JP2002279209A - Digital data distribution method and system, recording medium and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a digital data distribution system capable of preventing a purchaser with the will to purchase data from giving up purchasing the data due to another factor such as connecting to a network, and losing the chances of purchasing. SOLUTION: The digital data distribution system allows a purchaser 23 to use a purchaser's terminal 15 to place an order for digital data, which the purchaser wants to purchase, to a seller site 12, which in turn transfers to a shared area 22 the digital data for which the order was placed. Thereafter, the purchaser 23 can download the digital data onto the terminal 15 from the shared area 22. Thus, the purchaser 23 can download anytime and anywhere after order placement. The purchaser 23 can download from the shared area 22 the digital data for which the order was placed, by using terminal equipment 10 or 11 at the place and time convenient for the purchaser.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a digital data distribution method, a digital data distribution system capable of distributing electronic data for use on the Internet and the like, and a settlement method thereof.
The present invention relates to a recording medium and a program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an electronic commerce system for selling contents using an Internet connection provider (provider), for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-20794 is disclosed.
No. 5 has proposed a "distributed content electronic commerce system and method".

[0003] In this conventional example, a management area for sales contents and a management area for a commercial transaction site are separated from each other, and a commercial transaction site is provided on a provider.

[0004]

However, this conventional example is a mechanism for facilitating the management of sales contents, which is a process performed by the seller. The downloading of data purchased by the buyer is convenient for the buyer. It does not improve the performance.

[0005] That is, conventionally, there have been the following problems in the electronic commerce system.

A buyer connects to the Internet, visits a merchant site, decides to purchase digital data,
When trying to make a purchase at the seller site, if the device (connected device) connected to the Internet by the buyer is not the device that wants to use the downloaded data, the purchase may be abandoned halfway. is there.

[0007] During the above-mentioned purchase procedure, if the user does not want to download on the spot because he / she is connected to the Internet using a device with a high telephone charge such as a mobile phone, he / she purchases digital data on the way. May be abandoned.

[0008] Further, the purchaser needs to input personal information necessary for the payment procedure every time the purchase is made, and has to teach important information such as a credit card number to the seller site.

[0009] Further, the seller has to prepare the settlement system by himself, and has required a large investment in the system.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent the purchaser from having a willingness to purchase but not giving up the purchase due to other factors such as a means for connecting to a network and losing a sales opportunity. It is to provide a digital data distribution system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a digital data distribution system in which the purchase procedure of the purchaser is simple and easy, and the leakage of personal information can be minimized.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a digital data distribution system capable of suppressing an increase in the system on the seller side.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, a digital data distribution method according to the present invention comprises a network in which a purchaser terminal, a seller site, and a shared terminal provided with a shared area are connected by a network. , The purchaser places an order for the digital data to be purchased from the buyer terminal to the seller site, and the seller site uploads the ordered digital data to the shared area, and the buyer The digital data ordered to the seller site is downloaded from the shared area to the purchaser terminal.

According to the digital data distribution method of the present invention,
The purchaser places an order for digital data to be purchased with the seller site. On the other hand, the terminal of the seller site uploads the ordered digital data to the shared area, and the purchaser downloads the digital data from the shared area.

That is, according to the digital data distribution method of the present invention, the purchaser places an order for the digital data to be purchased from the seller site, and then downloads the ordered digital data from the shared area. it can. Therefore, the time and place can be shifted from the execution of the order and the download can be executed, and the purchaser can download the ordered digital data from the shared area using his or her convenient time and place or the terminal device. . Therefore, according to the present invention, although the purchaser has the will to purchase, the purchase is not abandoned due to other factors such as the means for connecting to the network when the desired data is found, and the sales opportunity is lost. Can be prevented.

In one embodiment of the digital data distribution method, in the digital data distribution method, when the purchaser places an order for the digital data at the seller site, the purchaser authenticates the purchaser. The shared terminal authenticates the purchaser with the authentication data for use, and when the buyer setstles the digital data downloaded from the shared area to the purchaser terminal with the purchaser, the purchaser identifies the purchaser with the buyer. The purchaser is authenticated with payment authentication data for authentication.

In the digital data distribution method of this embodiment, at the time of ordering, the seller site authenticates the purchaser with order authentication data, and at the time of download, the shared terminal authenticates the purchaser with payment authentication data. Therefore, according to the present invention, at the time of ordering, the purchaser does not need to provide important personal information such as a credit card number to the seller site. In addition, the seller site does not need to prepare its own payment system, and can reduce the investment cost for the system.

In one embodiment of the present invention, in the digital data distribution method, the shared terminal transmits digital data downloaded from the shared area to the purchaser terminal with the purchaser. When the payment is completed between the buyer and the buyer, the purchaser is allowed to download the file from the shared area to the terminal of the buyer. Is not allowed to download from the shared area to the buyer's terminal.

In the digital data distribution method of this embodiment, the digital data is not permitted to be downloaded from the shared area to the purchaser terminal unless the settlement with the purchaser is completed. Can reliably collect fees.

Further, in one embodiment of the digital data distribution system, a purchaser terminal, a seller site, and a shared terminal provided with a shared area are connected via a network. An ordering means for ordering the digital data to be purchased from the purchaser terminal to the seller site, the seller site including an uploading means for uploading the ordered digital data to the shared area, The purchaser terminal includes a download unit that downloads the digital data ordered to the seller site from the shared area to the purchaser terminal.

In this embodiment, the purchaser places an order for the digital data to be purchased by a purchaser terminal at an orderer provided to the seller site, and then downloads the ordered digital data from the shared area by the downloader. Can be downloaded. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to execute the download by shifting the time and place from the execution of the order, and the purchaser can share the ordered digital data by using the convenient time and place or the terminal device. Can be downloaded from the area. Therefore, according to this embodiment, although the purchaser has the will to purchase, the purchase is not abandoned due to other factors such as a means for connecting to the network when the desired data is found, and the sales opportunity is lost. Can be prevented.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the digital data distribution system includes:
The sharing terminal includes a referable unit that allows the purchaser terminal to refer to the digital data uploaded from the seller site.

