JP2004145523A - Contents trade system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contents trade system not requiring useless contents transmission to a seller, allowing the seller to easily manage a copyright, allowing a purchaser to easily select contents, and imposing no trade debt burden to an intermediary. <P>SOLUTION: This system includes: a plurality of seller systems (11, 12, 13, 14) managing the selling contents; purchaser systems (21, 22, 23, 24) wherein the purchaser of the contents manages the purchased contents; and a management server 31 centrally controlling information specific to the contents stored in each the seller system, and mediating trade of the contents between the seller system and the purchaser system. Each the seller system is distributively disposed, the contents wherein the trade is concluded is transmitted to the purchaser system from the seller system managing the contents via a network. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a content trading system for trading content such as high-definition video and images on a network.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, high-quality video content has been bought and sold by directly exchanging recording media such as video tapes and video films. In contrast, JP-A-2002-41818 and JP-A-2002-32670 disclose that a service user can transfer information such as music, video, and programs from a server storing a large number of contents via a network. An information distribution service system that downloads and pays for this content is disclosed.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The above-mentioned prior art has the following technical problems.
1. Since the content to be sold and its management data are managed by one database, if the number of contents to be stored and stored increases, it becomes impossible to cope with the capacity. In addition, since the seller must send the content to the server before the sale is completed, the communication cost of the content that is not sold is wasted.
2. Regarding video content, there is no effective means for explaining the content, and therefore it is not easy for a purchaser to select desired video content.
3. When buying and selling content, not only the price but also the copyright conditions are important as negotiation conditions, but such measures cannot be taken.
4. It is difficult for a provider of a trading environment that mediates trading to easily provide the trading environment without incurring a trade debt burden.
5. Since the contents of the contents are wide, it is not easy to extract the desired video contents if this trading is handled by one system.
[0004]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and it is unnecessary for a seller to transmit unnecessary content and copyright management is easy, a purchaser can easily select content, and an intermediary can be used. It is an object of the present invention to provide a content trading system that does not bear a trade debt.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized in that the following means are taken.
[0006]
(1) A plurality of seller systems in which a content seller manages content for sale, a buyer system in which a content purchaser manages purchased content, and a system of content stored in each seller system. A management server that centrally manages the summary information and mediates buying and selling of the content between the seller system and the buyer system, wherein the plurality of seller systems are distributed and arranged, Is transmitted from the seller system to the purchaser system via the network.
[0007]
(2) Each seller system is characterized by including means for accumulating content and means for providing content identification information unique to each content to the management server.
[0008]
(3) The purchaser system includes means for inputting content selection conditions, means for reproducing content identification information provided from the management server, and means for storing content transmitted via a network. Features.
[0009]
(4) The management server retrieves the contents from the storage means using the means for storing the contents identification information provided from each seller system and the selection condition presented from the purchaser system as a parameter, and purchases the contents identification information. Means for providing to the user system.
[0010]
According to the above-described features (1) and (4), a plurality of seller systems distributed and arranged are centrally managed by the management server, so that the purchaser system does not have access to all seller systems, and the management server By simply accessing, information on the content stored in each seller system can be obtained. Further, the seller system transmits only the contents for which the sale has been completed, so that unnecessary communication costs are not generated.
[0011]
According to the above configurations (2) and (3), information unique to each content stored in a plurality of distributing seller systems is centrally managed by the management server. Since each piece of content identification information can be referred to simply by accessing, the selection of the content becomes easy.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content trading system according to one embodiment of the present invention, where “content” includes moving image data such as news, movies, music albums, still image data, and audio data. A general term for multimedia information such as data, text data, and computer programs. The following mainly describes moving image data, but is not intended to limit the present invention.
[0013]
The seller's system for selling content is stored in various data formats on a seller content server 11 in which a large number of contents to be sold are stored and a storage medium 13 such as a video tape, a video disk, or a video film. It includes a data conversion unit 12 for converting content into a predetermined data format and inputting the data to a seller content server 11, and a seller terminal 14 for mainly exchanging trade negotiation data with a buyer.
