JP7360840B2 - Content sales device and content sales method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a content sales device and a content sales method.

Conventionally, it has been proposed to purchase electronic content and resell the purchased electronic content as used electronic content. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method of determining a coefficient based on the number of used electronic contents in stock and using the coefficients to calculate the purchase price of the electronic content and the resale price of the used electronic content. ing.

Patent No. 6087469

Since electronic content does not deteriorate, there is no difference between used electronic content and new electronic content. If there are no differences in their terms of use, various issues may arise. For example, if purchased electronic content is resold as used electronic content, the sales volume of new electronic content may decrease, putting the rights holder of the electronic content at a disadvantage.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a content sales device that can appropriately adjust conditions for viewing electronic content.

A content sales device according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a purchasing unit that purchases first electronic content, and condition information regarding viewing of the first electronic content, which is provided to the first electronic content purchased by the purchasing unit. A generation unit that generates second electronic content by providing the content, and a sales unit that sells the second electronic content generated by the generation unit.

A content sales method according to a second aspect of the present invention includes a step of purchasing first electronic content executed by a computer, and adding condition information regarding viewing of the first electronic content to the purchased first electronic content. and a step of selling the generated second electronic content.

According to the present invention, it is possible to appropriately adjust conditions for viewing electronic content.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a content sales system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a content sales device according to a first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of inventory information according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of posting information according to the first embodiment. It is a figure showing an example of additional quantity management information concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a flow chart which shows an example of the flow of processing in the content sales device concerning a 1st embodiment.

<First embodiment>
[Overview of content sales system S]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overview of a content sales system S according to a first embodiment. The content sales system S is a system that sells electronic content and also purchases the sold electronic content. The electronic content is, for example, data such as electronic books, videos, and music.

As shown in FIG. 1, the content sales system S includes a content sales device 1, a user terminal 2, and an advertiser terminal 3. The content sales device 1 is a server that provides content provision services related to the sale and purchase of electronic content. The content sales device 1 is communicably connected to a user terminal 2 and an advertiser terminal 3 via a communication network such as the Internet.

The user terminals 2 are, for example, computers such as smartphones of users who use the content providing service, and there are a plurality of them. A content viewing application for purchasing, viewing, and selling content is installed on the user terminal 2. The advertiser terminal 3 is a computer such as a personal computer used by an advertiser who publishes advertising content. Although only one advertiser terminal 3 is shown in the example shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that a plurality of advertiser terminals 3 actually exist.

In the first embodiment, the content sales device 1 sells new electronic content to the user of the user terminal 2 and also purchases the electronic content from the user. Further, the content sales device 1 accepts posting of advertising content from the advertiser terminal 3. The content sales device 1 generates used content by adding advertising content to the purchased electronic content, and sells the used content to users. When the content sales device 1 sells used content to a user, it gives a portion of the sales of the used content to the creator of the electronic content.

When viewing electronic content included in used content, a user needs to view advertising content included in the used content. Some users do not wish to view advertising content but only wish to view electronic content. Therefore, the content sales device 1 can maintain the desire to purchase new electronic content by users who do not wish to view advertising content, and can suppress a decrease in the sales volume of new electronic content. Thereby, the content sales device 1 can prevent the right holder of electronic content from suffering a disadvantage.

[Configuration of content sales device 1]
Next, the configuration of the content sales device 1 will be explained. In the following description, electronic content that has never been purchased (new electronic content) will be simply referred to as electronic content (first electronic content). Furthermore, electronic content that has been purchased by the content sales device 1 and to which advertising content has been newly added is referred to as used content (second electronic content).

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the content sales device 1 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the content sales device 1 includes a communication section 11, a storage section 12, and a control section 13.

The communication unit 11 is a communication interface for transmitting and receiving information between the user terminal 2 and the advertiser terminal 3.
The storage unit 12 is a storage medium including ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. The storage unit 12 stores programs executed by the control unit 13. For example, the storage unit 12 stores a content sales program that causes the control unit 13 to function as an advertisement placement reception unit 131, a purchase unit 132, a generation unit 133, a sales unit 134, and a provision unit 135.

The storage unit 12 stores purchase history of electronic content. For example, the storage unit 12 stores a purchase history that associates content identification information that identifies electronic content purchased from the user of the user terminal 2 with the number of purchased electronic contents. The purchase history may include identification information of the user, and the identification information of the purchased electronic content may be associated with the identification information of the user.

