JP2005107725A - Electronic content distribution method, terminal device, and electronic content distribution server - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To adapt electronic content according to gift conditions such as a taste of a gift giver who gives electronic content, and usage conditions such as a type of a terminal device used by a gift recipient who is given the electronic content. An electronic content distribution method, a terminal device, and an electronic content distribution server are provided.
A terminal 104 obtains meta information of electronic content and determines a gift condition for the electronic content to be given to the terminal 105 based on the meta information. The terminal 105 acquires the gift condition from the terminal 104, determines the use condition of the electronic content to be gifted based on the meta information and the acquired gift condition, and transmits the use condition to the electronic content distribution server. The server 102 adapts the electronic content based on the transmitted usage conditions and distributes it to the terminal 105.
[Selection] Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic content distribution method, a terminal device, and an electronic content distribution server that adaptively distribute electronic content composed of electronic data such as video and music according to the conditions of a user and a terminal device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, electronic content distribution services that distribute electronic content composed of electronic data such as video and music via a communication network represented by the Internet have been provided.

  In an electronic content distribution service, a user uses a terminal device such as a personal computer to search for desired electronic content from electronic content stored in a World Wide Web (WWW) server on the Internet. For example, download electronic content using Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP, RFC2616) or streaming using Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP, RFC2326) and Real-time Transport Protocol (RTP, RFC1889). can do.

  In addition, in such electronic content distribution services, services have been started that can distribute moving image content to friends or the like, that is, distribution to other terminal devices (for example, Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2). ).

  In this service, a user selects a desired electronic content on a WWW server using a terminal device, and inputs a mail address of a delivery destination and a message to a recipient of the electronic content. Next, when the user pays for the selected electronic content, reference information to the electronic content using Uniform Resource Locators (URL, RFC1738) is transmitted to the terminal device of the recipient of the electronic content. .

  Furthermore, in electronic content distribution services, electronic content is also adapted according to usage conditions such as user preferences and types of terminal devices (for example, Patent Document 1).

  According to Patent Document 1, a gift giver of electronic content includes a CD-ROM containing the electronic content, the preference of the giftee who is given the electronic content, the type of terminal device used by the giftee, and the like. Adaptation information for adapting the electronic content (e.g., meta information for adapting the electronic content to content composed of scenes preferred by the gift recipient) is sent according to the usage conditions .

  The gift recipient uses the received CD-ROM and adaptation information in the terminal device to adapt the electronic content included in the CD-ROM according to his / her preference and the type of the terminal device.

In this way, as electronic contents are distributed and gifts are spread, the electronic contents to be gifted are adapted to the desired contents according to the giver's preference and budget, etc., and the electronic contents can be distributed more flexibly. Is required.
US Pat. No. 6,453,300 “Show time, a service that gives paid content as a gift”, [online], December 2002, ZDNet JAPAN, [March 1, 2003 search], Internet <URL: http://www.zdnet.co.jp/ broadband / 0212/27 / xjrb_02.html> “Show Time: ShowTime Gift”, [online], showtime, [Search March 24, 2003], Internet <URL: http: //www.showtime.jp/gift/help.php>

  However, the above-described conventional electronic content distribution service adapts the electronic content to be gifted according to the gift conditions such as the preference of the gift giver who gives the electronic content, for example, includes only the scene preferred by the gift giver As described above, there is a problem that it is impossible to make a gift by adapting electronic contents.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above points, such as gift conditions such as the preference of a gift giver who gives electronic content, the type of terminal device used by a gift recipient who is given the electronic content, and the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic content distribution method, a terminal device, and an electronic content distribution server that can adapt electronic content according to the usage conditions.

In order to solve the above problem, a first feature of the present invention is that a first terminal device acquires meta information of electronic content, and the first terminal device is based on the meta information. Determining a gift condition for the electronic content to be given to a second terminal device; obtaining a gift condition from the first terminal device by the second terminal device; and the second terminal device. Determining a use condition of the electronic content to be gifted based on the meta information and the acquired gift condition, and the second terminal device sets the use condition to the electronic content distribution server. Transmitting, and the electronic content distribution server adapting the electronic content based on the transmitted usage conditions and distributing the electronic content to the second terminal device. The gist that it is an electronic content delivery method.

  According to this feature, based on the meta information of the electronic content that the first terminal device gives to the second terminal device, for example, a scene in the electronic content preferred by the user of the first terminal device or a gift The gift condition reflecting the budget of the electronic content to be given, that is, the content of the media presentation description data (using SMIL) of the electronic content to be gifted is determined, and the second terminal device is based on the gift condition described above For example, the use condition to which the screen size (screen size) of the second terminal device is added is determined. Furthermore, the electronic content distribution server adapts the electronic content that is the subject of the gift based on the above-described usage conditions, and transmits it to the second terminal device.

  As a result, the electronic content distribution server can adapt and distribute the electronic content according to the usage conditions in the second terminal device. Further, the user of the first terminal device, that is, the gift giver, can gift the second terminal device with electronic content that reflects the gift conditions determined by the first terminal device.