[0014]
The system of the purchaser who purchases the content includes a purchaser content server 21 that stores the purchased content, and a data conversion unit that converts the content stored in a predetermined data format into a data format corresponding to the media medium 23. 22 and a buyer terminal 24 for exchanging trade negotiation data with the seller.
[0015]
The management server 31 mediates between a person who wants to sell the content and a person who wants to purchase the content, and manages the transfer of the content from the seller content server 11 to the buyer content server 21 when a sales contract is established between the two. The seller content server 11, the seller terminal 14, the purchaser content server 21, and the purchaser terminal 24 are interconnected with the management server 31 via the Internet.
[0016]
Although only one seller system and one purchaser system are shown in FIG. 1, many systems are connected to the management server via the Internet.
[0017]
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of the seller content server 11. The content storage unit 110 stores content captured from the data conversion unit 12, and a meta as one of identification information unique to each content. A metadata generation unit 111 for automatically generating, as data, a content ID, a seller ID, a video bit rate, an audio bit rate, a video content file size, a media time, a video standard, and the like, and providing these to the management server 31; As summary data which is another one of identification information unique to each content, a still image thumbnail file (for each fixed period in a video, each scene change in a video, etc.) and a video / audio thumbnail file (a fixed period for a video Every time, every scene change in the video, etc.) and provide it to the management server 31. Including the summary data generation unit 112, and an electronic watermark insertion section 113 imprinting the conditions related to the buying and selling conditions and copyrighted content to sell as a digital watermark.
[0018]
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the seller terminal 14. The metadata input unit 140 for inputting metadata that is difficult to automatically generate, such as the comment of the seller and the language type of the voice, by an operator's instruction, As a condition relating to copyright, a copyright information input section 141 for inputting whether or not the content can be copied, and in the case of copying permitted, the number of copies, etc., according to an operator's instruction, and price information for inputting information regarding the price of the content according to the operator's instruction. And an input unit 142.
[0019]
FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of the purchaser content server 21 and includes a content storage unit 210 that stores content transferred from the seller content server 11 after a sales contract is concluded.
[0020]
FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of the purchaser terminal 24. The content selection condition input unit 240 for inputting the condition of the content desired to be purchased and the condition of the content desired to be purchased are included in the audio information. A keyword input unit 241 for inputting a keyword; a summary data reproducing unit 242 for reproducing summary data such as a still image thumbnail file and a moving image audio thumbnail file of the content provided from the management server; and a payment for managing payment of the purchased content. And a management unit 243.
[0021]
FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the management server 31. The metadata management unit 310 centrally manages metadata provided from the seller content server 11 (metadata generation unit 111) of each seller system. The summary data management unit 311 for centrally managing the summary data provided from the seller content server 11 (summary data generation unit 112) of the seller system, and the copyright information provided from the seller terminal 14 of each seller system. A copyright management unit 312 that manages the information, a price management unit 313 that manages price information provided from the seller terminal 14 of each seller system, and a condition that matches the condition in response to a request from the buyer terminal 24. Content for searching for metadata, summary data, copyright information, and price of the content from the management units 310, 311, 312, and 313. A search unit 314, and a billing management unit 315 to collect from the purchaser the price of the content to be sold.
[0022]
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a content registration procedure in the seller system. In step S11, the contents stored in the various recording media 13 in various data formats are converted into a predetermined common format by the data conversion unit 12, and then loaded into the seller content server 11. In the seller content server 11, the content is stored in the content storage unit 110.
[0023]
In step S12, the metadata of the input content is automatically generated by the metadata generation unit 111 of the seller content server 11 based on the content. This metadata is transferred to the management server 31, and is stored in the metadata management unit 310 in step S14.