In this embodiment, the shared terminal can refer to the purchaser terminal the digital data uploaded from the seller site by the referable means. Therefore, the purchaser can download the digital data after referring to and confirming the contents of the digital data to be purchased.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the digital data distribution system includes:
The shared terminal refers to the digital data uploaded from the seller site from the purchaser terminal, and the purchaser can determine whether to download the digital data to the purchaser terminal. And a post-reference download determining means.

In this embodiment, the purchaser refers to the digital data in the shared area at the purchaser terminal by using the after-reference download determination means provided in the shared terminal, and determines whether or not to download the digital data. You can decide. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the purchaser can cancel the purchase (download) after referring to the shared terminal even if the digital data is once ordered on the seller site, and the necessary data can be surely obtained. Only can be purchased.

Further, in one embodiment of the digital data distribution system, the digital data distribution system includes:
The sharing terminal includes a partial downloadable unit that enables a part of the digital data uploaded from the seller site to be downloaded to the purchaser terminal.

In this embodiment, the purchaser can download a part of the digital data to the purchaser terminal using the partial downloadable means provided in the shared terminal.

In one embodiment of the present invention, in the digital data distribution system, the shared terminal transmits, to the digital data referred to by the purchaser, data selected by the purchaser. There is provided selected data downloadable means for enabling download to the purchaser terminal.

In this embodiment, the purchaser can download the selected data to the purchaser terminal using the selected data downloadable means provided in the shared terminal. Therefore, according to the present invention, the purchaser can select the digital data in two stages of ordering and downloading, and can download the digital data after sufficiently examining it.

The digital data distribution system according to one embodiment is a digital data distribution system,
The sharing terminal includes charging means for charging the purchaser for digital data downloaded by the purchaser to the purchaser terminal.

In this embodiment, the shared terminal charges the purchaser for the digital data downloaded by the purchaser to the purchaser terminal by the charging means. In this way, by providing the charging means in the shared terminal, it is possible to suppress an increase in the system on the seller side.

In one embodiment of the present invention, in the digital data distribution system, when the number or time of referring to the digital data from the purchaser terminal exceeds a predetermined value, the shared terminal changes the predetermined value. It includes an after-reference automatic download charging means for downloading the digital data referred to over to the terminal of the purchaser and charging the purchaser for the digital data referred to.

In this embodiment, the after-reference automatic download billing means provided in the shared terminal, when the number or time of referring to the digital data from the purchaser terminal exceeds a predetermined value, the digital data referred to by the purchaser. In addition to downloading to the terminal, the purchaser is charged for the digital data referred to above. Therefore, according to this embodiment, when the degree to which the purchaser terminal refers to the digital data exceeds a predetermined value, the process automatically downloads the data and shifts to a charging procedure, thereby making it possible to refer to the digital data free of charge. Restrictions can be imposed.

In one embodiment of the present invention, in the digital data distribution system, the shared terminal transmits the digital data when a predetermined period has elapsed from when the ordered digital data was uploaded from the seller site. Automatic deletion means for deleting the file.

[0035] In this embodiment, the shared terminal uses the automatic deletion means when a predetermined period elapses from when the ordered digital data is uploaded from the seller site.
Delete digital data. Therefore, by limiting the storage period of digital data in the shared area, it is possible to reduce unnecessary storage cost of digital data that has not been purchased even if an order has been placed, and it also has the effect of promoting purchase after purchase to the purchaser. .

In one embodiment, in the digital data distribution system, the shared terminal deletes data selected by a purchaser from the purchaser terminal among the digital data uploaded from the seller site. And a purchaser elimination means for enabling the purchaser to delete the information.

In this embodiment, the purchaser can delete the selected data from the digital data uploaded from the seller site by using the purchaser deleteable means of the shared terminal. Therefore, the buyer
Only the data remaining after the deletion can be downloaded, and the data can be conveniently downloaded to the purchaser.

In one embodiment, in the digital data distribution system, the seller site includes an order for authenticating the purchaser with order authentication data used when the purchaser orders the digital data. A time authentication unit, wherein the shared terminal is configured to settle the digital data to be downloaded from the shared area to the purchaser terminal with the purchaser when authenticating the purchaser. Payment authentication data storage means for storing payment authentication data; and authentication payment means for performing payment using the payment authentication data.

In this embodiment, the purchaser can authenticate the purchaser using the authentication data for order to the authentication means at the time of order at the seller site at the time of ordering. The payment means uses the payment authentication data stored in the payment authentication data storage means,
Make a payment. Therefore, according to this embodiment, at the time of ordering, the purchaser does not need to provide important personal information such as a credit card number to the seller site. In addition, the seller site does not need to prepare its own payment system, and can reduce the investment cost for the system. Further, since the shared terminal stores the payment authentication data in the payment authentication data storage means, the purchaser does not need to input the payment authentication data such as a credit card number for each purchase.

[0040] In one embodiment of the present invention, in the digital data distribution system, the shared terminal can settle the digital data downloaded by the purchaser from the shared area to the purchaser terminal with the purchaser. When completed, the buyer is allowed to download from the shared area to the buyer's terminal, but when payment with the buyer is not completed, the buyer is allowed to download from the shared area. And a post-payment download permitting means which does not permit downloading from the above to the buyer's terminal.

In this embodiment, the purchaser downloads digital data from the shared area to the purchaser terminal when the payment with the purchaser is not completed by the download permitting means after payment. Do not allow that. Therefore, the fee for digital data can be reliably collected.

In one embodiment, in the digital data distribution system, the network is the Internet, and the shared terminal is an Internet used by the purchaser to connect the purchaser terminal to the Internet. This is a server owned by the connection company.

In this embodiment, the network is the Internet, and the shared terminal is a server owned by an Internet service provider. Therefore, buyers can use the server of the internet service provider that they use to connect their device to the internet,
You can purchase (download) digital data ordered on the seller site. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a digital data distribution system in which the purchase procedure of the purchaser is simple and easy and the leakage of personal information can be minimized.

In one embodiment of the present invention, in the digital data distribution system, the server owned by the Internet connection company allows the purchaser to transfer an Internet connection fee and a purchase price of digital data in the common area to the Internet connection. A post-payment download permitting means is provided for permitting the digital data to be downloaded from the shared area to the purchaser terminal when the trader is paid.