  A second feature of the present invention is that a meta information acquisition unit that acquires meta information of electronic content and a gift condition determination unit that determines a gift condition of the electronic content to be gifted to another terminal device based on the meta information And a gift condition transmission unit that transmits the gift condition to the other terminal device or an electronic content distribution server that distributes the electronic content.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, a gift condition acquisition unit that acquires a gift condition of electronic content gifted from another terminal device, the meta information, and the gift condition acquisition unit Based on the gift condition acquired by the use condition determining unit for determining the use condition of the electronic content to be gifted, the use condition transmitting unit for transmitting the use condition to the electronic content distribution server, and the electronic The gist is that the content distribution server further includes an electronic content acquisition unit that acquires the electronic content adapted based on the use conditions.

  A fourth feature of the present invention is to determine a gift condition for the electronic content to be given to another terminal device to a meta information acquisition unit that acquires meta information of the electronic content, and an electronic content distribution server that distributes the electronic content. The gist of the present invention is that the terminal device includes a first predetermined information transmission unit that transmits first predetermined information used for the purpose.

  According to this feature, the first predetermined information used for determining the gift condition of the electronic content to be given to other terminal devices, that is, the scene in the electronic content preferred by the gift giver, the budget of the electronic content to be given Is transmitted to the electronic content distribution server, the electronic content distribution server can determine the gift condition based on the information.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the present invention, a gift condition acquisition unit that acquires a gift condition of electronic content gifted from another terminal device, the meta information, and the gift condition acquisition unit A second predetermined information transmitting unit for transmitting second predetermined information used to determine a use condition of the electronic content to be gifted based on the gift condition acquired by the electronic content distribution server; Further includes an electronic content acquisition unit that acquires the electronic content adapted based on the use conditions.

  According to this feature, the second predetermined information used for determining the usage conditions of the electronic content to be gifted, that is, the scene in the electronic content preferred by the gift recipient, the budget of the electronic content to be gifted, etc. Since the described information (using RDF) is transmitted to the electronic content distribution server, the electronic content distribution server can adapt the electronic content based on the information.

  A sixth feature of the present invention is based on a usage condition acquisition unit that acquires from the second terminal device a usage condition for electronic content gifted from the first terminal device to the second terminal device. The electronic content distribution server includes an electronic content distribution unit that adapts the electronic content and distributes the electronic content to the second terminal device.

A seventh feature of the present invention is that the first predetermined information used for determining a gift condition for electronic content to be gifted from the first terminal device to the second terminal device is acquired from the first terminal device. A first predetermined information acquisition unit, a gift condition determination unit for determining a gift condition for the electronic content based on the first predetermined information and the meta information of the electronic content, and the gift condition as the first gift condition. The gist of the present invention is that the electronic content distribution server includes a gift condition transmission unit that transmits to the terminal device.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the seventh aspect of the present invention, second predetermined information used to determine a use condition of electronic content to be gifted from the first terminal device to the second terminal device. From the second terminal device, a usage condition determination unit that determines usage conditions of the electronic content based on the second predetermined information and the meta information, and the usage The gist further includes an electronic content distribution unit that adapts the electronic content based on the use condition determined by the condition determination unit and distributes the electronic content to the second terminal device.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the sixth to eighth aspects of the present invention, charging information is collected based on meta information of the electronic content that is adapted and distributed by the electronic content distribution unit. The gist further includes a billing processing unit.

  According to this feature, since the electronic content distribution server collects charging information based on the meta information of the electronic content that is adapted and distributed based on the usage conditions, the electronic content user is charged for the usage fee of the electronic content. Billing information can be used.

  According to the present invention, the electronic content is adapted according to gift conditions such as the taste of the gift giver who gives the electronic content, and usage conditions such as the type of the terminal device used by the giftee who is given the electronic content. An electronic content distribution method, a terminal device, and an electronic content distribution server can be provided.

(Configuration of terminal device and electronic content distribution server)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of an electronic content distribution system including a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present invention and an electronic content distribution server.

  As shown in the figure, the server 102 constituting the electronic content distribution server according to the embodiment of the present invention and the terminal 103, the terminal 104 and the terminal 105 constituting the terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention are, for example, the Internet Are connected via a network 101 that supports the TCP / IP protocol.

  In the server 102 and the terminals 103 to 105, recommendations are being promoted in the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP, RFC2821) as an e-mail transfer protocol and in the Post Office Protocol (POP, RFC1225) or W3C as an e-mail reception protocol. Message transmission / reception using a message delivery protocol such as XML message transfer protocol (XML Protocol), or an electronic content delivery protocol such as hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) or RTSP is used. Electronic content can be distributed to the terminal 105. The main difference between HTTP and RTSP is that HTTP focuses on downloading, whereas RTSP focuses on real-time distribution.