The storage unit 12 also stores second-hand content, which is electronic content with advertising content added thereto. The storage unit 12 also stores inventory information indicating the number of used contents in stock. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of inventory information according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the inventory information is information that associates content identification information of electronic content included in used content with the number of items in stock of the used content.

The control unit 13 is, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 13 functions as an advertisement acceptance unit 131 , a purchase unit 132 , a generation unit 133 , a sales unit 134 , and a provision unit 135 by executing the content sales program stored in the storage unit 12 .

The advertisement placement reception unit 131 accepts placement of advertisement content to be added to the purchased electronic content. Specifically, first, the advertisement placement reception unit 131 sets a placement fee based on the demand for each of a plurality of used contents having different contents. For example, for each of a plurality of electronic contents having different content identification information, the advertisement placement reception unit 131 calculates the number of purchases of electronic content indicated by the purchase history stored in the storage unit 12 and the inventory stored in the storage unit 12. A score indicating the demand for each of the plurality of used contents is calculated based on the number of electronic contents in stock indicated by the information.

Here, it is assumed that the higher the score, the higher the demand. For example, the advertisement placement reception unit 131 calculates the score so that the score of the used content becomes high when the number of purchases is relatively large and/or when the number of items in stock is relatively small. The advertisement placement reception unit 131 sets the placement fee for electronic content higher as the score is higher.

The advertisement placement acceptance unit 131 accepts placement of advertisement content at a set placement fee. Specifically, the advertisement placement receiving unit 131 receives from an advertiser a selection of electronic content to which the advertising content provided by itself is to be added from among a plurality of electronic contents, and also receives advertising content. For example, the advertisement placement reception unit 131 presents the advertisement placement fee for adding advertisement content to one selected piece of electronic content to the advertiser terminal 3, and from the advertiser terminal 3, the advertisement content and the advertisement content are added. The submission of advertising content is accepted by accepting an application quantity indicating the quantity of electronic content to be submitted. Here, the advertisement placement receiving unit 131 may accept advertisement content submissions from a plurality of advertisers for electronic content corresponding to one piece of content identification information.

The advertising content is video content with a predetermined playback time, text content with a predetermined number of characters or less, or the like. Upon receiving advertisement content submission, the advertisement placement reception unit 131 associates the content identification information of the selected electronic content, the advertisement content accepted at the time of placement, and the application quantity, and stores the associated information in the storage unit 12 as placement information. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of posting information according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, it can be confirmed that content identification information, advertising content, and application quantity are associated.

Note that although the advertisement placement reception unit 131 sets the placement fee for the advertisement content to be added to the electronic content corresponding to the used content based on the demand for each of the plurality of used contents, the present invention is not limited thereto. The advertisement placement receiving unit 131 may accept bids for advertisement content placement fees from a plurality of advertisers for each of a plurality of electronic contents, and may determine the advertising content placement fee based on the bid amount.

The purchase unit 132 purchases electronic content. Specifically, the purchasing unit 132 purchases the electronic content purchased by the user of the user terminal 2 from the user terminal 2 via the content viewing application. The user loses the right to view the electronic content for which purchase has been accepted. For example, it is assumed that the content viewing application on the user terminal 2 deletes the purchased electronic content from the user terminal 2 or controls the purchased electronic content so that it cannot be viewed.

When purchasing electronic content from a user, the purchasing unit 132 gives the user a monetary value corresponding to the purchase price of the electronic content. Here, monetary value is assumed to be, for example, currency, but is not limited to this, and is points that correspond to the purchase amount and can be used to purchase new electronic content or used content within the content provision service. Good too.

Furthermore, the purchasing unit 132 may award points having a monetary value higher than the monetary value corresponding to the purchasing amount to the user. Additionally, the purchase unit 132 may provide the user with points that have a set expiration date. By doing so, it is possible to encourage users to purchase used content.

The generation unit 133 generates used content by adding condition information regarding viewing of the electronic content to the electronic content purchased from the user of the user terminal 2 by the purchasing unit 132 .