[0024]
In step S15, the summary data generation unit 112 of the seller content server 11 automatically generates a still image thumbnail of the input content as one of the summary data based on the content. The still image thumbnail is transferred to the management server 31, and is stored in the summary data management unit 311 in step S16.
[0025]
In step S17, the summary data generation unit 112 of the seller content server 11 automatically generates a video / audio thumbnail of the input content as one of the summary data based on the content. This moving image audio thumbnail is also transferred to the management server 31 and is stored in the summary data management unit 311 in step S18.
[0026]
In step S19, metadata that is difficult to automatically generate, such as the comment of the seller and the language type of the voice, is manually input by the operator from the metadata input unit 140 of the seller terminal 14.
[0027]
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen (Language & Comment) of the seller terminal 14 at the time of inputting the metadata, in which "English" indicating that the language type is English is input, and the sea is entered as a comment. "Sea" indicating that the video is the subject has been input. Here, when the “Submit” button is clicked by the operator, this metadata is transferred to the management server 31 and is stored in the metadata management unit 310 in step S20. When the “Reset” button is clicked, the input contents are reset, and when the “Back” button is clicked, the screen returns to the previous screen.
[0028]
In step S21, a condition related to copyright is input from the copyright information input unit 141 of the seller terminal 14, and a condition related to price is input from the price information input unit 142.
[0029]
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an input screen (Right & Price) of the seller terminal 14 when the copyright and the price are input, and the copy is prohibited as the copyright ("No. of copy" is zero). Is specified, and “100,000 yen” is specified as the price. Here, when the "Submit" button is clicked by the operator, each condition is notified to the management server 31 and registered in the copyright management unit 312 and the price management unit 313 in step S22.
[0030]
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a procedure for selecting content in the purchaser system. First, the purchaser of the content accesses the management server 31 by activating the Web browser on the purchaser terminal 24 equipped with the Web browser. In step S31, conditions relating to metadata, copyright, and the like are input from the content selection condition input unit 240 as conditions for selecting desired content. In step S32, a keyword for narrowing down desired content is input from the keyword input unit 241. The input selection conditions and / or keywords are transferred to the management server 31.
[0031]
When the management server 31 receives the content selection condition, in step S33, the content search unit 314 searches the metadata management unit 310, the copyright management unit 312, and the price management unit 313 using the selection condition as a parameter. Then, the content matching the selection condition is extracted. In step S34, the content including the keyword as an audio signal is extracted from the moving image audio thumbnail of the content stored in the summary data management unit 311. The metadata, copyright conditions, price conditions, and the like of the extracted contents are notified to the purchaser terminal 24.
[0032]
FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a display example of the notification content on the purchaser terminal 24. A list of extracted contents is displayed in a list along with its name, title, comment, storage location, price, and the like.
[0033]
The operator of the purchaser terminal 24 refers to the notification content and, if he wants to check the content in more detail, specifies the desired content and requests a still image preview in step S35. The still image preview can be requested by clicking the "Detail" button in the content line. When detecting the request for the still image preview, the management server 31 extracts the still image thumbnail of the requested content from the summary data management unit 311 and transmits the thumbnail thumbnail to the purchaser terminal 24.
[0034]
Further, in step S36, when the operator specifies a content and requests a video / audio preview, the management server 31 extracts a video / audio thumbnail of the specified content from the summary data management unit 311 and sends the thumbnail to the purchaser terminal 24. Send. At the purchaser terminal 24, the notified still image thumbnail and / or moving image audio thumbnail is played back by the summary data playback unit 242.
[0035]
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of the moving image audio thumbnail, in which the moving image audio thumbnail of the selected content is displayed together with its metadata, copyright information, price, and the like.