  In the present embodiment, streaming electronic content will be described as an example. Examples of electronic content include text such as electronic books, audio, still images, moving images, application software, and application software data. Etc. provided by the file format.

  FIG. 2 shows a logical block configuration of the server 102. As shown in the figure, the server 102 includes a condition negotiation unit 201, an electronic content storage unit 202, a meta information storage unit 203, an electronic content distribution unit 204, a usage condition verification unit 205, and a billing processing unit 206. , And a message transmission / reception unit 207.

  The condition negotiation unit 201 uses the electronic information meta information stored in the meta information storage unit 203 to determine gift conditions and usage conditions for the electronic content. The condition negotiation unit 201 uses first predetermined information used for determining the gift condition of the electronic content to be gifted, such as the gift giver's preference and budget described according to RDF (Resouce Description Format). A gift condition determining unit that determines a gift condition for the electronic content based on the information is configured.

  In addition, the condition negotiation unit 201 is described according to second predetermined information used for determining the use condition of the electronic content to be gifted between the terminals 103 to 105, for example, RDF (Resouce Description Format). A use condition determining unit that determines the use condition of the electronic content is configured based on information on the preference of the gift recipient and the type of the terminal device.

  The electronic content storage unit 202 stores electronic content. The meta information storage unit 203 stores the meta information of the electronic content stored in the electronic content storage unit 202. As the description format of the meta information of the electronic content, for example, meta information described based on MPEG-7 (Moving Picture Experts Group-7, ISO / IEC 15938) as shown in FIGS. be able to.

  The electronic content distribution unit 204 distributes electronic content to the terminals 103 to 105. Specifically, the electronic content distribution unit 204 adapts and distributes the electronic content to the terminals 103 to 105 based on the usage conditions of the electronic content to be given.

  The usage condition verification unit 205 verifies whether or not the electronic content is used according to the usage conditions when the terminals 103 to 105 use the electronic content.

  The billing processing unit 206 executes billing processing when a fee is charged for determination of gift conditions and usage conditions of electronic contents to be gifted or distribution of electronic contents. Specifically, the billing processing unit 206 collects billing information based on the meta information of the electronic content that is adapted and distributed by the electronic content distribution unit 204. Note that when the electronic content is adapted by the electronic content distribution unit 204, the charging processing unit 206 may execute a charging process at the time of distributing the adapted electronic content or after distributing the adapted electronic content. it can.

  The message transmission / reception unit 207 transmits / receives messages to / from the terminals 103 to 105. Specifically, the message transmission / reception unit 207 is determined by the usage condition acquisition unit that acquires the usage conditions of the electronic content gifted between the terminals 103 to 105 from the terminals 103 to 105 and the condition negotiation unit 201. A gift condition transmitting unit that transmits the gift conditions to the terminal 103 to the terminal 105 is configured.

  Further, the message transmission / reception unit 207 receives first predetermined information used for determining a gift condition for electronic content to be gifted between the terminals 103 to 105, for example, information described in accordance with RDF from the terminals 103 to 103. The first predetermined information acquisition unit acquired from the terminal 105 and the second predetermined information used for determining the use condition of the electronic content to be gifted between the terminal 103 and the terminal 105, for example, described according to RDF A second predetermined information acquisition unit that acquires the received information from the terminal 103 to the terminal 105.

  In FIG. 2, the server 102 is configured by a single device, but the server 102 is not necessarily realized by a single device, and the function of the server 102 using a plurality of devices. May be realized.

  FIG. 3 shows a logical block configuration of the terminals 103 to 105. As shown in the figure, the terminals 103 to 105 include an electronic content gift condition determination unit 301, a message transmission / reception unit 302, an electronic content reproduction unit 303, an electronic content use condition determination unit 304, and an electronic content display unit 305. It consists of. Hereinafter, the function of each block will be described using the terminal 103 as an example.

  The electronic content gift condition determination unit 301 determines a gift condition for the electronic content based on the meta information of the electronic content to be given to the terminal 104 or the terminal 105, and constitutes a gift condition determination unit.

  The message transmission / reception unit 302 transmits / receives messages to / from the server 102, the terminal 104, and the terminal 105. Specifically, the message transmission / reception unit 302 constitutes a meta information acquisition unit that acquires meta information of electronic content from the terminal 104, the terminal 105, or the server 102. Further, the message transmission / reception unit 302 receives a gift condition transmission unit that transmits the gift condition determined by the electronic content gift condition determination unit 301 to the terminal 104, the terminal 105, or the server 102, and the terminal 104 or the terminal 105 gives a gift. A gift condition acquisition unit configured to acquire a gift condition for electronic contents is configured.

  Further, the message transmission / reception unit 302 determines a use condition transmission unit that transmits the use condition determined by the electronic content use condition determination unit 304 to the server 102 and a gift condition for the electronic content to be given to the terminal 104 or the terminal 105. A first predetermined information transmission unit configured to transmit, to the server 102, first predetermined information used in the process, for example, information described in accordance with RDF.