In this embodiment, the server owned by the Internet connection company operates when the purchaser pays the Internet connection fee and the purchase price of the digital data in the shared area to the Internet connection company by the download permitting means after settlement. Then, the user is permitted to download the digital data from the shared area to the purchaser terminal. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the purchaser terminal from downloading digital data for which the purchase price has not been paid, and to reliably collect the digital data purchase price and the Internet connection fee.

In one embodiment of the present invention, in the digital data distribution system, the server owned by the Internet connection company includes a provider settlement means for paying the seller site an amount obtained by subtracting the brokerage commission from the purchase price. .

In the digital data distribution system of this embodiment, the server owned by the Internet connection company
The provider settlement means pays the seller site an amount obtained by subtracting the brokerage commission from the purchase price of the digital data. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the seller site does not need to have a settlement means, and the Internet connection company can obtain a brokerage fee for digital data sales from the seller.

The storage medium according to one embodiment stores a software program for implementing all or some of the means of the digital data distribution system.

The storage medium of this embodiment stores a software program for implementing all or some of the means of the digital data distribution system. Therefore, all or some means of the digital data distribution system can be realized by reading and executing the stored software program from the storage medium at the purchaser terminal, the shared terminal, and the seller site.

Further, the software program of one embodiment realizes all or some of the means of the digital data distribution system. Therefore, by executing the program of this embodiment on a purchaser terminal, a shared terminal, or a seller site, all or some means of the digital data distribution system can be realized.

[0051]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment shown in the drawings.

First, the concept of an embodiment of the digital data distribution system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

This digital data distribution system includes a personal computer (hereinafter referred to as a personal computer) 10 and a portable terminal 11 as purchaser terminals owned by the purchaser, a seller server 12 as a seller site, and a shared server as a shared terminal. 13 is connected to the Internet 14.

The above-mentioned purchaser, on the Internet 14,
A person who visits the seller server 12 forming a commercial site and tries to purchase digital data. The seller server 12 as a seller site is a commercial Web site, and is a personal computer 10 or a portable terminal 11 that is a purchaser terminal.
The purpose of the present invention is to sell digital data by enabling digital data to be downloaded from the seller server 12 on the Internet 14.

[0055] The download refers to an act of connecting to a specific place (site) on the Internet and reading data from this site.

The seller is a person who builds the seller site and performs sales activities.

The purchaser is the personal computer 10 and the portable terminal 1
1 can be connected to the Internet 14. Also, the seller's seller site 12
Is connected to the Internet 14, and the purchaser uses the PC 10 or the portable terminal 11 to connect to the Internet 1.
4, the user can visit (access) the seller site 12.

Further, the shared server 13 provided with the shared area 22 is connected to the Internet 14, and the purchaser's personal computer 10 and portable terminal 11 are connected through the Internet 14. The personal computer 10 and the portable terminal 11 download (read) digital data.
I can do it. Further, a seller site 12 is connected to the shared server 13 via the Internet 14 so that digital data can be uploaded (written) from the seller site 12 to the shared server 13.

As described above, in the digital data distribution system of this embodiment, distribution is performed from the seller server 12 via the Internet 14 to the purchaser's personal computer 10 and the portable terminal 11 via the shared server 13.

(Explanation of Shared Area 22) Next, the shared area 22 of the digital data distribution system of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the common area 22 is provided for the purchaser 23
This is a shared storage area for data storage that can be connected between the user and the seller site 12 of the seller 21.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the purchaser 23 orders digital data from the seller site 12, the seller 2
1 uploads (writes) the ordered digital data from the seller site 12 to the shared area 22.

After that, the purchaser 23
4, the personal computer 10 and the portable terminal 11 are connected to the shared area 22, and the digital data ordered by the user is transmitted from the shared area 22 to the personal computer 10 and the portable terminal 11.
To download (read). That is, this shared area 22 stores digital data as merchandise
The digital data is received from the seller server 12 and passed to the purchaser terminal 15 (the personal computer 10 or the portable terminal 11) of the purchaser 23.

In this embodiment, the shared server 13
Is a server managed by a provider (internet connection company) that the purchaser 23 has contracted to connect to the Internet 14, and the common area 22 is provided in this server.

Next, with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3, a procedure in which the seller 21 and the purchaser 23 transfer data using the shared area 22 will be described.

First, in step S101, the purchaser 23
It is assumed that the user visits (accesses) the seller site 12 with the purchaser terminal 15 and finds digital data to be purchased. Then, the purchaser 23 performs a procedure for ordering digital data from the purchaser terminal 15 to the seller site 12 (step S102). Then, the seller site 12 does not download the ordered digital data from the seller site 12 to the purchaser terminal 15 of the purchaser 23, but writes the digital data into the shared area 22 of the shared server 13 (step S103). . The step S102 executed by the program stored in the purchaser terminal 15 constitutes an ordering means. In addition, the seller site 12
Step S1 executed by the program stored in
03 constitutes upload means.

Next, the purchaser 23 enters the purchaser terminal 15
Is connected to the shared server 13 (step S104), and the ordered digital data is downloaded from the shared area 22.
(Read) (step S105). In this way,
Digital data is exchanged between the purchaser 23 (the purchaser terminal 15) and the seller 21 (the seller site 12) using the shared area 22 of the shared server 13 connected to the Internet 14. The step S105 executed by the program stored in the purchaser terminal 15 constitutes a download unit.

(Process Flow Using Shared Area 22) Next, referring to the flowcharts of FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 in order,
The flow of processing between the purchaser 23 (the purchaser terminal 15) and the seller 21 (the seller site 12) using the shared area 22 will be described.

First, with reference to FIG. 4, a process regarding data ordering by the purchaser 23 will be described.

The purchaser 23 connects to the Internet 14 using the purchaser terminal 15 composed of an electronic device such as a personal computer (step S201), accesses the seller site 12, and makes a visit (step S202). The merchandise site (digital data) to be purchased is searched on the seller site 12 (step S203).

As a result, if the product (digital data) to be purchased is found in step S204,
Proceeding to 205, it is decided to order digital data to be purchased. On the other hand, if the digital data desired to be purchased is not found in step S204, the ordering procedure ends (step S206).

Next, from step S205 to step S2
In 07, the purchaser 23 proceeds to an ordering procedure for the seller site 12.