Specifically, the generation unit 133 generates used content by adding the advertising content received by the advertisement acceptance unit 131 as condition information to the electronic content purchased by the purchasing unit 132. More specifically, the generation unit 133 refers to the advertising information stored in the storage unit 12 and identifies the advertising content associated with the content identification information of the electronic content purchased by the purchasing unit 132. Then, the generation unit 133 generates used content by adding the specified advertising content to the electronic content purchased by the purchase unit 132. For example, when the electronic content is a video, the generation unit 133 generates used content by adding advertising content to the electronic content so that the advertising content is displayed at the start of viewing or during viewing of the electronic content.

Furthermore, the generation unit 133 manages the quantity of advertising content added to electronic content based on addition quantity management information for managing the quantity of advertising content added. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of additional quantity management information according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the additional quantity management information is information that associates content identification information, advertising content, and an additional quantity indicating the quantity of advertising content added to electronic content.

In response to adding the advertising content, the generation unit 133 increases the addition quantity associated with the advertising content by one in the addition quantity management information. For the advertising content to be added, when the additional quantity associated with the advertising content in the additional quantity management information becomes equal to the application quantity associated with the advertising content in the advertising information, the generation unit 133 generates the purchased electronic content. stop adding the advertising content to.

The generation unit 133 stores the generated used content in the storage unit 12 and updates the inventory information stored in the storage unit 12. Although the generation unit 133 generates used content by adding advertising content to electronic content as condition information regarding viewing of the electronic content, the present invention is not limited to this. The generation unit 133 may generate used content by adding a module for the user terminal 2 to acquire advertising content as condition information to the electronic content.

In this case, while the user is viewing used content, the user terminal 2 transmits an advertisement acquisition request to the content sales device 1 based on the module to request acquisition of advertisement content. The advertisement acquisition request includes content identification information of electronic content included in the used content. The control unit 13 of the content sales device 1 functions as an advertising content providing unit, and transmits the advertising content associated with the content identification information included in the acquired advertisement acquisition request in the placement information to the user terminal 2, Let the user watch it. By doing so, the content sales device 1 can provide the user terminal 2 with advertising content associated with the content identification information corresponding to the used content in the posting information at the timing when the user views the used content. Can be done. Thereby, the content sales device 1 can provide different advertising content for the same used content, for example, by updating the posting information.

Further, the generation unit 133 may adjust the amount of advertising content to be added to the electronic content based on the number of used contents in stock indicated by the inventory information stored in the storage unit 12. In this case, the generation unit 133 refers to the inventory information stored in the storage unit 12 at the timing when the purchasing unit 132 purchases the electronic content, and identifies the number of used contents in stock corresponding to the electronic content. The generation unit 133 then adjusts the amount of advertising content based on the specified inventory quantity. The generation unit 133 reduces the amount of advertising content as the number of items in stock increases. Furthermore, when used content including electronic content having the same content identification information is stored in the storage unit 12, the generation unit 133 adds the specified amount of advertising content to the used content again. You may also do so.

Further, the generation unit 133 may generate used content by adding viewing time limit information indicating the viewing time limit of the content as condition information to the electronic content purchased by the purchasing unit 132. In this case, the content viewing application executed on the user terminal 2 controls the user terminal 2 to control the used content that has exceeded the viewing time limit from being viewed based on the viewing time limit information, or prevents the viewing of used content that has exceeded the viewing time limit. It shall be deleted. By doing so, the content sales device 1 can differentiate between electronic content and used content.

Furthermore, if the same advertising content as the generated used content is added and the same used content is already stored in the storage unit 12, the generation unit 133 does not store the generated used content in the storage unit 12. , only the inventory information may be updated. That is, the generation unit 133 does not need to match the number of used contents actually stored in the storage unit 12 with the number of used contents in stock indicated by the inventory information. By doing so, the content sales device 1 can secure the capacity of the storage unit 12 by preventing multiple pieces of used content with the same content from being stored in the storage unit 12.

The sales department 134 sells the used content generated by the generation section 133 to the user of the user terminal 2. Specifically, the purchasing unit 132 sells the used content by accepting a purchase of the used content from the user terminal 2 via the content viewing application. The sales department 134 transmits the used content for which purchase has been accepted to the user terminal 2, and causes the user terminal 2 to store it. The user can view the used content by executing the content viewing application and selecting the used content stored in the user terminal 2.