  In addition, the message transmitting / receiving unit 302 determines the use condition of the electronic content based on the meta information of the electronic content gifted from the terminal 104 or the terminal 105 and the gift condition acquired from the terminal 104 or the terminal 105. A second predetermined information transmitting unit that transmits second predetermined information to be used, for example, information described in accordance with RDF is configured.

  Note that the message transmission / reception unit 302 can encrypt a message to be transmitted / received to / from the server 102, the terminal 104, and the terminal 105, and can add a signature to the message as necessary.

  The electronic content reproduction unit 303 controls the reproduction of the electronic content and causes the electronic content display unit 305 to display the electronic content. The electronic content reproduction unit 303 constitutes an electronic content acquisition unit that acquires electronic content adapted by the server 102 based on usage conditions.

  The electronic content usage condition determination unit 304 determines usage conditions of electronic content to be given based on the meta information of the electronic content and the gift conditions acquired from the terminal 104 or the terminal 105 by the message transmission / reception unit 302. A condition determination unit is configured.

  The electronic content display unit 305 displays the electronic content reproduced by the electronic content reproduction unit 303.

(First embodiment)
Next, a first example using the above-described terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention and an electronic content distribution server will be described. In the first embodiment, the terminal device determines a gift condition for electronic content to be gifted to another terminal device, and transmits the determined gift condition to the other terminal device.

  As shown in FIG. 4, first, in step S <b> 401, the terminal 103 acquires meta information of electronic content to be given from the server 102. Here, the meta information is described based on MPEG-7, for example, as shown in FIGS. 18 to 23. For example, the location and content of the electronic content, information on the electronic content for each scene, quality, use conditions, etc. It consists of items. 18 to 23, the meta information is shown in a divided manner, but the contents shown in FIGS. 18 to 23 are used as a series of meta information indicating the information related to the electronic content described above.

  The meta information shown in FIGS. 18 to 23 is described for baseball streaming video content. In addition, the video content is divided into five scenes, and the playback time of each scene, the usage fee, the activity rate of each team for each scene, and the like are described.

  Next, in step S402, the terminal 103 determines a gift condition for the electronic content to be gifted based on the meta information, the electronic content budget to be gifted, the restriction on the reproduction time, and the like.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, a gift condition is described as media presentation description data using SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language) recommended by W3C. By using SMIL, it is possible to specify a layout on a screen for displaying electronic contents to be reproduced, a reproduction order, and the like.

  FIG. 8 shows that the user of the terminal 103 who likes Team A, that is, the gift giver, wants the user of the terminal 104, that is, the gift recipient, to watch the activity of Team A. The gift conditions determined based on the focus on the scene in which is active.

  Here, a method for determining the gift condition will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in the figure, in step S1402, the terminal 103 determines the scene with the highest activity level of Team A based on the activity level information of each team described in “PointOfView” of the meta information (FIGS. 18 to 23). Then, the scene 4 is extracted.

  In step S1403, the terminal 103 confirms that the scene 4 does not exceed USD3.00 based on the charge information of the scene described in “AccountItem” of the scene 4.

  In step S1404, the terminal 103 selects the scene 4 as a viewing target scene. Further, in step S1405, the terminal 103 determines whether or not processing for all scenes has been completed.

  In step S1406, if the processing for all the scenes has not been completed, the terminal 103 extracts a scene having the highest activity level of Team A after the already selected scene 4, and continues the processing from step S1403.

  As a result of the terminal 103 executing the process shown in FIG. 13, in FIG. 8, scene 1, scene 3, scene 4, and scene 5 (time indicated by clipBegin and clipEnd are shown in FIGS. (Corresponding to the playback time indicated by MediaTimePoint and MediaDuration) is described as a gift condition. Here, the terminal 103 determines the gift condition based on the activity rate and the fee, but the gift condition may be determined using another index.

  The terminal 103 that has determined the gift condition transmits a message including the gift condition to the terminal 104 in step S403 shown in FIG. Note that the message may include information on the terminal 103, information on the terminal 104, and the like in addition to the meta information of the electronic content and the gift condition shown in FIG.

  In step S <b> 404, the user of the terminal 104 determines whether or not to acquire and use the electronic content gifted from the terminal 103. Here, it is assumed that the user of the terminal 104 does not use the electronic content, but re-gifts the content to the user of the terminal 105 who prefers Team B.

  Based on the meta information included in the message transmitted from the terminal 103, the terminal 104 determines a gift condition by the same method as in step S402 described above. FIG. 11 is media presentation description data described using SMIL. Budget B $ 3.00 and Team B play an active role in order to allow users of terminal 105 who prefer Team B to watch Team B's activity. The gift conditions determined based on the scene as the center are shown.

  Here, when FIG. 8 is compared with FIG. 11, in FIG. 8 in which the gift condition transmitted from the terminal 103 is shown, the content of the electronic content is assembled centering on Team A, but the terminal 104 is determined. In FIG. 11 in which the gift conditions are shown, scene 1, scene 2, scene 3, and scene 5 are described, which are assembled around Team B and scene 4 is excluded.

