal field, and stores each value related to the rental transaction in the rental number field and the rental subtotal field. (S44). In the above example, the number of people who made a purchase transaction via the official site is stored in the retail number field of the record whose transaction source ID indicates the official site, and the number of people who made the rental transaction via the official site is the transaction source ID Is stored in the rental number field of the record indicating the official site. In addition, the subtotal of the transaction amount in the purchase transaction via the official site is stored in the retail subtotal field of the record in which the transaction source ID indicates the official site, and the subtotal of the transaction amount in the rental transaction via the official site is the transaction source ID. Is stored in the rental subtotal field of the record indicating the official site. In addition, the number of people who made a purchase transaction via the user site of user A is stored in the retail number field of the record whose transaction source ID indicates the ID of user A, and rented in rental period T via user A's user site. The number of persons who performed the transaction is stored in the rental number field of the record in which the transaction source ID indicates the ID of the user A and the rental price indicates the standard rental price for the rental period T. The subtotal of the transaction amount in the purchase transaction through the user site of the user A is stored in the retail subtotal field of the record in which the transaction source ID indicates the ID of the user A, and the rental transaction of the rental period S through the user site of the user A The transaction amount subtotal is stored in the rental subtotal field of the record in which the transaction ID indicates the ID of the user A and the rental price indicates the standard rental price of the rental period S.

  Subsequently, the price determination unit 44 determines the retail deviation value and the retail deviation value rank for each transaction request destination for each electronic book, the rental deviation value and the rental deviation value rank for each transaction request destination and each rental price for each electronic book. Are calculated respectively (S45). Specifically, the price determination unit 44 calculates the total sales amount of the purchase transaction for the electronic book by adding together the retail subtotals of the respective transaction request destinations collected for a certain electronic book. Based on the calculated total sales amount, the price determination unit 44 calculates the deviation value of the retail subtotal of each transaction request destination (each user) other than the official site as a retail deviation value, and calculates the calculated retail deviation value. Store in the transaction management DB 53. Similarly, the price determination unit 44 adds up the rental subtotals totaled for each rental unit price of each transaction request destination of a certain electronic book, thereby calculating the total sales amount by rental transaction for the electronic book. Based on the calculated total sales amount, the price determination unit 44 calculates a rental subtotal deviation value for each rental unit price of each transaction request destination (each user) other than the official site as a rental deviation value. The rental deviation value is stored in the transaction management DB 53.

  The price determination unit 44 calculates the rank of the retail deviation value of each transaction request destination among all the transaction request destinations other than the official website, and stores it in the retail deviation value rank field of the transaction management DB 53. Similarly, the price determination unit 44 calculates the rank of the rental deviation value for each rental price of each transaction request destination among all the transaction request destinations other than the official website, and stores it in the rental deviation value rank field of the transaction management DB 53. .

  The price determination unit 44 determines the next transaction price that can be presented by resale and the next transaction price that can be presented by sublease by using each deviation value rank. First, the process for determining the next transaction price that can be presented by resale will be described. The price determination unit 44 identifies a transaction request destination user other than the official site whose retail deviation value rank is within the upper predetermined rank (for example, upper 30%) for the electronic book to be processed (S46).

The price determination unit 44 determines the next transaction price that can be presented by resale based on the first price table 58 for the transaction request destination user who is determined not to fall within the upper predetermined order (S46; NO) ( S47). Specifically, in the first price table 58, the next transaction price of a record in which the transaction type indicates a purchase transaction and the retail deviation value rank of each transaction request destination user matches the value of the deviation value rank field of the first price table. The price set in the field is determined as the next transaction price that can be presented by resale for each transaction requesting user. The price determination unit 44 sets the next transaction price thus determined in the next transaction price field of the record in which the content ID indicating the electronic book, the transaction source ID indicating the transaction request destination user, and the standard retail price are stored. Store (S48).

  The price determination unit 44 further determines each transaction request destination in the transaction request destination user determined to be within the upper predetermined rank for the transaction request destination user determined to be within the upper predetermined rank (S46; YES). Is determined (S50). The price determination unit 44 determines the next transaction price that can be presented by the resale based on the second price table 59 (S51). Specifically, in the second price table 59, the record type indicates a purchase transaction, and the next deviation value rank of each transaction request destination user is the next to the record that matches the value of the deviation value rank field of the second price table 59. The price set in the transaction price field is determined as the next transaction price that can be presented by resale to each transaction requesting user. The price determination unit 44 sets the next transaction price thus determined in the next transaction price field of the record in which the content ID indicating the electronic book, the transaction source ID indicating the transaction request destination user, and the standard retail price are stored. Store (S48).