Here, the seller site 12 stores the purchaser 23
A request for personal authentication data is made to the purchaser terminal 15 (step S208). This is used to determine where the shared area 22 with the purchaser 23 is located on the Internet 14 by specifying who the purchaser 23 is.

Next, the purchaser 23 inputs data for personal authentication from the purchaser terminal 15 to the seller site 12 (step S209). Then, the seller site 12 stores, in the server, information specifying the purchaser 23 and information indicating which product has been ordered (step S210). Thus, the procedure for the order of the purchaser 23 ends (step S211).

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The flow of a process in which the seller 21 distributes data from the seller site 12 to the shared area 22 of the shared server 13 will be described.

The ordering procedure of the purchaser 23 has been completed by the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 described above.
After (Step S301), the process proceeds to Step S302.

In step S302, the shared server 1
3 reads out from the server of the seller site 12 to the shared area 22 the information for identifying who the purchaser 23 is and the information on which merchandise (digital data) the orderer has stored during the ordering procedure.

Next, the process proceeds to step S 303, where information indicating the type of the ordered digital data is used to determine in which area on the server of the seller site 12 the ordered digital data is stored. Explore.

Next, the process proceeds to step S304, and if the storage location of the digital data can be searched, the process proceeds to step S30.
Based on the information specifying the purchaser 23 obtained in step 2, the search is made to find where the shared area 22 with the purchaser 23 is located on the Internet 14.

Thus, the transfer destination shared area 22
Address and digital data to be transferred are ready
(Step S305) Therefore, the seller site 1 of the seller 21
2 is a shared server 1 between the purchaser 23 and the seller site 12
3 (step S306), and transfer the purchased digital data to the shared area 22 (step S307).

According to the flowchart of FIG. 5, the process of the seller 21 distributing data from the seller site 12 to the shared area 22 is completed.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The process in which the purchaser 23 obtains the data purchased by himself will be described.

First, the purchaser 23 enters the Internet 14
Then, the connection is made (step S401), and the connection to the shared server 13 is made (step S402). The data ordered by the purchaser 23 from the purchaser terminal 15 to the seller site 12 is already stored in the seller site 1 by the processing described above with reference to FIG.
2 to the shared area 22 (step S
403).

Therefore, the purchaser 23 performs a procedure for downloading the ordered data from the shared area 22 to the purchaser terminal 15 connected to the Internet 14 (step S404). Thereby, the purchaser can obtain the ordered data according to the flowchart of FIG. 4 (step S405). As a result, the process of acquiring the goods (digital data) ordered by the purchaser 23 ends (step S406).

As described above, in this embodiment, the purchaser 23
4 (flowchart in FIG. 4), a process in which the seller 21 distributes data to the shared area 22 (flowchart in FIG. 5), and a process in which the buyer 21 obtains data purchased by himself (flowchart in FIG. 6). And the combination.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to execute the download by shifting the time and place from the execution of the order,
The purchaser 23 can download the ordered digital data from the shared area 22 using his / her convenient time and place or the terminal device 10 or 11. Therefore, according to this embodiment, although the purchaser 23 has a will to purchase, the purchaser 23 makes a purchase due to factors such as that the connection means to the network 14 when the desired data is found is the mobile terminal 11 (or mobile phone). Without giving up, it is possible to prevent losing a sales (purchase) opportunity.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG. 7 and the related schematic diagram of FIG.
02, a process in which the provider 1002 performs proxy settlement of the purchase price of data will be described.

In this description, the purchaser 21 is referred to as the purchaser 1001, and the seller site 12 is referred to as the seller site 100.
3 and the common area 22 is a common area 1002a.

Here, the shared area 1002a exists in a server (shared server 13) managed by a provider 1002 contracted by the purchaser 1001 to connect to the Internet 14.

The provider 1002 normally collects the usage fee of the provider equipment from the user,
Personal information and credit card numbers are registered in advance, and facility usage fees to be charged to users are managed. Therefore, settlement is performed between the purchaser 1001 and the provider 1002 by using it.

As shown by an arrow 1004 in FIG.
The purchaser 1001 connects to the shared area 1002a using the Internet 14 (step S501). Then, as indicated by an arrow 1012 in FIG. 9, the ordered digital data (the flowchart in FIG. 4) is
02a (the flowchart of FIG. 5)
The data is downloaded to the own device (the purchaser terminal 15) (the purchaser terminal 15) (arrow 1005, step S5).
02).

[0092] The shared area 1002a is
02 is an area managed by itself, so provider 10
02 can confirm that the purchaser 1001 has downloaded. Therefore, if it can be confirmed that the file has been downloaded (step S503), the provider 1002
Confirms the purchase amount transmitted from the seller site 1003 in advance (step S504). Alternatively, access the seller site 1003 on the spot to access the product
Check the purchase amount of (Digital Data) and check the seller site 10
Check the purchase amount for which payment is assigned from 03
(Step S504).

Next, the confirmed purchase price is added to the provider usage fee 1006b charged by the provider 1002 to the purchaser (user) 1001 (step S505).

[0094] The provider 1002 provides a facility usage fee 1 for connecting to the Internet 14 from the purchaser 1001.
At the time of collecting 006b, the purchase price 1006a of the counted digital data is also changed to the purchaser 100 at the same time.
1 (step S506). And the buyer 10
01 is the provider usage fee 1006b for the provider 1002
Together with the purchase price 1006a (step S50).
7). Next, the provider 1002 pays the collected purchase price 1010 to the seller 21 (step S50).
8) The seller 21 pays the commission 1011 of the proxy settlement to the provider 1002 (step S509).

Thus, a proxy settlement processing system for the purchase price by the provider 1002 can be constructed. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the seller site does not need to prepare the payment system by itself, and can reduce the investment cost for the system. Further, according to this embodiment, at the time of purchase (at the time of download), important personal information such as a credit card number does not need to be provided to the seller site 1003, but may be presented to the provider 1002.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
Download only the data that has been settled,
A description will be given using the flow of processing for rejecting download of unsettled data. This flowchart constitutes the download permitting means after settlement.