  Next, in step S405, the terminal 104 transmits a message including the gift condition shown in FIG. Note that, as described above, the message may include meta information of electronic content, information on the terminal 104 and the terminal 105, and the like.

  In step S <b> 406, the user of the terminal 105 determines whether to acquire and use the electronic content gifted from the terminal 104. Here, it is assumed that the user of the terminal 105 determines to acquire and use the electronic content.

  The terminal 105 determines the usage condition of the electronic content to be gifted based on the meta information included in the message transmitted from the terminal 104 and the gift condition determined by the terminal 104.

  Here, FIG. 10 is media presentation description data described using SMIL. The screen size (352 ×) specified based on the specifications of the image display unit of the terminal 105 in the gift condition transmitted from the terminal 104. 288) is added to the usage conditions determined. As shown in the figure, information on the screen size (352 × 288) is shown in the “layout” element. Note that the terminal 105 is not limited to the environment of the terminal device such as the screen size, and the use condition may be determined based on the preference of the user of the terminal 105 or the like.

  In step S407, the terminal 105 transmits an electronic content request including the use conditions determined in step S406 to the server 102.

  In step S <b> 408, the server 102 adapts the electronic content delivered to the terminal 105 based on the usage conditions transmitted from the terminal 105, and delivers the adapted electronic content to the terminal 105.

  In the first embodiment described above, the meta information is included in the messages transmitted in steps S403 and S405. However, the terminal 104 and the terminal 105 may acquire the meta information from the server 102. Further, after the server 102 distributes the electronic content to the terminal 105, the server 102 or the terminal 105 may notify the terminal 103 or the terminal 104 that the electronic content has been distributed to the terminal 105.

(Second embodiment)
Next, a second example using the above-described terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention and an electronic content distribution server will be described. In the second embodiment, the electronic content distribution server determines a gift condition and a use condition based on predetermined information transmitted from the terminal device, for example, information described in accordance with RDF (Resource Description Format).

  As shown in FIG. 5, first, in step S501, the terminal 103 transmits predetermined information (first predetermined information) used for determining a gift condition for electronic content, for example, information described according to RDF. Then, the server 102 executes negotiation for determining the electronic content gift condition.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the terminal 103 transmits information describing a scene in the electronic content preferred by the gift giver, a budget of the electronic content to be given, and the like to the server 102 in accordance with RDF.

  Based on the meta information of the electronic content as shown in FIGS. 18 to 23 and the information described in accordance with RDF, the server 102 uses the same method as the processing in step S402 in the first embodiment to perform the terminal 103 Determines a gift condition for giving a gift to the terminal 104 or the terminal 105. Further, the server 102 transmits a gift condition as shown in FIG.

  The information shown in FIG. 7 is described using the capability exchange / description standard “Composite Capabilities / Preferences Profile (CC / PP)” recommended by the W3C, and the budget is USD 3.00. It is shown that there is a preference for Team A and Team D.

  Further, in the negotiation for determining the gift condition, the terminal 103 and the server 102 may send and receive the message any number of times until the gift condition is determined.

  Next, in step S <b> 502 illustrated in FIG. 5, the terminal 103 transmits a message including the gift condition transmitted from the server 102 to the terminal 104. As shown in FIG. 8, the gift condition to be transmitted to the terminal 104 is that the user of the terminal 103 who prefers Team A, that is, the gift giver, and the user of the terminal 104, that is, the giftee, also has Team A. In order to watch the activity, it is decided based on the budget USD3.00 and the scene where Team A is active.

  In step S <b> 503, the user of the terminal 104 determines whether to acquire and use the electronic content gifted from the terminal 103. Here, it is assumed that the user of the terminal 104 does not use the electronic content, but re-gifts the content to the user of the terminal 105 who prefers Team B.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, the terminal 104 transmits information describing the scene in the electronic content preferred by the gift giver, the budget of the electronic content to be given, and the like to the server 102 according to RDF. FIG. 12 shows that there is a preference for Team B.

  Further, the server 102 determines a gift condition for the terminal 104 to give a gift to the terminal 105 in the same manner as the processing in step S501 described above, and transmits the gift condition shown in FIG. Further, in the negotiation for determining the gift condition, the terminal 104 and the server 102 may send and receive messages any number of times until the gift condition is determined.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the gift condition that the server 102 transmits to the terminal 104 is determined based on a budget of USD3.00 and a scene where Team B is active.

  Next, in step S504 shown in FIG. 5, the terminal 104 transmits a message including the gift condition shown in FIG.

  In step S <b> 505, the user of the terminal 105 determines whether to acquire and use the electronic content gifted from the terminal 104. Here, it is assumed that the user of the terminal 105 determines to acquire and use the electronic content.