  The next transaction price that can be presented by sublease is also determined by the same processing as the next transaction price that can be presented by such resale. The next transaction price that can be presented by sublease is determined by the processes shown in (S46) to (S51) for each standard rental price corresponding to the rental period. That is, in (S46), the transaction request destination other than the official site where the rental deviation value rank for each rental price stored in the transaction management DB 53 for the electronic book to be processed falls within the upper predetermined rank (for example, the upper 30%). A user is identified.

  In (S47), in the first price table 58, the transaction type indicates the rental transaction, the transaction amount indicates the rental price, and the rental deviation value rank of each transaction request destination user is the deviation value rank field of the first price table 58. The price set in the next transaction price field of the record that matches this value is determined as the next transaction price that can be presented by sublease corresponding to the rental price of each transaction requesting user.

  In (S51), in the second price table 59, the transaction type indicates the rental transaction, the transaction amount indicates the rental price, and the further deviation value rank of each transaction request destination user is the deviation value rank of the second price table 59. The price set in the next transaction price field of the record that matches the value of the field is determined as the next transaction price that can be presented by resale corresponding to the rental price of each transaction requesting user.

  FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing money amount distribution processing. The amount distribution processing is performed by the amount distribution processing unit 45 using the transaction management DB 53, the basic return rate table 56, the additional return rate table 57, and the amount distribution information DB 54, for example, following the processing of the price determination unit 44 as described above. It is. If the transaction management DB 53 can manage whether or not the transaction has already been subjected to the money amount distribution process, the money amount distribution process may be operated at a unique timing.

  The money amount distribution processing unit 45 calculates the total sales number of the official site and each transaction requesting user for the target electronic book (S60). The amount distribution processing unit 45 stores the calculated total sales number in the total sales number field of the transaction management DB 53. Subsequently, the money amount distribution processing unit 45 calculates the ratio of the total sales number of all transaction requesting users to the total sales number of the target electronic book (S61).

The amount distribution processing unit 45 extracts a record in which the value that matches the calculated ratio is stored in the user total sales number ratio field of the basic return rate table 56, and is stored in the basic return rate field of this record. The value of the basic reduction rate is acquired (S62). The amount distribution processing unit 45 calculates the rank of the total sales number of each transaction request destination among all the transaction request destinations other than the official website based on the total sales number of each transaction request destination calculated as described above. (S63), the calculated rank is stored in the total sales number rank field of the transaction management DB 53.

  The amount distribution processing unit 45 specifies a transaction request destination user other than the official site whose total sales rank is within the upper predetermined rank (for example, upper 30%) (S64). The amount distribution processing unit 45 determines the basic return rate determined as described above without adding the additional return rate for the transaction requesting user who is determined not to fall within the upper predetermined order (S64; NO). The reduction rate is determined as it is (S65).

  The amount distribution processing unit 45 determines that the transaction request destination user determined to be within the upper predetermined rank (S64; YES), the sales number for the transaction request destination user determined to be within the upper predetermined rank. Is averaged (S66). The money amount distribution processing unit 45 calculates the number difference value for each transaction request destination user by subtracting the sales number of each transaction request destination user determined to fall within the upper predetermined order from the calculated average value. (S67). The money amount distribution processing unit 45 determines whether or not the calculated number difference value is a negative value (S68), and for each transaction request destination where the number difference value is a positive value (S68). NO), the reduction rate is determined to be only the basic reduction rate (S65).

  The money amount distribution processing unit 45 obtains the rank of the number of sales persons of each transaction request destination among all the transaction request destinations whose number difference value is a negative value. The amount distribution processing unit 45 extracts a record in which the rank of the number of sales persons of each transaction request destination matches the value of the rank field in the minus user of the additional return rate table 57, and the additional return rate of this record A value is acquired for each transaction request destination (S69). The money amount distribution processing unit 45 sets the return rate for the transaction request destination from which the acquired additional return rate has been acquired to a value obtained by adding the additional return rate to the basic return rate (S70).