[0097] Buyer 23 connects to Internet 14
(Step S601), it connects to the shared area 22 (Step S602), completes the ordering procedure, and tries to download the digital data transferred to the shared area 22 (Step S603). Next, in step S605, when the purchaser 23 attempts to download the digital data, the server 13 in the shared area 22 does not permit the download on the spot, and determines whether or not the settlement processing has been completed for the digital data. If it is determined that the payment processing has been completed, the process proceeds to step S606, and downloading to the purchaser terminal 15 is permitted. This allows the purchaser 23 to download data from the shared area 22.
(608).

On the other hand, if the shared server 13 determines in step S605 that the settlement processing has not been completed, the process proceeds to step S607, in which the download is not permitted, and the purchaser 23 downloads the data from the shared area 22. Cannot be performed (step S609).

By the above processing, it is possible to prevent the unsettled digital data from being downloaded to the purchaser terminal 15 by the purchaser 23.
A system in which the purchaser 23 cannot obtain digital data can be constructed.

In step S605, shared server 13 may ask seller site 12 whether payment processing has been completed or not, and determine whether payment processing has been completed.

Next, referring to the flowcharts of FIGS. 14, 15 and 16, when the purchaser 23 connects the purchaser terminal 15 to the shared server 13 after ordering digital data to the seller site 12 A system for selecting digital data transferred from the seller site 12 to the shared area 22 of the shared server 13 will be described. FIGS. 14 to 16
The flow chart of FIG. 7 comprises a referenceable means, a reference download determination means, a partial downloadability means, a selected data downloadable means, a charging means, and a reference automatic download charging means.

First, at step S1 in FIG.
3 refers to the data list display screen of the shared area 22 from the purchaser terminal 15. FIG. 10A shows an example of this data list display screen. In FIG. 10A, “normal face”
And "laughing face", "angry face" and "crying face" are displayed.

Next, the process proceeds to step S2, where the purchaser 23
Decides whether to download all of these four face data and decides to download all,
Proceeding to step S17, all four face data are downloaded to the purchaser terminal 15. Then, in step S18, shared server 13 carries out a procedure of charging buyer 23 for the downloaded digital data.

On the other hand, if the purchaser 23 decides not to download all the digital data in step S2, the process proceeds to step S3 in FIG. 15, and the desired face (for example, “ Ordinary face ") data. Next, the process proceeds to step S4, where the shared server 1
3 displays a list of processes to be executed as shown in FIG. Then, the purchaser 23 selects a desired process from the process list and causes the shared server 13 to execute the process.

For example, the purchaser 23 can download (normal face) data to the purchaser terminal 15 by selecting (clicking) “download selected data”. At this time, the shared server 13
As shown in (1), the fact that the data of "normal face" has been downloaded is displayed on the display screen.

Next, the process proceeds to step S5, where the shared server 1
3 determines whether or not the purchaser's selection processing has been completed, and if it determines that the selection processing has been completed, terminates this selection processing.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S5 that the purchaser's selection process has not been completed, the shared server 13 proceeds to step S6, and the purchaser 23 displays the “contents” on the screen of FIG. If "Confirm" is selected and it is determined that the content of the data selected in FIG.
The process proceeds to Step S9 of Step 6.

In step S9, as the digital data selected by the purchaser 23, for example, an enlarged screen of a “normal face” shown in FIG. 10C is displayed. Next, step S10
The shared server 13 indicates that the purchaser 23 has the purchaser terminal 1
5, the number of times the content of the digital data has been confirmed and the time during which the content has been confirmed are counted.
2 in the data area.

[0109] As shown in FIG.
Then, for each digital data, "data name",
It has data areas of "data body", "date and time of download from sales site", "accumulation of content confirmation time", and "content confirmation frequency". , “Contents confirmation count” and “accumulation of contents confirmation time” are stored in the data area. Data having the structure of FIG. 13A is, for example, face data as shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), for each of the data names “normal face”, “laughing face”, “angry face”, and “crying face”,
It has the data body (image data), the download date and time, the cumulative value of the content confirmation time, and the cumulative value of the content confirmation count.

Next, proceeding to step S12, it is determined whether or not the cumulative value of the content confirmation time or the cumulative value of the number of content confirmations exceeds a predetermined time or a predetermined number of times. Returning to step S3, FIG.
Display the screen of (A). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S12 that the cumulative value of the content confirmation time or the cumulative value of the number of content confirmations has exceeded a predetermined time or a predetermined number of times, a screen shown in FIG. S13
Then, the digital data selected by the purchaser 23 is downloaded to the purchaser terminal 15. Next, step S1
Proceed to step 4 to execute a procedure for charging the purchaser 23 for the downloaded digital data.

On the other hand, if the purchaser 23 has not selected "content confirmation" in step S6, the process proceeds to step S7. In step S7, the shared server 13
It is determined whether the user wants to download the selected digital data. That is, on the display screen of FIG. 10B, the purchaser 23 selects “download (purchase) the selected data”, and further, on the display screen of FIG. It is determined whether or not the selection has been made. If it is determined in step S7 that the digital data selected by the purchaser 23 is to be downloaded, the process proceeds to step S13 in FIG. 16, and the digital data selected by the purchaser 23 is downloaded to the purchaser terminal 15. Next, the process proceeds to step S14 to execute a procedure for charging the purchaser 23 for the downloaded digital data.

On the other hand, in step S7, the purchaser 23
Does not select “download selected data (purchase)” and determines that it is not the case that the purchaser 23 wants to download the selected digital data, and proceeds to step S8. In step S8, the purchaser 23
It is determined whether the user wants to delete the digital data selected from. That is, it is determined whether or not the purchaser 23 has selected “delete” on the selection screen of FIG. In this step S8, the purchaser 23
If it is determined that the user wants to delete the digital data selected from 2, the process proceeds to step S16, and the shared server 13 deletes the selected digital data. FIG. 11C shows an example of the deletion screen. On the other hand, step S8
If it is determined that the selected digital data is not to be deleted, the process proceeds to step S15, and processes other than those displayed in FIG. 10B are performed, and the process returns to step S3.