[0036]
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a procedure for purchasing content in the purchaser system. If the purchaser wishes to negotiate with respect to the copyright information and price conditions notified by the seller, in step S51, the content to be purchased is specified on the Web browser of the purchaser terminal, and the negotiating conditions are input. This negotiation condition is notified to the seller terminal 14 via the management server 31. The seller terminal 14 refers to the negotiating conditions, and prepares new conditions and notifies the purchaser terminal 24 if preparations are made to relax the use conditions presented by the purchaser or to lower the price.
[0037]
In the purchaser system, the operator refers to the newly notified conditions, and if the negotiation conditions match, in step S52, the credit number and its accompanying conditions (such as the purchaser's address, name, date of birth, and payment method) are determined. Notify the management server 31. In the management server 31, the charging management unit 315 notifies the credit company 41 of the credit number and the accompanying conditions notified by the purchaser and the purchase price (step S53). When the confirmation (step S54) is obtained from the credit company 41, the contract condition is notified from the management server 31 to the seller content server (step S55).
[0038]
In the seller content server 11, in step S56, the digital watermark insertion unit 113 imprints the copyright condition, the sales contract condition, and the like on the content to be sold as a digital watermark. The management server 31 is notified that the imprinting has been completed. Upon receiving the notification, the management server 31 notifies the purchaser content server 21 of a reception instruction in step S58, and instructs the seller content server 11 to transfer the content in step S59. Thereafter, the purchased content is read from the content storage unit 210 of the seller content server 21, and is transmitted to the purchaser system via the Internet in step S60. In the purchaser system, the transmitted content is stored in the content storage unit 210 of the purchaser content server 21 to complete a series of content purchases and sales.
[0039]
If the number of seller systems or purchaser systems managed by the same management server 31 increases, or if the content stored in the content server of each seller system increases, it takes a long time to search. There is a concern that the usability may be degraded, for example, or content that matches the search conditions but is completely different in genre may be hit.
[0040]
In order to solve such a problem, as shown in FIG. 14, each belonging system is assigned to each seller system (content server and seller terminal) and the buyer system (content server and buyer terminal). Is given in advance, and access is allowed only within the group to which the same identifier ID is given. The purchaser system is not allowed to access the content information of the seller system belonging to the same group. You only need to be able to access.
[0041]
In the example shown in FIG. 14, an identifier ID1 is assigned in advance to the seller systems (1), (2), (3) and the buyer system (1), and each seller system (1) stored in the management server 31 is stored. The identifier ID1 is also given to the content information of ▼, ② and ③. Therefore, the buyer system (1) can refer to only the contents of the seller systems (1), (2), and (3) and can purchase the content.
[0042]
Similarly, identifiers ID2 are assigned in advance to the seller systems (2) and (3) and the buyer systems (2) and (3), and the seller systems (2) and (3) stored in the management server 31. The identifier ID2 is also given to the information on the content of ▼. In the example of FIG. 14, two identifiers ID1 and ID2 are assigned to the seller systems (2) and (3). The purchaser systems (2) and (3) can refer to only the contents of the seller systems (2) and (3) and can purchase them.
[0043]
Then, an identifier ID to be assigned to each seller system and purchaser system is determined based on the content (genre) of the content handled by each system, and, for example, a seller system handling news-related content and a desire to purchase news-related content are desired. If the same identifier ID is assigned to the purchaser system, the search range is limited based on the genre of the content, so that the search time is shortened and the accuracy of the search result is improved.
[0044]
Further, when the number of seller systems and purchaser systems further increases and it is necessary to share processing among a plurality of management servers, an identifier ID is also assigned to each management server as shown in FIG. By doing so, the handling group of each management server may be restricted.
[0045]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, the following effects are achieved.
(1) Since a plurality of distributed seller systems are centrally managed by the management server, the buyer system does not access all seller systems but accumulates in each seller system only by accessing the management server. Information on the content that is being used.
(2) Since the seller system transmits only the content for which the sale has been completed, it is possible to prevent a useless increase in traffic.
(3) Since the summary information of the content stored in the plurality of seller systems distributed and arranged is centrally managed by the management server, and the purchaser system can refer to the summary information of each content only by accessing the management server. This makes it easy to select content.
