JP2005196564A - Contents intermediary server - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a contents intermediary server capable of adapting a contents delivery system provided by a contents service provider and having permeability between a user and the contents service provider and having less load for both user and contents service provider. <P>SOLUTION: The contents intermediary server 1 comprises a purchase request receiving section 11, an address detecting section 12, a contents identification information detecting section 13, a user settlement information detecting section 14, an intermediary server settlement section 15, an address substituting section 16, a purchase request identification management section 17, an address adding section 18, a contents receiving section 19, a format conversion section 20, a contents transmission section 21, an address storage section 22, a settlement storage section, and a format storage section 24. The address substituting section 16 requests proxy purchase of contents by substituting an address of a reproduced terminal 2 of a user with an address of the contents intermediary server 1, the format conversion section 20 converts the delivered contents, and they are transmitted to the reproducing terminal 2 of a user. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a content mediation server that mediates sales and distribution of content in a content distribution system that distributes digital content via the Internet.

  In recent years, digital content distribution services via the Internet have been provided by content service providers. In the distribution system in this distribution service, for example, when distributing original music data, the distribution data is compressed, encrypted, and provided to the user for each distribution method of the content service provider. For example, the content distribution service provider A's music distribution site provides the user with the content compressed and encrypted in the A format, and the content service provider B provides the user with the content compressed and encrypted in the B format. ing.

  In order to deliver the content safely, the content is encrypted with the key A, or after the content is encrypted with the key B, the key B is further encrypted with the key C, and the key A and the key C are delivered separately from the content. The method is used. If the key for decrypting the content leaks, it leads to unauthorized use of the content. Therefore, the key is managed using information for identifying the playback terminal of the user who purchases the content, for example, information on the CPU or network card. In other words, it is configured so that the content encryption can only be decrypted and played back by the user's playback terminal, thereby realizing the copyright management of the content.

  By the way, a user who purchases this music content cannot select a compression method or a distribution method to purchase the content. After purchasing the desired music content, the user needs to prepare a plurality of different playback environments such as A system and B system in the playback terminal. Since the environment of the Internet advances day by day and content providers change rapidly, users who want to purchase and view content must always have the latest playback environment.

There has been developed a content mediation server that eases the maintenance of such a reproduction environment, is arranged between the content delivery server and the user, and mediates the content data delivery. As a content mediation server, for example, a broker application server converts content sent from a transmission source such as a label into a data format suitable for the user's playback terminal, and transmits the data. Furthermore, the data is encrypted as necessary, the data is formatted into a packet, and transmitted to the user (see Patent Document 1).
JP-A-10-303986

  In the above content mediation server, the user's playback terminal makes a request for content purchase directly to the content delivery server, and the content delivery server that has received the purchase request transmits the content to the content mediation server, so that the user playback terminal has a suitable format. It becomes the structure which converts and redistributes to a user.

  However, this has a problem that it is transparent between the user and the content service provider, that is, the user cannot feel the existence of the content mediation server and cannot perform the content sales brokerage.

  Further, since the mediation of the key for encrypting the content for realizing the copyright protection of the content is not performed, there is a problem that it cannot be applied to the current distribution system.

  Furthermore, since each content distribution server individually manages a large amount of user information, there is a problem that conversion processing time and load on the server increase when format conversion is performed.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a content mediation server that is adapted to a content distribution system provided by a content service provider, has transparency between the user and the content service provider, and has a low load on both.

  In view of the above problems, the first feature of the present invention is that it is arranged between a user reproduction terminal (2) that requests content distribution and a content distribution server (3) that distributes content via a communication network. A content mediation server that mediates content distribution, receives a content purchase request from the user reproduction terminal (2), replaces the address information of the user reproduction terminal (2) with the address information of the own device, and the content distribution server If the address replacement unit (16) that transmits the content proxy purchase request to (3) and the payment information of the user added to the content purchase request are appropriate, the payment information of the own device is used. The gist of the invention is that the content brokerage server includes a brokerage server settlement unit (15) that performs proxy purchase settlement.