As described above, the shared server 13 is configured as shown in FIG.
By executing the flowcharts of FIGS. 15 and 16, the purchaser 23 uses the purchaser terminal 15 to
Can refer to digital data uploaded to the shared area 22, and can select and purchase (download) desired data from the referenced data. In addition, the user can purchase the desired data after enlarging and displaying the selected desired data. In addition, shared server 1
No. 3 can charge only for digital data purchased by the purchaser 23. When the time or the number of times the purchaser 23 refers to the digital data exceeds a predetermined value, the digital data referred to by the purchaser terminal 15 is automatically downloaded to the purchaser terminal 15 and the digital data is A process of charging the purchaser 23 can be performed.

Next, referring to the flowchart shown in FIG. 17, when a predetermined period has elapsed since the seller site 12 uploaded the ordered digital data to the shared server 13, the shared server 13 The flow of processing for deleting digital data from the shared area 22 will be described. This flowchart forms an automatic deletion unit.

First, at step S51, the seller site 1
2 uploads the ordered digital data to the shared area 22 and stores the upload date and time in a predetermined data area of the shared area 22 in step S52. This data area has, for example, a structure as shown in FIG. Next, when the purchaser 23 connects to the shared area 22 in step S53, the shared server 13 confirms the upload date and time in step S54. Next, in step S55, it is determined whether or not a predetermined period has elapsed from the upload date and time to when the purchaser 23 connects to the shared area 22. If the predetermined period has elapsed, the process proceeds to step S56. Then, the shared server 13 displays a screen as shown in FIG. 1D, for example, and deletes the digital data from the shared area 22. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S55 that the predetermined period has not been exceeded, the process ends.

As described above, according to the flow of FIG. 17, expired data can be automatically deleted.
Therefore, by limiting the storage period of digital data in the shared area 22, unnecessary storage cost of digital data that has not been purchased even if ordered can be reduced, and
There is also an effect of promoting purchase after ordering to the purchaser 23.

Next, referring to FIG. 18, purchaser 23 makes a temporary order to seller site 12 and
Will be described.

(1) First, the purchaser 23 checks the purchaser terminal 1
From 5, a temporary order procedure for digital data is performed at the seller site 12. That is, at the seller site 12 accessed from the purchaser terminal 15, for example, image digital data such as “normal face” is selected from the display screen shown in FIG. 12A, and as shown in FIG. Then, a screen prompting the user to select whether or not to perform a provisional ordering procedure for the selected image digital data “normal face” is displayed on the purchaser terminal 15. Buyer 23
By clicking "Yes" on this screen,
A provisional ordering procedure is performed at the buyer terminal 15.

(2) Next, the seller site 12 transfers the temporarily ordered digital data to the shared area 22 of the shared server 13 and stores the digital data in the buyer terminal 15 as shown in FIG. Then, a screen indicating that the provisionally ordered digital data has been transferred to the shared area 22 is displayed.

(3) Next, the purchaser 23 enters the purchaser terminal 1
In step 5, the user accesses the shared server 13 to check the contents of the digital data that has been provisionally ordered.

(4) Next, the shared server 13 permits the purchaser terminal 15 to download the digital data thus ordered, and the purchaser 23 downloads the digital data to the purchaser terminal 15.

(5) Next, the administrator of the shared area 22
The purchaser 23 is requested to pay for the digital data thus ordered.

(6) Next, the purchaser 23 pays the price of the purchased data to the manager of the shared area 22.

(7) Next, the administrator of the shared area 22
The seller 21 pays for the digital data collected on behalf of the seller 21.

As described above, after the provisional order, according to the processing flow of the actual order, the purchaser 23 confirms and selects the contents of the digital data as a product in two stages,
Buy digital data. Therefore, a sufficient examination can be made when purchasing digital data, and only necessary data can be surely purchased.

In the above embodiment, an example of digital data as a product is image data, but the digital data may be other digital data such as music data. Further, according to a storage medium (for example, a CD-ROM or a hard disk) storing a software program for realizing the processing of the digital data distribution system, the storage medium stores the software program stored in the storage medium. By reading and executing at the terminal 15, the shared server 13, and the seller site 12,
The digital data distribution system of the above embodiment can be realized.

[0127]

As is clear from the above description, in the digital data distribution method of the present invention, a purchaser places an order for digital data to be purchased at a seller site.
On the other hand, the terminal of the seller site uploads the ordered digital data to the shared area, and the purchaser downloads the digital data from the shared area. That is, according to the digital data distribution method of the present invention, the purchaser can order the digital data to be purchased from the seller site, and then download the ordered digital data from the shared area.
Therefore, the time and place can be shifted from the execution of the order and the download can be executed, and the purchaser can download the ordered digital data from the shared area using his or her convenient time and place or the terminal device. . Therefore, according to the present invention, although the purchaser has the will to purchase, the purchase is not abandoned due to other factors such as the means for connecting to the network when the desired data is found, and the sales opportunity is lost. Can be prevented.

Further, the digital data distribution method according to one embodiment is a digital data distribution method according to the above-mentioned digital data distribution method. Authenticate the buyer with authentication data. Therefore, according to this embodiment, at the time of ordering, the purchaser does not need to provide important personal information such as a credit card number to the seller site. In addition, the seller site does not need to prepare its own payment system, and can reduce the investment cost for the system.

[0129] In one embodiment of the digital data distribution method according to the above-described digital data distribution method, the shared terminal transmits the digital data from the shared area to the purchaser terminal unless the settlement with the purchaser is completed. Since the download of digital data is not permitted, the fee for digital data can be reliably collected.

In the digital data distribution system according to one embodiment, the purchaser places an order for the digital data to be purchased from a seller site by ordering means provided in the purchaser terminal, and then places the ordered digital data. Can be downloaded from the shared area by the download means. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to execute the download by shifting the time and place from the execution of the order, and the purchaser can share the ordered digital data by using the convenient time and place or the terminal device. Can be downloaded from the area. Therefore, according to this embodiment, although the purchaser has the will to purchase, the purchase is not abandoned due to other factors such as a means for connecting to the network when the desired data is found, and the sales opportunity is lost. Can be prevented.

In one embodiment of the digital data distribution system, the shared terminal allows the purchaser terminal to refer to the digital data uploaded from the seller site by referenceable means. it can. Therefore, the purchaser can download the digital data after referring to and confirming the contents of the digital data to be purchased.