  Therefore, the terminal 105 describes, based on the gift conditions included in the message transmitted from the terminal 104, the types of electronic content that the terminal 105 can process according to RDF, as shown in FIG. Then, the predetermined information (second predetermined information) used for determining the use condition is transmitted to the server 102. FIG. 9 shows that the screen size designated based on the specification of the image display unit of the terminal 105 and streaming format data can be received.

  Furthermore, the server 102 uses the information described in accordance with the RDF transmitted from the terminal 105 and the meta information of the electronic content to be given to the terminal 105 when the terminal 105 uses the given electronic content. Determine usage conditions.

  In the negotiation for determining the usage conditions, the terminal 105 and the server 102 may send and receive messages any number of times until the usage conditions are determined.

  Next, in step S <b> 506, the terminal 105 transmits an electronic content request to the server 102 in order to distribute the electronic content to be given to the server 102.

  In step S <b> 507, the server 102 adapts the electronic content distributed to the terminal 105 based on the usage conditions determined in step S <b> 505, and distributes the adapted electronic content to the terminal 105.

  Note that the server 102 or the terminal 105 may notify the terminal 103 or the terminal 104 that the electronic content has been distributed to the terminal 105 after the server 102 distributes the electronic content to the terminal 105.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third example using the above-described terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention and an electronic content distribution server will be described. In the third embodiment, gift conditions for electronic contents are not transmitted / received between terminal devices, but gift conditions are transmitted / received via an electronic content distribution server. In the following, the differences from the second embodiment will be mainly described.

  As shown in FIG. 6, first, in step S601, the terminal 103 transmits predetermined information (first predetermined information) used for determining a gift condition for electronic content, for example, information described according to RDF. Then, negotiation with the server 102 to determine the electronic content gift condition is executed.

  The server 102 is the same as the process in step S402 of the first embodiment based on the meta information of the electronic content as shown in FIGS. 18 to 23 and the information described according to the RDF as shown in FIG. In this way, the terminal 103 determines a gift condition for giving a gift to the terminal 104 or the terminal 105.

  In step S <b> 602, the terminal 103 transmits a message request to the server 102 in order to transmit a message including a gift condition from the server 102 to the terminal 104.

  In step S <b> 603, the server 102 transmits a message including a gift condition to the terminal 104. As described in the second embodiment, the gift condition is described using SMIL as shown in FIG.

  In step S <b> 604, the user of the terminal 104 determines whether to acquire and use the electronic content gifted from the terminal 103. Here, it is assumed that the user of the terminal 104 does not use the electronic content but gives a gift to the user of the terminal 105 again.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 12, the terminal 104 transmits information describing the scene in the electronic content preferred by the gift giver, the budget of the electronic content to be given, and the like to the server 102 according to RDF.

  Further, the server 102 determines a gift condition for the terminal 104 to give a gift to the terminal 105 in the same manner as the process in step S601 described above, and transmits the gift condition shown in FIG.

  Next, in step S <b> 605 shown in FIG. 6, the terminal 104 transmits a message request to the server 102 in order to transmit a message including a gift condition from the server 102 to the terminal 105.

  In step S <b> 606, the server 102 transmits a message including a gift condition to the terminal 105. As described in the second embodiment, the gift condition is described using SMIL as shown in FIG.

  In step S <b> 607, the user of the terminal 105 determines whether to acquire and use the electronic content gifted from the terminal 104. Here, it is assumed that the user of the terminal 105 determines to acquire and use the electronic content.

  Therefore, the terminal 105 describes the types of electronic content that can be processed by the terminal 105 according to RDF, based on the gift conditions included in the message transmitted from the server 102, as shown in FIG. Then, the predetermined information (second predetermined information) used for determining the use condition is transmitted to the server 102.

  Furthermore, the server 102 uses the information described in accordance with the RDF transmitted from the terminal 105 and the meta information of the electronic content to be given to the terminal 105 when the terminal 105 uses the given electronic content. Determine usage conditions.

  In step S <b> 608, the terminal 105 transmits an electronic content request to the server 102 in order to distribute the electronic content to be given to the server 102.

  In step S609, the server 102 adapts the electronic content distributed to the terminal 105 based on the usage conditions determined in step S607, and distributes the adapted electronic content to the terminal 105.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a fourth example using the above-described terminal device according to the embodiment of the present invention and an electronic content distribution server will be described. In the fourth embodiment, in the first embodiment described above, the terminal 104 views a part of the electronic content given from the terminal 103 and gives the electronic content to the terminal 105.

  FIG. 14 shows a communication sequence in the case where the terminal 104 transmits the electronic content to the terminal 105 after the terminal 104 has partially viewed the electronic content given as a gift from the terminal 103 in the first embodiment described above. The contents of steps S1504 to S1507, which are processes different from those in the first embodiment described above, will be mainly described below.

  In step S1504, the user of the terminal 104 determines whether or not to acquire and use the electronic content gifted from the terminal 103. Here, it is assumed that the terminal 104 determines to acquire and use the electronic content.