  The second feature of the present invention is arranged between a user reproduction terminal (2) that requests content distribution and a content distribution server (3) that distributes content via a communication network, and mediates content distribution. A content mediation server that receives a content purchase request from the user reproduction terminal (2), replaces the address information of the user reproduction terminal (2) with the address information of the own device, and adds personalization information of the own device; An address replacement unit (16) that transmits a content proxy purchase request to the content distribution server (3) and the content encrypted by using the individualized information distributed from the content distribution server (3) and decrypted. The decryption unit (25) to be encrypted and the personalized information of the user playback terminal (2) included in the content purchase request are used to encrypt the decrypted content. And summarized in that a content intermediary server and a unit (26).

  The third feature of the present invention is arranged between a user reproduction terminal (2) that requests content distribution and a content distribution server (3) that distributes content via a communication network, and mediates content distribution. In response to a content purchase request from the user reproduction terminal (2), the address information of the user reproduction terminal (2) is replaced with the address information of the own device, and the content distribution server (3) is substituted for the content. An address replacement unit (16) for transmitting a purchase request, a domain attribute detection unit (30) for detecting a domain attribute for individually identifying a user reproduction terminal added to the content purchase request, and a domain for storing the domain attribute The content stored in the domain attribute storage unit (29) is added to the attribute storage unit (29) and the content distributed from the content distribution server (3). And summarized in that a content intermediary server comprising encryption unit for encrypting adds down attributes and (26).

  According to the content mediation server of the present invention, when the user's playback terminal performs content purchase processing, content mediation with high anonymity in terms of content transmission / reception and settlement is possible. It is possible to broker content sales with transparency between the user and the content service provider.

  In addition, content encryption suitable for the user's reproduction environment and domain-managed content mediation are possible. Further, by caching the formatted content, it is possible to shorten the time for providing the content and enhance the effect of reducing the load on the server.

  The content mediation system using the content mediation server according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described below. In addition, the apparatus, method, etc. which are used in embodiment of this invention are examples, and of course this invention is not limited to these.

(First embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 1, the content mediation system includes a content mediation server 1, a user reproduction terminal 2, and content distribution servers 3a and 3b. Each device is connected via a wired or wireless communication network and can communicate. The content distribution servers 3a and 3b include content storage units 32a and 32b that store content files, and content distribution units 31a and 31b that acquire content files from the content storage units 32a and 32b and distribute the content files to request sources. Yes. The user playback terminal 2 includes a content playback unit 33 and plays back the downloaded content. This includes mobile devices such as personal computers and mobile phones held by users. The content mediation server 1 performs proxy purchase, proxy settlement, etc. when the user reproduction terminal 2 purchases content from the content distribution servers 3a, 3b. There may be two or more content distribution servers 3a and 3b that provide content. There may be a plurality of user reproduction terminals 2 connected to the content mediation server 1.

(Content brokerage server)
Hereinafter, each device will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the content mediation server 1 includes an input device 51, an output device 52, a main storage device 53, an auxiliary storage device 54, a communication interface 56, a communication control device 57, a central processing unit (CPU) 55, and the like. ing.

  The main storage device 53 temporarily stores a program describing a processing procedure and data to be processed, and delivers a machine instruction and data of the program according to a request from the CPU 55. Further, the data processed by the CPU 55 is written into the main storage device 53. The main storage device 53 and the CPU 55 are connected by an address bus, a data bus, a control signal, and the like. The main storage device 53 includes an address storage unit 22, a payment storage unit 23, a format storage unit 24, a content identification information storage unit 34, a purchase request identification ID storage unit 35, and the like shown in FIG. The address storage unit 22 stores the destination address of the user reproduction terminal 2 added to the transmitted purchase request. This address is held until the content mediation server 1 acquires the requested content and transmits it to the user reproduction terminal 2. The payment storage unit 23 stores information related to payment for content purchase by the user. The format storage unit 24 stores format information for converting the content transmitted from the content distribution server 3 into a format suitable for each user reproduction terminal 2. The content identification information storage unit 34 stores identification information related to content. The purchase request identification ID storage unit 35 stores an identification ID transmitted when making a purchase request.