Further, in the digital data distribution system of one embodiment, the purchaser refers to the digital data in the shared area at the purchaser terminal by using the after-reference download determination means provided in the shared terminal, You can decide whether to download or not. Therefore,
According to this embodiment, the purchaser can cancel the purchase (download) after referring to the shared terminal even with the digital data once ordered on the seller site,
Only the necessary data can be definitely purchased.

In the digital data distribution system according to one embodiment, the purchaser can download a part of the digital data to the purchaser terminal by using a partial downloadable means provided in the shared terminal. .

Further, in the digital data distribution system of one embodiment, the purchaser can download the selected data to the purchaser terminal using the selected data downloadable means provided in the shared terminal. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the purchaser can select the digital data in two stages, that is, at the time of ordering and at the time of downloading, and can download the digital data after a thorough examination.

In one embodiment of the digital data distribution system, the sharing terminal charges the purchaser for the digital data downloaded by the purchaser to the purchaser terminal by the charging means. In this way, by providing the charging means in the shared terminal, it is possible to suppress an increase in the system on the seller side.

[0136] In the digital data distribution system of one embodiment, the after-reference automatic download billing means provided in the shared terminal, when the number or time of referring to the digital data from the purchaser terminal exceeds a predetermined value, the reference. The downloaded digital data is downloaded to the terminal of the purchaser, and the purchaser is charged for the digital data referred to above. Therefore, according to this embodiment, when the degree to which the purchaser terminal refers to the digital data exceeds a predetermined value, the process automatically downloads the data and shifts to a charging procedure, thereby making it possible to refer to the digital data free of charge. Restrictions can be imposed.

In one embodiment of the digital data distribution system, the shared terminal uses the automatic deletion means to delete the digital data when a predetermined period has elapsed from when the ordered digital data was uploaded from the seller site. delete. Therefore, by limiting the storage period of digital data in the shared area, it is possible to reduce unnecessary storage cost of digital data that has not been purchased even if an order has been placed, and it also has the effect of promoting purchase after purchase to the purchaser. .

In one embodiment of the digital data distribution system, the purchaser deletes the selected data from the digital data uploaded from the seller site by using the purchaser deleteable means of the shared terminal. can do. Therefore, the purchaser can download only the data remaining after the deletion, and can provide the purchaser with the convenience of downloading the data.

Further, in the digital data distribution system of one embodiment, at the time of ordering, the purchaser can authenticate the purchaser using the ordering authentication data with the ordering authentication means on the seller site. At the time of settlement, the authentication settlement means of the shared terminal performs settlement using the stored settlement authentication data. Therefore, according to this embodiment,
When placing an order, the buyer does not need to provide important personal information, such as a credit card number, to the merchant site. In addition, the seller site does not need to prepare its own payment system, and can reduce the investment cost for the system. Further, since the shared terminal stores the payment authentication data in the payment authentication data storage means, the purchaser does not need to input the payment authentication data such as a credit card number for each purchase.

Further, in the digital data distribution system of one embodiment, when the settlement terminal has not completed payment with the purchaser by the download permitting means after payment,
Do not allow buyers to download digital data from the shared area to the buyer terminal. Therefore, the fee for digital data can be reliably collected.

In the digital data distribution system according to one embodiment, the network is the Internet, and the shared terminal is a server owned by an Internet service provider. Therefore, the purchaser can purchase (download) the digital data ordered at the seller site using the server of the Internet connection company used to connect his terminal to the Internet. Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a digital data distribution system in which the purchase procedure of the purchaser is simple and easy, and the leakage of personal information can be minimized.

In one embodiment of the digital data distribution system, the server owned by the Internet connection company allows the purchaser to settle the Internet connection fee and the purchase price of the digital data in the shared area by the download permitting means after settlement. Downloading the digital data from the shared area to the purchaser terminal is permitted when the payment is made to the Internet connection company. Therefore,
According to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the purchaser terminal from downloading digital data for which the purchase price has not been paid, and to reliably collect the digital data purchase price and the Internet connection fee.

In one embodiment of the digital data distribution system, the server owned by the Internet connection company pays the seller site an amount obtained by subtracting the brokerage commission from the purchase price of the digital data by the provider settlement means. Therefore, according to the present invention, it becomes unnecessary for the seller site to have a settlement means, and the Internet connection company can obtain a brokerage fee for selling digital data from the seller.

Further, the storage medium of one embodiment stores a software program for realizing all or some of the means of the digital data distribution system described above. Therefore, all or some means of the digital data distribution system can be realized by reading and executing the stored software program from the storage medium at the purchaser terminal, the shared terminal, and the seller site.

Further, the software program of one embodiment implements all or some of the means of the digital data distribution system described above. Therefore, by executing the program of this embodiment on a purchaser terminal, a shared terminal, or a seller site, all or some means of the digital data distribution system can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an outline of an embodiment of a digital data distribution system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a purchaser and a seller with respect to a shared area according to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a relationship between a purchaser and a seller.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of ordering data to a seller site in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of data transfer from a seller to a shared area in the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of obtaining ordered data from a common area in the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of proxy settlement by a provider in the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process for permitting download of only settlement data in the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a flow of money, a flow of purchase data, and a flow of access (information) in the embodiment.

FIG. 10A is a diagram showing a data display screen of a shared area in the embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 10C is a diagram of a screen in which a processing selection list is superimposed on the display screen, and FIG. 10C is a diagram of a screen in which an image of a “normal face” is enlarged and displayed on the display screen; FIG.
(D) is a diagram of a screen displaying that the image data of the selected “normal face” has been downloaded.

FIG. 11A is a diagram of a screen displaying that data is downloaded because a predetermined time limit has been exceeded in data reference and selection in the embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 11C is a diagram of a screen prompting the user to select whether to download digital data in the embodiment. FIG. 11C is a diagram of a screen indicating that the selected digital data has been deleted in the embodiment. Yes, FIG. 11 (D) is a diagram of a screen displaying deletion of data for which purchase and settlement have not been completed within a predetermined period in the above embodiment.

FIG. 12 (A) is a diagram of a display screen of digital data as a product that a seller site shows on a purchaser terminal in the above embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 12C is a diagram of a screen that prompts a purchaser to make a provisional order at the seller site, and FIG. 12C is a diagram of a screen that indicates that the provisionally ordered digital data has been transferred to the shared area in the embodiment. is there.