  The terminal 104 determines the use condition of the electronic content to be gifted based on the meta information included in the message transmitted from the terminal 103 and the gift condition determined by the terminal 103.

  In step S <b> 1505, the terminal 104 transmits an electronic content request including the determined use condition to the server 102.

  In step S 1506, the server 102 adapts the electronic content distributed to the terminal 104 based on the usage conditions transmitted from the terminal 104, and distributes the adapted electronic content to the terminal 104.

  In step S1507, the terminal 104 stops viewing the electronic content while viewing the distributed electronic content. Here, it is assumed that the electronic content corresponding to USD 1.00 is played back by the terminal 104, and the electronic content is used using USD 2.00 obtained by reducing the already used USD 1.00 from the budget USD 3.00. To the terminal 105 again.

  Therefore, the terminal 104 determines a gift condition based on the meta information included in the message transmitted from the terminal 103 by the same method as in step S402 described above.

  FIG. 16 shows media presentation description data described using SMIL, and shows a gift condition determined based on a budget of USD 2.00 and a scene where Team A is active.

  In FIG. 8, in which the gift condition determined by the terminal 103 is shown, the budget is set as USD3.00. However, in FIG. 16, the budget is changed to USD2.00, and scenes 2 and 3 are excluded. ing. In determining the gift conditions, the amount of budget may be increased.

  In step S1508 shown in FIG. 14, the terminal 104 transmits a message including the gift condition shown in FIG.

  Next, in the first embodiment described above, the case where the terminal 104 obtains and uses the electronic content presented from the terminal 103 to the terminal 105 will be described with reference to FIG. To do. Hereinafter, the contents of steps S1604 to S1611 which are processes different from those of the first embodiment described above will be mainly described.

  In step S1604, the user of the terminal 104 determines whether or not to acquire and use the electronic content gifted from the terminal 103. Here, it is assumed that the user of the terminal 104 re-gifts the USD 2.00 portion of the electronic content to the user of the terminal 105.

  Based on the meta information included in the message transmitted from the terminal 103, the terminal 104 determines the gift condition shown in FIG. 16 by the same method as in step S402 described above.

  In step S1605, the terminal 104 transmits a message including the gift condition shown in FIG.

  In step S <b> 1606, the user of the terminal 105 determines whether to acquire and use the electronic content gifted from the terminal 104. Here, it is assumed that the user of the terminal 105 acquires and uses the electronic content, and the electronic content adapted according to the usage condition for USD 2.00 by the processing in steps S1607 and S1608 is It is distributed to the terminal 105.

  Furthermore, in step S1609, the terminal 105 determines a use condition in order to acquire and use the electronic content corresponding to USD1.00 given from the terminal 103. FIG. 17 shows the usage conditions determined by adding the budget USD1.00 and information on the screen size (352 × 288) specified based on the specifications of the image display unit of the terminal 105.

  In step S <b> 1610, the terminal 105 transmits an electronic content request including the determined use condition to the server 102.

  In step S <b> 1611, the server 102 adapts the electronic content distributed to the terminal 105 based on the usage conditions transmitted from the terminal 105, and distributes the adapted electronic content to the terminal 105.

  In the above-described fourth embodiment, the description has been made based on the first embodiment. However, the contents of the fourth embodiment can be implemented also in the second and third embodiments.

(Action / Effect)
According to the above-described embodiment, based on the meta information of the electronic content that the terminal 104 gives to the terminal 105, for example, the scene in the electronic content preferred by the user of the terminal 104, the budget of the electronic content to give, etc. The reflected gift condition, that is, the content of the media presentation description data of the electronic content to be gifted is determined, and the terminal 105 sets the use condition in which the screen size of the terminal 105 is added based on the above-mentioned gift condition, for example. decide. Furthermore, the server 102 adapts the electronic content that is the subject of the gift based on the above-described usage conditions, and transmits it to the terminal 105.

  As a result, the server 102 can adapt and distribute the electronic content according to the usage conditions in the terminal 105. Further, the user of the terminal 104, that is, the gift giver, can give the electronic content reflecting the gift condition determined at the terminal 104 to the terminal 105 device.

  That is, according to the present embodiment, electronic content distribution that can adapt electronic content to be given to desired content according to the gift giver's preference, budget amount, etc., and distribute electronic content more flexibly. A system can be provided.

(Example of change)
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described based on 1st Example-4th Example, this invention is not limited to the Example mentioned above.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the terminals 103 to 105 may be different types of terminal devices or the same type of terminal devices. In the above-described embodiment, the electronic content gifting method using three terminal devices has been described as an example. However, the number of terminal devices is not limited to three.

  In the above-described embodiment, the electronic content distribution server has described the form in which the electronic content meta information is used when adapting the electronic content. However, from the electronic content, as auxiliary information necessary for adaptation, The outline, structure, viewing control information, etc. of the electronic content may be directly extracted from the electronic content.