  The CPU 55 is an arithmetic processing unit. As shown in FIG. 3, the purchase request receiving unit 11, the address detecting unit 12, the content identification information detecting unit 13, the user settlement information detecting unit 14, the mediation server settlement unit 15, the address replacement unit. 16, a purchase request identification management unit 17, an address addition unit 18, a content reception unit 19, a format conversion unit 20, a content transmission unit 21, and the like.

  The purchase request receiving unit 11 is a module that receives a content purchase request transmitted from the user reproduction terminal 2. The content purchase request may be transmitted from the user reproduction terminal 2 to the content mediation server 1 in the same packet or may be transmitted in a plurality of access units. FIG. 17 shows a data structure when a content purchase request is transmitted in the same packet. A signature is added to the packet using a DSA (Digital Signature Algorithm) or the like so that the content purchase request is not illegally modified.

  The address detection unit 12 is a module that detects the address of the user reproduction terminal 2 from the received content purchase request. Specifically, it indicates the IP address of the user reproduction terminal 2, the port number of the service for executing the content purchase of the user reproduction terminal 2, and the like. The content identification information detection unit 13 is a module that detects information for identifying the content to be purchased. Specifically, it refers to information such as a content URL and a content ID for uniquely identifying the content.

  The user payment information detection unit 14 is a module that detects user payment information. Specifically, the payment information indicates a card number of a credit card, an expiration date, a personal identification number, a user ID or personal identification number for performing ISP billing. These pieces of payment information are encrypted and transmitted using a public key cryptosystem (public key infrastructure) or the like for safety.

  The mediation server settlement unit 15 is a module that performs settlement of the content mediation server 1. The address replacement unit 16 is a module that replaces the destination address of the content purchase request requested by the user with the destination address of the content mediation server 1. The purchase request identification management unit 17 is a module for identifying and managing a content purchase request.

The address adding unit 18 is a module that specifies the address of the user playback terminal 2 from which the content is purchased.

  The content receiving unit 19 is a module that receives a content file distributed from the content distribution server 3. The format conversion unit 20 is a module that converts content into a format suitable for the playback environment of the user playback terminal 2. The content transmission unit 21 is a module that transmits the format-converted content to the requesting user reproduction terminal 2.

  The input device 51 refers to a data input module such as a keyboard and a mouse. Data may be input from an external storage device such as a CD or MD via the communication interface 56. The output device 52 refers to an output module such as a CRT monitor, a liquid crystal monitor, or a printer. The communication interface 56 refers to a module that is physically connected to a wired, wireless, optical fiber, or other network. The communication control device 57 is a module that generates and controls a control signal when data is transmitted / received to / from the outside via the communication interface 56.

  The auxiliary storage device 54 is an auxiliary memory such as a work area of the CPU 55. Specific examples of the main storage device 53 and the auxiliary storage device 54 include a random access memory (RAM), a read only memory (ROM), a flash memory, and a hard disk (HDD). Information such as the address storage unit 22, the settlement storage unit 23, and the format storage unit 24 in the main storage device 53 may be stored in the auxiliary storage device 54.

(Content purchase request packet)
A transmission request that is transmitted to request the content distribution server 3 for proxy purchase of content has a packet structure as shown in FIG. In order to make the data necessary for the content purchase request easier to understand, the data structure is illustrated as a single data structure. However, it is also possible to send these pieces of information as a plurality of data according to the purchase sequence of the content distribution server 3. The content purchase request includes information for identifying the content, address information for specifying the content mediation server 1, and settlement information for the content mediation server 1. By sending the address information of the content mediation server 1 instead of the address of the user reproduction terminal 2 as information for specifying the content purchase position sent from the content mediation server 1 to the content distribution server 3, the content mediation server 1 While being able to receive, the anonymity of the user reproduction terminal 2 is realizable. Similarly, the payment associated with the content purchase also ensures the isolation between the user and the content service provider by sending the settlement information of the content mediation server 1 to the content distribution server 3. If history of the information of the user who purchased the content is managed by the content brokerage server 1, the information of the user who purchased the content can be obtained by the content service provider, and the selective disclosure and concealment of the user information can be arbitrarily controlled.