  The money amount distribution processing unit 45 stores the basic return rate, additional return rate, and return rate obtained in this way together with the number difference value and the number difference rank in the amount distribution information DB 54 for each transaction request destination of each electronic book. To do. The amount distribution processing unit 45 multiplies the determined return rate by the total sales amount of the target electronic book of each transaction request destination to calculate the return amount of each transaction request destination, and calculates each calculated return amount. The settlement server 5 is requested to distribute to each transaction request destination (S71). In addition, the amount obtained by subtracting the amount determined according to this return rate from the total sales amount will be distributed to other organizations other than the user corresponding to the official website, such as the copyright holder or copyright management organization. The payment server 5 may also process.

[Action and effect]
As described above, in the content transaction system 1 in the embodiment, after the online transaction request from each user terminal 9 is acquired by the content management server 3 via the official site, and the settlement process is performed in response to this request, The target electronic book data and the management key are sent to each user terminal 9. Furthermore, when the permission request | requirement which requests | requires next transaction is contained in the transaction request from each user terminal 9, the next transaction control means according to the next transaction is also sent to each user terminal 9 together. The user of each user terminal 9 can perform the next transaction with another user only by making this next transaction control means available at his / her user site.

Thereby, according to the present embodiment, the management key prevents unauthorized access to the electronic book data, and the security related to the next transaction is limited so that the next transaction can be accepted only by the next transaction control means. It is realized by. Further, according to the next transaction control means, the next transaction request is notified to the content management server 3 in response to the next transaction request operation from another user, and the electronic book data requested by the next transaction from the content management server 3 and An administrative key is sent to the user. Therefore, the transaction can be appropriately managed by the content management server 3 at the next transaction.

  In the content management server 3, information such as the transaction amount, transaction request destination (transaction source), trader (user), transaction type, etc. is stored in the individual transaction DB 51 for all transactions via the official site and subsequent transactions via the user site. Each is managed. In the content management server 3, the sales person for each transaction request destination (transaction source), the sales amount, the sales person for each rental unit price, and the sales amount are tabulated based on the information in the individual transaction DB 51 and stored in the transaction management DB 53. The

  In the content management server 3 according to the present embodiment, by using the aggregate data stored in the transaction management DB 53, the transaction requesting user who contributes to sales, the sublease price and the resale price that can be presented in the next transaction are obtained. The next transaction price is determined so as to be cheap. According to this, the next transaction of the transaction request destination user whose price is set at a low price is further reduced. Further, in the content management server 3 in the present embodiment, the return rate is determined so as to be higher for transaction request destinations with a large number of sales people according to the number of sales people, and the sales amount of each transaction request destination is determined according to the return rate. A corresponding distribution amount is determined, and each amount is distributed.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the user who requested the transaction that contributed to the sales, that is, the user who performed the next transaction with respect to another user, the sublease price and the resale price were reduced, thereby increasing the number of sales persons. The possibility of being connected to becomes high. As the number of sales increases, the return rate increases accordingly, so that the user can receive a large amount of distribution. Thereby, the user using this content transaction system 1 comes to perform the next transaction with respect to another user more actively. As a result, online trading of electronic books is activated, and the distribution amount of electronic books as digital contents can be increased. Thereby, many users can easily obtain an electronic book. On the other hand, the remainder of the amount distributed to each user can be appropriately returned to a predetermined party such as a copyright organization, so that not only the user but also the provider of the electronic book is appropriate. Can get a reasonable amount of money.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Content transaction system 3 Content management server 4 Content server 5 Payment server 9, 9A, 9B User terminal 31 Control part 32 Memory | storage part 41 Interface process part 42 Transaction process part 43 Management key process part 44 Price determination part 45 Amount distribution process part 51 Individual transaction DB
52 Management key DB
53 Transaction Management DB
54 Amount distribution information DB
55 Standard price table 56 Basic return rate table 57 Additional return rate table 58 First price table 59 Second price table

Claims (6)