Note that the sales department 134 sets the sales price of used content at a sales price that is discounted by a predetermined discount rate from the sales price of new electronic content, and sells the used content to the user at a lower sales price than new electronic content. You can. For example, the sales department 134 sets the selling price of the used content to a lower selling price than the price of the new electronic content when the used content is sold as new electronic content. In this case, the sales department 134 refers to the inventory information and purchase history stored in the storage section 12 and identifies the demand for each of the plurality of used contents. The sales department 134 then adjusts the discount rate of each of the plurality of used contents from the price of the new electronic content based on the identified demand. For example, the sales department 134 lowers the discount rate for used content for which demand is relatively high compared to the discount rate for used content for which demand is relatively low. By doing so, the content sales device 1 can appropriately adjust the sales price according to the demand for used content, and as a result, can increase the sales volume of used content. This makes it possible to increase the number of times an advertisement placed by an advertiser is viewed. Furthermore, the sales department 134 may sell the used content to the user at a lower selling price than the selling price of new electronic content at the time of sale of the used content.

Furthermore, when the generation unit 133 adjusts the amount of advertising content to be added to electronic content based on the number of used contents in stock, the sales department 134 stores information indicating the amount of advertising content added to the used content. , and the selling price of the used content may be displayed on the user terminal 2. By doing so, the content sales device 1 promotes sales of used content by making the user aware that used content that has a large inventory and a small amount of added advertising content is cheaper. be able to.

The granting unit 135 grants at least a portion of the posting fee for the advertising content received by the advertising receiving unit 131 to the creator of the electronic content to which the advertising content is added. For example, upon confirming the payment of the advertising fee, the granting unit 135 deposits a predetermined percentage of the advertising fee into an account specified in advance by the creator of the electronic content to which the advertising content has been added. Here, the electronic content creator includes not only the electronic content creator but also the publisher who publishes the electronic content.

Furthermore, in response to the sale of the used content by the sales unit 134, the granting unit 135 grants at least a portion of the sales of the used content to the creator of the electronic content corresponding to the used content. For example, the assigning unit 135 totals sales over a predetermined period (for example, one month) for used content corresponding to each of the plurality of pieces of content identification information. Then, the granting unit 135 deposits a predetermined percentage of the total sales into an account specified in advance by the creator of the electronic content included in the used content corresponding to the sales.

[Flow of processing in content sales device 1]
Next, the flow of processing in the content sales device 1 will be explained. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of processing in the content sales device 1 according to the first embodiment. It is assumed that before the processing of this flowchart, the advertisement placement reception unit 131 has accepted the placement of advertisement content.

First, the purchase unit 132 purchases electronic content from the user of the user terminal 2 (S1).
Subsequently, the generation unit 133 generates used content by adding the advertising content accepted by the advertising acceptance unit 131 to the electronic content purchased by the purchasing unit 132 in S1 (S2), and stores it in the storage unit 12. The current inventory information and additional quantity management information are updated (S3).

Subsequently, the sales department 134 sells the used content it has in stock (S4). The sales department 134 updates inventory information corresponding to the sold used content (S5).
Subsequently, the granting unit 135 grants a portion of the sales of the used content to the creator (S6).

[Effects in the first embodiment]
As explained above, the content sales device 1 according to the first embodiment generates used content by adding condition information regarding viewing of the electronic content to the electronic content purchased from the user, and generates the used content. Sell. By doing so, the content sales device 1 can differentiate electronic content from used content. As a result, the content sales device 1 maintains the desire of users who do not wish to view used content to purchase electronic content, suppresses a decline in the sales volume of electronic content, and prevents rights holders of electronic content from receiving any disadvantages. It is possible to suppress the risk of exposure.

<Second embodiment>
[Purchasing used content]
Next, a second embodiment will be described. The content sales device 1 according to the first embodiment buys electronic content and generates used content by adding advertising content to the electronic content. On the other hand, the content sales device 1 according to the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that it further purchases used content and further adds advertising content to the used content.

In the second embodiment, the purchasing unit 132 purchases used content from the user of the user terminal 2. When the purchasing unit 132 purchases used content, the generation unit 133 further adds condition information regarding viewing of electronic content included in the used content to the used content.