(Operation of content proxy purchase)
Next, a method of proxy purchase of content by the content mediation server 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

(A) First, in step S101, the user reproduction terminal 2 that purchases the content of FIG. 3 searches the content list on the WEB site provided by the content distribution server 3, determines the content to be purchased, and the content distribution server 3 Send to. In step S102, the content distribution server 3 transmits information for specifying the content to be purchased, for example, information such as a URL indicating the location of the content and a content ID to the requesting user reproduction terminal 2. In step S <b> 103, the user reproduction terminal 2 transmits information for specifying content to the content mediation server 1 and requests mediation (mediation) of content purchase.

(B) In step S104, the purchase request receiving unit 11 of the content mediation server 1 in FIG. 3 receives the purchase request. Thereafter, the address detection unit 12 detects an address from the purchase request and stores it in the address storage unit 22. The content identification information detection unit 13 detects identification information such as a content URL, and the user payment information detection unit 14 detects payment information such as a credit card number. The settlement process will be described later. In step S <b> 105, when the address replacement unit 16 replaces the request source address of the proxy purchase request with the address of the content distribution server 3 from the address of the user playback terminal 2, a request for proxy proxy purchase is transmitted to the content distribution server 3.

(C) In step S106, the content distribution server 3 that has received the request for content purchase acquires the requested content from the content storage unit 32a in FIG. 1 and transmits it to the content mediation server 1. The data structure of the content to be transmitted is shown in FIG.

(D) In step S107, when the content receiving unit 19 receives the content, the format converting unit 20 converts the format of the content so as to be suitable for the user reproduction terminal 2. Furthermore, the purchase request identification management unit 17 identifies which purchase request corresponds to the content sent from the content distribution server, and the address adding unit 18 is stored in the address storage unit 22 in step S108. The address of the request source user reproduction terminal 2 is added.

(E) Finally, in step S109, the content transmission unit 21 transmits the content whose format has been converted to the user playback terminal 2, and completes the content purchase session.

  Regarding the settlement processing in step S104, the content distribution server 3 performs settlement with the content mediation server 1, and the user reproduction terminal 2 performs settlement with the content mediation server 1, thereby mediating settlement between the user and the content service provider. realizable. Hereinafter, this operation will be described in detail with reference to the sequence diagram of FIG.

(A) When a content purchase request is sent from the user reproduction terminal 2 to the content mediation server 1 in step S201, the user payment information detection unit 14 determines that the user payment account is valid from the user payment information in step S202. Make sure. When the credit of the user's account is obtained (step S203), the content mediation server 1 requests content from the content distribution server in step S204. The content distribution server 3 confirms the account of the content mediation server 1 via the mediation server settlement unit 15 of FIG. 3 in step S205, and if the account of the content mediation server 1 is credible in step S206, the content is transferred to the content mediation server. This is sent to the server 1 (step S207).

(B) When the content transmission is confirmed, in step S208, the content distribution server 3 immediately charges the content brokerage server 1 for payment of the content price. The mediation server settlement unit 15 receives this and performs payment. Further, the mediation server settlement unit 15 permits the content to be sent to the user reproduction terminal 2, and charges the user account for the content price.

  Note that the sequence diagram of FIG. 6 is an example of proxy payment, and the order of sending the contents of the processing flow and the order of payment may be switched depending on the content service provider, payment service rules, and the like.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the flow of proxy settlement. Here, the mediation server settlement unit 15 collects from the user reproduction terminal 2 330 yen, which is a charge of 300 yen indicated by the content distribution server 3 plus a 10% fee. Of course, the service method according to the first embodiment is not limited to this.