FIG. 13A is a chart showing a data structure of shared data of a shared area in the embodiment.
FIG. 13B is a specific list of the shared data.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a first part of a flowchart of a process of selecting data in a shared area in the embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a second part of the flowchart.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a third part of the above flowchart.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a process for deleting expired data from a shared area in the embodiment.

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a temporary order and a final order procedure in the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 personal computer, 11 portable terminal, 12
... Seller site, 13: Shared server, 15: Buyer terminal, 21: Seller, 22,1002a: Shared area, 2
3,1001 ... Purchaser, 1002 ... Provider, 100
3 ... Seller site.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) G06F 15/00 330 G06F 15/00 330Z

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. A purchaser terminal, a seller site, and a shared terminal provided with a shared area are connected by a network, and the purchaser transmits digital data to be purchased from the purchaser terminal to the sales terminal. The seller site uploads the ordered digital data to the shared area, and the buyer transfers the digital data ordered to the seller site from the shared area to the purchaser terminal. A digital data distribution method characterized by downloading to a digital data distribution system. 2. The digital data distribution method according to claim 1, wherein, at the seller site, when the purchaser places an order for the digital data, the purchaser uses the order authentication data to authenticate the purchaser. When the buyer authenticates the purchaser, the payment terminal authenticates the purchaser when the buyer purchases digital data downloaded from the common area to the purchaser terminal with the purchaser. A digital data distribution method, wherein the purchaser is authenticated with authentication data for use. 3. The digital data distribution method according to claim 1, wherein the shared terminal transmits digital data downloaded from the shared area to the purchaser terminal with the purchaser. When the payment is completed, the buyer is allowed to download from the common area to the buyer's terminal, while when the payment is not completed with the buyer, the buyer is A digital data distribution method, wherein downloading from the common area to the terminal of the purchaser is not permitted. 4. A purchaser terminal, a seller site, and a shared terminal provided with a shared area are connected via a network, and the purchaser terminal transmits digital data to be purchased by the purchaser to the purchaser. An ordering means for ordering from the customer terminal to the seller site, the seller site including an uploading means for uploading the ordered digital data to the shared area, and the buyer terminal to the seller site. A digital data distribution system comprising download means for downloading ordered digital data from the shared area to the purchaser terminal. 5. The digital data distribution system according to claim 4, wherein the shared terminal includes a reference enabling unit that enables the purchaser terminal to reference the digital data uploaded from the seller site. A digital data distribution system characterized by the following. 6. The digital data distribution system according to claim 4, wherein the shared terminal refers to the digital data uploaded from the seller site from the purchaser terminal, and then executes the digital data distribution. A digital data distribution system comprising a reference download determination means for allowing the purchaser to determine whether or not to download the data to the purchaser terminal. 7. The digital data distribution system according to claim 4, wherein the shared terminal downloads a part of the digital data uploaded from the seller site to the purchaser terminal. Digital data distribution system, comprising a partially downloadable means for enabling a digital download. 8. The digital data distribution system according to claim 5, wherein the shared terminal transmits, to the digital data referred to by the purchaser, data selected by the purchaser. A digital data distribution system, comprising a selection data downloadable means for enabling download to the purchaser terminal. 9. The digital data distribution system according to claim 4, wherein the shared terminal charges the purchaser for digital data downloaded to the purchaser terminal by the purchaser. A digital data distribution system comprising charging means. 10. The digital data distribution system according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein the number of times or time when the shared terminal refers to the digital data from the purchaser terminal exceeds a predetermined value. When the digital data referred to beyond the predetermined value is downloaded to the terminal of the purchaser, a reference automatic download charging means for charging the purchaser for the referenced digital data is provided. Digital data distribution system. 11. The digital data distribution system according to any one of claims 4 to 10, wherein the shared terminal has a predetermined period after the ordered digital data is uploaded from the seller site. When you do
A digital data distribution system comprising an automatic deletion unit for deleting the digital data. 12. The digital data distribution system according to any one of claims 4 to 11, wherein the shared terminal is a digital data uploaded from the seller site, and the digital data is uploaded from the purchaser terminal to the purchaser. A digital data distribution system, comprising: a purchaser-deletable unit that enables the user to delete the selected data. 13. The digital data distribution system according to claim 4, wherein the seller site is an order authentication data used when the purchaser places an order for the digital data. An ordering authentication means for authenticating the purchaser; wherein the shared terminal performs the purchase when the purchaser makes a payment with the purchaser for digital data to be downloaded from the shared area to the purchaser terminal. A digital data distribution system comprising: a settlement authentication data storage unit that stores settlement authentication data for authenticating a user; and an authentication settlement unit that performs settlement using the settlement authentication data. 14. The digital data distribution system according to any one of claims 4 to 13, wherein the shared terminal is configured to purchase the digital data downloaded from the shared area to the purchaser terminal by the purchaser. When the settlement with the buyer is completed, the buyer is allowed to download from the common area to the buyer's terminal, while when the payment with the buyer is not completed, A digital data distribution system comprising a post-payment download permitting means that does not permit the purchaser to download from the shared area to the purchaser's terminal. 15. The digital data distribution system according to claim 4, wherein the network is the Internet, and the shared terminal is configured such that the purchaser connects the purchaser terminal to the Internet. A digital data distribution system characterized by being a server owned by an Internet connection company used for the purpose. 16. The digital data distribution system according to claim 15, wherein the server owned by the Internet connection company is configured to allow the purchaser to transfer an Internet connection fee and a purchase price for digital data in the common area to the Internet connection. A digital data distribution system, comprising: settlement-permission download permitting means for permitting download of the digital data from the shared area to the purchaser terminal when paid to a trader. 17. The digital data distribution system according to claim 16, wherein the server owned by the Internet connection company has a provider settlement means for paying an amount obtained by subtracting a brokerage commission from the purchase price to the seller site. A digital data distribution system, characterized in that: 18. A storage medium storing a software program for realizing all or some means of the digital data distribution system according to claim 4. Description: 19. A software program for implementing all or some of the means of the digital data distribution system according to claim 4. Description: