System, apparatus, and method of contents distribution, and program and program recording medium directed to the same

摘要

There is provided a content distribution system which is capable of a distributing a content in accordance with a requested data format or the capabilities of a terminal used, and which can eliminate inequity associated with content distribution in different data formats, by altering a usage rule. During content purchase processing, in a content distribution apparatus 1, information concerning use of a content purchased by a user is registered in the user's right database 20 based on a user database 18 and a content right database 19. For each content, the content right database 19 previously stores one or more units of information concerning content usage including usage rules for different usage modes. During content use processing, based on the registered information, the content distribution apparatus 1 transmits to the user terminal 3 a license stipulating a usage rule corresponding to the usage mode of a requested content.