Specifically, the generation unit 133 further adds advertising content different from the advertising content included in the used content to the used content purchased by the purchasing unit 132. Here, the generation unit 133 may further add the new advertising content to a position different from the position at which the advertising content already included in the used content is added to the electronic content.

[Effects of the second embodiment]
As explained above, the content sales device 1 according to the second embodiment buys used content from a user and further adds advertising content to the used content. By doing so, the content sales device 1 can change the amount of advertising content added to the used content depending on the number of times the same used content is purchased. Thereby, the content sales device 1 can increase the amount of advertising content included in the used content as the number of purchases increases, thereby degrading the viewability of the electronic content included in the used content.

Although the present invention has been described above using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist. be. For example, all or part of the device can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated into arbitrary units. In addition, new embodiments created by arbitrary combinations of multiple embodiments are also included in the embodiments of the present invention. The effects of the new embodiment resulting from the combination have the effects of the original embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Content sales device, 11... Communication department, 12... Storage part, 13... Control part, 131... Advertising reception department, 132... Purchasing department, 133... Generation Department, 134...Sales Department, 135...Giving Department, 2...User Terminal, 3...Advertiser Terminal

Claims (13)

A purchasing department that purchases the first electronic content;
a generation unit that generates second electronic content by adding advertising content to the first electronic content purchased by the purchasing unit as condition information regarding viewing of the first electronic content;
a sales department that sells the second electronic content generated by the generation section;
Equipped with
The generation unit adjusts the amount of advertising content to be added to the first electronic content based on the inventory quantity of the second electronic content.
Content sales device. The generation unit generates the second electronic content by adding a module for acquiring the advertising content as the condition information to the first electronic content.
The content sales device according to claim 1. A purchasing department that purchases electronic content;
an advertisement submission reception unit that receives advertisement content to be added to the first electronic content as condition information regarding viewing of the first electronic content purchased by the purchase unit;
a generation unit that generates second electronic content by adding the advertising content for which the advertising acceptance unit has accepted posting to the first electronic content that the purchasing unit has purchased;
a sales department that sells the second electronic content generated by the generation section;
Equipped with
The advertisement placement acceptance unit sets a placement fee for advertisement content to be added to the first electronic content corresponding to the second electronic content based on the demand for each of the plurality of second electronic contents having different contents. , accept placement of the advertising content at a set placement fee;
Content sales device. further comprising a granting unit that grants at least a portion of the posting fee for the advertising content received by the advertising accepting unit to a creator of the first electronic content to which the advertising content is added;
The content sales device according to claim 3. The generation unit generates the second electronic content by adding information indicating a content viewing deadline as the condition information to the first electronic content purchased by the purchasing unit.
The content sales device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. Further comprising a granting unit that grants at least a portion of the sales of the second electronic content to the creator of the first electronic content in response to the sale of the second electronic content by the sales unit.
The content sales device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The sales department sells the second electronic content at a lower selling price than the first electronic content.
The content sales device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. When the purchasing unit purchases the first electronic content from the user, it gives the user a monetary value that corresponds to the purchase price of the first electronic content and can be used to purchase the second electronic content.
The content sales device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. When the purchasing unit purchases the first electronic content from the user, the purchasing unit grants the monetary value with a usage period set to the user.
The content sales device according to claim 8. The purchasing department purchases the second electronic content,
The content sales device according to any one of claims 1 to 9. The generation unit further adds the condition information to the second electronic content purchased by the purchase unit.
The content sales device according to claim 10. computer executes
a first step of purchasing electronic content;
generating second electronic content by adding advertising content to the purchased first electronic content as condition information regarding viewing of the first electronic content;
selling the generated second electronic content;
has
In the step of generating the second electronic content, the computer adjusts the amount of advertising content to be added to the first electronic content based on the inventory quantity of the second electronic content.
How to sell content. computer executes
a first step of purchasing electronic content;
a step of receiving advertisement content to be added to the purchased first electronic content as condition information regarding viewing of the first electronic content;
generating second electronic content by adding the advertising content for which placement has been accepted to the purchased first electronic content;
selling the generated second electronic content;
has
In the step of accepting the advertisement, the computer publishes advertising content to be added to the first electronic content corresponding to the second electronic content based on the demand for each of the plurality of second electronic contents having different contents. setting a fee and accepting the placement of the advertising content at the set placement fee;
How to sell content.

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