In a content management server that manages online transactions for content data,
A first receiving means for receiving a request for permission for a next transaction to be at least one of a subleasing and a resale of the content data together with a transaction request for the content data via a predetermined site;
First transmission means for transmitting, to the first user terminal, the content data requested for the transaction and the management key used for controlling access to the content data in response to the transaction in response to the transaction request;
Next transaction control means used at the user's site of the first user terminal to accept the next transaction request from another user for the content data acquired by the first user terminal according to the transaction. Next transaction control means having a function of notifying the content management server of a next transaction request in accordance with an operation of the user's site by another user is transmitted to the first user terminal as a response to the permission request for the next transaction Second transmitting means for
Second receiving means for receiving a next transaction request from the next transaction control means used at the user's site in response to an operation through the second user terminal by another user;
The same content data as the content data already sent to the first user terminal in the transaction via the predetermined site according to the next transaction requested by the next transaction request received by the second receiving means, and Third transmission means for transmitting a management key corresponding to the next transaction for content to the second user terminal;
A content management server comprising: The billing information charged in each transaction of the transaction request or the next transaction request received by the first receiving unit and the second receiving unit is information indicating the predetermined site that is the transaction request destination or the next transaction request destination Accounting information storage means for storing in association with information indicating the user of the first user terminal;
Calculation means for calculating a sales amount for each of the transaction request destination and the next transaction request destination based on the charging information stored in the charging information storage means;
Price determining means for determining the price of sublease or resale as the next transaction according to the sales amount for each of the transaction request destination and the next transaction request destination calculated by the calculation means;
Fourth transmission means for transmitting the price information of the next transaction determined by the price determination means in response to access from the next transaction control means to the second user terminal or the user's site;
The content management server according to claim 1, further comprising: Based on the billing information stored in the billing information storage means, the total number of transactions through the predetermined site that is the transaction request destination and the next transaction is counted as the predetermined site sales number, and the user who is the transaction request destination Aggregate the total number of transactions through the site and the next transaction as the number of sales at the user site, and return the sales to the user of the first user terminal based on the ratio between the acquired number of sales at the predetermined site and the number of sales at the user site. A reduction rate determining means for determining the ratio,
The content management server according to claim 2, further comprising: The return rate determination means acquires the next transaction sales number of each user who is the next transaction request destination based on the charging information stored in the charging information storage means, Based on the number of customers sold, each additional return ratio for each user is determined.
The content management server according to claim 3. In a content management method for managing online transactions of content data executed by a computer,
A first receiving step of receiving a request for permission for a next transaction to be at least one of a subleasing and a resale of the content data together with a transaction request for the content data via a predetermined site;
A first transmission step of transmitting, to the first user terminal, the content data requested for the transaction and a management key used for controlling access to the content data in response to the transaction in response to the transaction request;
Next transaction control means used at the user's site of the first user terminal to accept the next transaction request from another user for the content data acquired by the first user terminal according to the transaction. Next transaction control means having a function of notifying the content management server of a next transaction request in accordance with an operation of the user's site by another user is transmitted to the first user terminal as a response to the permission request for the next transaction A second transmitting step,
A second receiving step of receiving a next transaction request from the next transaction control means used at the user's site in response to an operation via the second user terminal by another user;
The same content data as the content data already sent to the first user terminal in the transaction via the first site according to the next transaction requested by the next transaction request received in the second receiving step; A third transmission step of transmitting a management key corresponding to a next transaction for the content to the second user terminal;
A content management method comprising: In a content management program that allows a computer to manage online transactions of content data,
In the computer,
A first receiving step of receiving a request for permission for a next transaction to be at least one of a subleasing and a resale of the content data together with a transaction request for the content data via a predetermined site;
A first transmission step of transmitting, to the first user terminal, the content data requested for the transaction and a management key used for controlling access to the content data in response to the transaction in response to the transaction request;
Next transaction control means used at the user's site of the first user terminal to accept the next transaction request from another user for the content data acquired by the first user terminal according to the transaction. Next transaction control means having a function of notifying the content management server of a next transaction request in accordance with an operation of the user's site by another user is transmitted to the first user terminal as a response to the permission request for the next transaction A second transmitting step,
A second receiving step of receiving a next transaction request from the next transaction control means used at the user's site in response to an operation via the second user terminal by another user;
The same content data as the content data already sent to the first user terminal in the transaction via the first site according to the next transaction requested by the next transaction request received in the second receiving step; A third transmission step of transmitting a management key corresponding to a next transaction for the content to the second user terminal;
A content management program for executing

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