(Second Embodiment)
(Encrypted content brokerage system)
In the second embodiment, an apparatus and method for mediating an encryption key together with encrypted content when mediating content distribution or sales in the content mediation system according to the first embodiment will be described. .

  The content mediation server 1a in FIG. 7 is required to distribute content from the content distribution server 3c to the user reproduction terminal 2a in a state where the content is encrypted in order to distribute the content safely. Further, in order to prevent the unauthorized use of the content by managing the copyright of the content delivered to the user playback terminal 2a, the content is stored as an encrypted file even when the content is stored in the user playback terminal 2a. Is required.

  In order to realize this, the content distribution server 3c that has received the purchase request uses the key A obtained by encrypting the content using the personalization information and the key B of the content mediation server 1a sent from the content mediation server 1a. Encrypt. Then, the encrypted content and the key A are sent as a package to the content mediation server 1a. The content container structure is shown in FIG. At the same time, the key B is sent as a separate message to the content mediation server 1a using a secure communication path such as SSL. The content mediation server 1a can decrypt the content using the received encrypted content, the key B, and its own personalization information to obtain plain text content.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the content distribution server 3c according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a content encryption unit 27 for encrypting the content file. Although not shown, it is assumed that the content distribution server 3c also includes the content distribution unit 31a and the content storage unit 32a of FIG. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, the user reproduction terminal 2a according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a content decrypting unit 28 for decrypting the content file. Although not shown, it is assumed that the user reproduction terminal 2a also includes the content reproduction unit 33 in FIG.

  Similar to the content mediation server 1 according to the first embodiment, the content mediation server 1a according to the second embodiment of the present invention has the apparatus shown in FIG. 2, and its CPU 55 is shown in FIG. The purchase request reception unit 11, the address detection unit 12, the content identification information detection unit 13, the user settlement information detection unit 14, the mediation server settlement unit 15, the address replacement unit 16, the purchase request identification management unit 17, and the address addition unit 18, a content receiving unit 19, a format conversion unit 20, a content transmission unit 21, a decryption unit 25, and an encryption unit 26.

  The decryption unit 25 is a module for decrypting the content file encrypted by the content encryption unit 27 of the content distribution server 3c. The encryption unit 26 is a module for encrypting a content file to be transmitted to the user reproduction terminal 2a. Since other devices are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof will be omitted.

(Operation of content proxy purchase)
Next, a method of proxy purchase of content by the content mediation server 1a will be described with reference to FIG.

(A) First, in step S201, the user reproduction terminal 2a that purchases the content of FIG. 8 determines the content to be purchased and transmits it to the content distribution server 3c. In step S202, the content distribution server 3c transmits information for specifying the content to be purchased to the user reproduction terminal 2a as the request source. In step S203, the user reproduction terminal 2a adds personalized information for identifying itself to the content purchase request and transmits it to the content mediation server 1a, and requests mediation (mediation) of content purchase. The personalized information for specifying the user playback terminal is data obtained by combining CPU and network card information.

(B) In step S204, the purchase request receiving unit 11 of the content mediation server 1a in FIG. 8 receives the purchase request. Thereafter, the address detection unit 12 detects an address from the purchase request and stores it in the address storage unit 22. The content identification information detection unit 13 detects identification information such as a content URL, and the user payment information detection unit 14 detects payment information. In step S205, the address replacement unit 16 replaces the request source address of the proxy purchase request with the address of the content mediation server 1a from the address of the user reproduction terminal 2a, and transmits a content proxy purchase request to the content distribution server 3c. The content mediation server 1a adds individualized information for identifying itself to the proxy purchase request and transmits it to the content distribution server 3c. The content proxy purchase packet transmitted from the content mediation server 1a is configured as shown in FIG.

(C) In step S206, the content distribution server 3c that has received the request for content purchase acquires the requested content. As shown in FIG. 11, the content encryption unit 27 encrypts this content with the key A, and further encrypts the key A using the personalization information and the key B of the content mediation server 1a. In step S207, the encrypted content is transmitted to the content mediation server 1a. At the same time, the key B is sent as a separate message to the content mediation server 1a using a secure communication path such as SSL.