(4) The condition regarding the copyright of each content is notified to the purchaser system, and the content is bought and sold on the premise of this condition, so that the management of the copyright is easy and reliable.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a content trading system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a seller content server 11;
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of a seller terminal 14;
FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram of a purchaser content server 21.
FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram of a purchaser terminal 24.
FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram of the management server 31.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a content registration procedure in the seller system.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a content selection procedure in the purchaser system.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a content purchase procedure in the purchaser system.
FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a metadata input screen.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a copyright and price input screen.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a content search result.
FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a display example of a moving image audio thumbnail.
FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of grouping by ID.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another example of grouping by ID.
[Description of Signs] 11: Seller content server, 12: Data conversion unit, 13: Storage medium, 14: Seller terminal, 21: Purchaser content server, 22: Data conversion unit, 23: Media medium, 24: Purchase Terminal, 31 ... management server

Claims (14)

Multiple seller systems where content sellers manage content for sale, buyer systems where content buyers manage purchased content, and content specific to content stored in each seller system Including a management server that centrally manages identification information and mediates buying and selling of content between the seller system and the buyer system;
A plurality of seller systems are distributed and arranged, and the content that has been traded is transmitted from the seller system that manages the seller system to the buyer system via a network. Each said seller system,
Means for storing content,
A means for providing content identification information of each content to the management server. The purchaser system,
Means for inputting content selection conditions;
Means for reproducing content identification information provided from the management server;
2. A system according to claim 1, further comprising means for storing contents transmitted via a network. The management server,
Means for storing content identification information provided by each seller system;
And a means for retrieving content from the storage means using the selection condition presented by the purchaser system as a parameter and providing the content identification information to the purchaser system. system. A plurality of seller systems in which a content seller manages content for sale, a buyer system in which a content buyer manages purchased content, and purchase and sale of content between the seller and the buyer. Including an intermediary management server,
In the content trading system in which the plurality of seller systems are distributed and arranged, and the content that has been sold is transmitted from the seller system that manages the seller system to the buyer system via a network,
(1) Each of the seller systems,
Means for storing content,
Means for providing content identification information unique to each content to the management server,
(2) The purchaser system:
Means for inputting content selection conditions;
Means for reproducing content identification information provided from the management server;
A means of requesting purchase by specifying content;
Means for storing the content transmitted via the network.
(3) The management server comprises:
Means for storing content identification information provided by each seller system;
Means for retrieving content from the storage means using the selection condition presented by the purchaser system as a parameter, and providing the content identification information to the purchaser system. The content trading system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the content identification information is at least one of content metadata, summary data, copyright conditions, and a price. 7. The content trading system according to claim 6, wherein the summary data is a still image thumbnail of the content. 7. The content trading system according to claim 6, wherein the summary data is a moving image audio thumbnail of the content. The purchaser system includes means for receiving credit information and notifying the management server,
7. The content trading system according to claim 1, wherein the management server includes means for charging a purchase price for the content based on the notified credit information. The credit information is a credit card number and its accompanying information,
10. The content trading system according to claim 9, wherein the management server notifies the credit card company of the credit card number and the accompanying information notified by the purchaser. 11. The content trading system according to claim 1, wherein the seller system includes means for imprinting predetermined information as an electronic watermark on the content transmitted to the buyer system. 12. The content trading system according to claim 1, wherein the seller system further includes a unit for manually inputting metadata of each content. Including means for grouping the seller system and the buyer system, the same identifier is given to the systems belonging to the same group, and the buyer system, the content information of the seller system belonging to the same group, The content trading system according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein access is allowed only to the user. 14. The method according to claim 13, further comprising a plurality of management servers, wherein each of the management servers is registered with one of the identifiers, and manages only buying and selling of contents in a group to which the registered identifier is assigned. Content trading system described.

Images