(D) When the content receiving unit 19 in FIG. 8 receives the content in step S208, the decrypting unit 25 receives the personalization information of the content mediation server 1a and the key B sent from the content distribution server 3c as shown in FIG. Decrypt contents using. In step S209, the format conversion unit 20 converts the format of the content so as to be suitable for the user reproduction terminal 2a. In step S210, the address adding unit 18 adds the address of the request source user reproduction terminal 2a stored in the address storage unit 22.

(E) In step S211, the encryption unit 26 encrypts the content whose format has been converted as shown in FIG. 12 using the key C, and further personalizes the user reproduction terminal transmitted from the user reproduction terminal 2a. Encrypt using information and key D. In step S212, the encrypted content and the key C are sent as a package to the user reproduction terminal 2a. At the same time, the key D is sent as a separate message to the user reproduction terminal 2a using a secure communication path such as SSL.

(F) In step S213, the user playback terminal 2a decrypts the content using the received encrypted content, the key D, and its own personalization information, obtains plaintext content, and plays it back. For copyright management, the content is stored in the user playback terminal 2a as a file encrypted with the key C. Each time the content playback unit 33 in FIG. Decode using

(Third embodiment)
In the content mediation system using the content mediation server 1a according to the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, in step S211, the key C for encrypting the content is further used and the personalization information of the user reproduction terminal and the key D are used. Used to encrypt. However, it is possible to reproduce content having the same content attribute only between devices having the same domain attribute by using the domain attribute held by each user reproduction terminal 2a instead of the individualized information of the user reproduction terminal. It is also possible.

  A “domain” is a concept indicating a specific range such as a region or an organization. In the case of a computer, generally, the Internet or an intranet network represents a group that constitutes a network centered on a server. For example, one domain is represented by the domain name “XXX.co.jp”.

  In order to protect the legitimate rights of content copyright holders and content creators, publicly publish the content to an unspecified number of third parties by exchanging or retransmitting the content over the Internet. It is necessary to limit unauthorized use. In addition, a mechanism for freely reproducing, moving, copying, and the like of content by the same user is also necessary. For this reason, it is necessary to set the content usage range.

  In order to limit the range of use, there is a method in which all devices belonging to the same domain have the same domain, and only content that conforms to the domain attribute can be used. The content mediation server 1b according to the third embodiment Has the functions to acquire, manage, and set the usage range of this domain.

  Similar to the content mediation server 1 according to the first embodiment, the content mediation server 1b has the apparatus shown in FIG. 2, and its CPU 55 has a purchase request reception unit 11, an address detection as shown in FIG. Unit 12, content identification information detection unit 13, user settlement information detection unit 14, mediation server settlement unit 15, address replacement unit 16, purchase request identification management unit 17, address addition unit 18, content reception unit 19, and format conversion unit 20 , A content transmission unit 21, a domain attribute detection unit 30, a domain attribute storage unit 29, an encryption unit 26a, and the like.

  The domain attribute detection unit 30 is a module that detects information related to a user's domain attribute from a purchase request transmitted from the user. The domain attribute storage unit 29 stores the detected domain attribute. The encryption unit 26a is a module that adds the domain attribute in the domain attribute storage unit 29 to the content distributed from the content distribution server 3d and encrypts the content. Since other devices are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

(Operation of content proxy purchase)
Next, a method of proxy purchase of content by the content mediation server 1b will be described with reference to FIG.

(A) First, in step S301, the user reproduction terminal 2b that purchases the content of FIG. 13 determines the content to be purchased and transmits it to the content distribution server 3d. In step S302, the content distribution server 3d transmits information for specifying the content to be purchased to the user reproduction terminal 2b as the request source. In step S303, the user reproduction terminal 2b adds personalization information and domain attributes for identifying itself to the content purchase request and transmits the content purchase request to the content mediation server 1b to request mediation (mediation) of content purchase. The structure of the content request data is shown in FIG.

(B) In step S304, the purchase request receiving unit 11 of the content mediation server 1b in FIG. 13 receives the purchase request. Thereafter, the address detection unit 12 detects an address from the purchase request and stores it in the address storage unit 22. The content identification information detection unit 13 detects identification information such as a content URL, and the user payment information detection unit 14 detects payment information. In step S 305, the domain attribute detection unit 30 detects the domain attribute of the user and stores it in the domain attribute storage unit 29. In step S306, the address replacement unit 16 replaces the request source address of the proxy purchase request with the address of the content mediation server 1b from the address of the user reproduction terminal 2b, and transmits a content proxy purchase request to the content distribution server 3d. The content mediation server 1b adds personalization information for identifying itself to the proxy purchase request and transmits it to the content distribution server 3d. It transmits to the content distribution server 3d. The structure of the purchase request packet transmitted to the content distribution server 3d is the same as that shown in FIG.

(C) In step S307, the content distribution server 3d that has received the content purchase request acquires the requested content and transmits it to the content mediation server 1b.

(D) In step S308, when the content is received from the content distribution server 3d, the format conversion unit 20 converts the format of the content so as to be suitable for the user reproduction terminal 2b. In step S309, the address adding unit 18 adds the address of the request source user reproduction terminal 2b stored in the address storage unit 22.

(E) In step S310, the encryption unit 26a encrypts the content whose format has been converted as shown in FIG. Further, the domain attribute of the requesting user in the domain attribute storage unit 29 is acquired, and the key E is encrypted using the domain attribute and the key F. In step S311, the content transmission unit 21 transmits the encrypted content and the key F to the user reproduction terminal 2b. The key F is transmitted using a secure communication path such as SSL. The packet structure of the content to be transmitted is shown in FIG.

(F) In step S312, the user reproduction terminal 2b receives the encrypted content and the key F. The content decrypting unit 28 decrypts the encrypted content using its own domain attribute and the received key F, and reproduces the content.

(Example of change)
In the first to third embodiments of the present invention, the contents received from the content distribution servers 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d are converted in format as shown in FIG. 22 according to the user's reproduction environment. This requires certain arithmetic processing. Therefore, by storing the pre-converted content file in the content mediation server 1, 1a, 1b, it is possible to reduce the load on the CPU at the time of content format conversion and increase the processing speed. The cache memory to be used is installed in the main storage device 53 or the auxiliary storage device 54 in FIG. In this cache memory, content that has been previously format converted is stored for a certain period of time. Content that has not been used for a certain period needs to be deleted, but is discarded from the cache memory by an algorithm such as FIFO (First In First Out), LRU (Last Recently Used), or LFU (Least Freak Entry Used). It should be noted that the content storage conditions for this fixed period are determined by the capacity of the cache memory and the like. Hereinafter, this processing procedure will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

(A) First, in step S401, when a content purchase request is received from the user playback terminals 2, 2a, 2b, the content identification information detection unit 13 detects content identification information in step S402. Next, in step S403, based on the identification information of the content, it is searched whether the content is cached in the cache memory.

(B) In step S404, if there is a desired content in the cache memory according to the search result, the process proceeds to step S405, where the content is acquired from the cache memory and transmitted to the requesting user reproduction terminals 2, 2a, 2b. (Step S406).

(C) If the desired result does not exist in the cache memory according to the search result, the process proceeds to step S407. In step S407, a purchase request is sent to the content distribution server to acquire the content. In step S408, the acquired content is converted into a format suitable for the client. In step S409, the formatted content is stored in the cache memory. In step S410, the content search table registered in the cache memory is updated. Finally, in step S411, the formatted content is transmitted to the user reproduction terminals 2, 2a, 2b.

It is the schematic of the content mediation system using the content mediation server which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a structural diagram of the content mediation server according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a structural diagram of a CPU and a main storage device of a content mediation server according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a structural diagram which shows the structure of the packet of a content purchase request. It is a sequence diagram which shows the content purchase by a content mediation system. It is a sequence diagram which shows the payment process by a content mediation system. It is a schematic diagram which shows the payment process by a content mediation system. FIG. 6 is a structural diagram of a CPU and a main storage device of a content mediation server according to a second embodiment of the present invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the content purchase by a content mediation system. It is a structural diagram which shows the structure of the packet of a content purchase request. It is a schematic diagram which shows the encryption / decryption process by a content mediation system. It is a schematic diagram which shows the encryption / decryption process by a content mediation system. FIG. 10 is a structural diagram of a CPU and a main storage device of a content mediation server according to a third embodiment of the present invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the content purchase by a content mediation system. It is a schematic diagram which shows the encryption / decryption process by a content mediation system. It is a flowchart which shows the content purchase using the cache memory by the content mediation server which concerns on the example of a change of this invention. It is a structural diagram which shows the packet structure of a content. It is a structural diagram which shows the packet structure of a content. It is a structural diagram which shows the packet structure of a content. It is a structural diagram which shows the packet structure of a content. It is a structural diagram which shows the packet structure of a content. It is a schematic diagram which shows a format conversion process typically.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a, 1b ... Content mediation server 2, 2a, 2b ... User reproduction terminal 3, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d ... Content distribution server 11 ... Purchase request receiving part 12 ... Address detection part 13 ... Content identification information detection part 14 User payment information detection unit 15 Mediation server payment unit 16 Address replacement unit 17 Purchase request identification management unit 18 Address addition unit 19 Content reception unit 20 Format conversion unit 21 Content transmission unit 22 Address storage unit 23 ... Settlement storage unit 24 ... Format storage unit 25 ... Decryption unit 26, 26a ... Encryption unit 27 ... Content encryption unit 28 ... Content decryption unit 29 ... Domain attribute storage unit 30 ... Domain attribute detection unit 31a, 31b ... Content distribution unit 32a , 32b ... Content storage unit 33 ... Content playback unit 34 ... Content Identification information storage unit 35 ... purchase request identification ID storage unit 51 ... input device 52 ... output device 53 ... main storage unit 54 ... auxiliary storage device 55 ... CPU
56 ... Communication interface 57 ... Communication control device

Claims (3)

A content mediation server that is arranged between a user reproduction terminal that requests content distribution and a content distribution server that distributes the content via a communication network and mediates content distribution,
An address replacement unit that receives the content purchase request from the user playback terminal, replaces the address information of the user playback terminal with the address information of the own device, and transmits the proxy purchase request of the content to the content distribution server;
A mediation server settlement unit that performs proxy purchase settlement of the content using the settlement information of the device when the user settlement information added to the content purchase request is appropriate Mediation server. A content mediation server that is arranged between a user reproduction terminal that requests content distribution and a content distribution server that distributes the content via a communication network and mediates content distribution,
Upon receiving the content purchase request from the user reproduction terminal, the address information of the user reproduction terminal is replaced with the address information of the own device, personalization information of the own device is added, and the proxy purchase request for the content is sent to the content distribution server An address replacement unit that transmits
A decryption unit that receives and decrypts the content encrypted using the personalization information distributed from the content distribution server;
A content mediation server comprising: an encryption unit that encrypts the combined content using the personalization information of the user reproduction terminal included in the content purchase request. A content mediation server that is arranged between a user reproduction terminal that requests content distribution and a content distribution server that distributes the content via a communication network and mediates content distribution,
An address replacement unit that receives the content purchase request from the user playback terminal, replaces the address information of the user playback terminal with the address information of the own device, and transmits the proxy purchase request of the content to the content distribution server;
A domain attribute detection unit for detecting a domain attribute for individually identifying the user reproduction terminal added to the content purchase request;
A domain attribute storage unit for storing the domain attribute;
A content mediation server comprising: an encryption unit that adds a domain attribute in the domain attribute storage unit to content distributed from the content distribution server and encrypts the content.

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