  In the above-described embodiment, the terminal device that has acquired the gift image from another terminal device can flexibly change the gift condition according to the user's preference and the type of the terminal device. In order to prevent changes in the gift conditions of electronic content sent by the terminal, the content of the gift presentation conditions that are sent, that is, media presentation description data, should not be changed so that the gift conditions for the electronic contents are not changed by the terminal device that acquired the gift conditions. Can be described.

  In addition, when the terminals 103 to 105 start playing the electronic content in the streaming format obtained from the server 102, but do not match the user's preference, the right to use the electronic content is transferred to another terminal device. You can also That is, after the terminal device determines the usage conditions, acquires the electronic content and starts playback, it can determine the gift conditions again and transmit the determined gift conditions to another terminal device.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the basic elements included in the message transmitted and received between the server 102 and the terminals 103 to 105 are the budget amount of electronic content, that is, the available amount, the available period, and the electronic content. The content ID, the viewable scene of the electronic content, the transmission source (gift giver) ID, and the transmission destination (gift giver) ID, the restriction on the viewing date and time of the electronic content, the number of times of viewing (use), electronic content Information related to the distribution server, gift or use restrictions, negotiation restrictions that determine gift conditions or use conditions, and the like can also be included.

  In the embodiment described above, each terminal device or electronic content distribution server determines the gift condition again based on the acquired gift condition. However, the terminal device or electronic content distribution server acquires only when necessary. The gift condition may be determined again based on the given gift condition. Furthermore, when each terminal device or the electronic content distribution server determines the usage conditions, the terminal device sets the usage conditions based on the user's preference for the electronic content, not limited to the type and performance of the terminal device. You may decide.

  In the above-described embodiment, the terminal device has described the form in which the gift condition is transmitted to another terminal device. However, the terminal device adapts the electronic content based on the gift condition, and the adapted electronic content itself is displayed. You may make it give a gift.

  In addition, when a budget for using electronic content is used as the gift condition, the terminal device determines the gift condition again based on the gift condition transmitted from another terminal device. May be changed from budget to viewable time. Further, the terminal device may change from the viewable time to the gift condition based on the budget.

  Furthermore, the terminal device that presents electronic content can also gift anonymous electronic content. For example, a terminal device that gives a gift executes a payment associated with the use of electronic content before giving a gift, and uses an ID issued at the time of the payment, thereby preventing the giftee from specifying the gift giver. Alternatively, the electronic content distribution server may encrypt and transmit the gift giver's ID using the public key encryption method using the public key of the electronic content distribution server. As a result, the electronic content distribution server can specify the gift giver, but the gift recipient cannot specify the gift giver. Further, the electronic content distribution server may notify the gift recipient of the information of the gift giver after the distribution of the electronic content. Furthermore, the terminal device can trace the transfer path of the message including the gift condition by performing an electronic signature on the message including the gift condition.

  In the above-described embodiment, the terminal device may receive a message including the same gift condition a plurality of times. In this case, the terminal device may notify the user of the terminal device that a message including the same gift condition has already been received. Further, when the gift condition included in the message is different from the already received gift condition, the difference may be notified.

  Furthermore, when determining the gift condition, it is possible to specify the payment rate of the usage fee of the electronic content by the gift giver and the gift recipient, instead of the available amount. Also, a plurality of electronic contents to be gifted may be plural, and a plurality of arbitrary scenes can be designated from the plurality of electronic contents.

  In the above-described embodiment, electronic content may be used free of charge when certain conditions are satisfied. For example, when distributing electronic content in streaming format for a certain time after playback (for example, 5 minutes), when distributing only the table of contents of the electronic book, or when the electronic content distribution server sends a quiz correctly to the terminal device In this case, the electronic content distribution server may distribute the electronic content free of charge. Furthermore, based on the information about the advertisements inserted into the distributed electronic contents, the provider of the advertisements may pay for the electronic contents.

1 is a configuration example of an electronic content distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an example of a structure of the electronic content delivery server which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a structural example of the terminal device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the communication sequence which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the communication sequence which concerns on 2nd Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the communication sequence which concerns on 3rd Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the information used in order to determine gift conditions in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the content of the gift condition which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the information used in order to determine utilization conditions in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the content of the use condition which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the content of the gift condition which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the information used in order to determine gift conditions in embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which determines the gift condition used in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the communication sequence which concerns on 4th Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the communication sequence which concerns on 4th Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the content of the gift condition which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the content of the use condition which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the meta information of the electronic content which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the meta information of the electronic content which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the meta information of the electronic content which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the meta information of the electronic content which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the meta information of the electronic content which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the meta information of the electronic content which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Network, 102 ... Server, 103, 104, 105 ... Terminal, 201 ... Condition negotiation part, 202 ... Electronic content storage part, 203 ... Meta information storage part, 204 ... Electronic content distribution part, 205 ... Usage condition verification part, 206 ... billing processing unit, 207 ... message transmission / reception unit, 301 ... electronic content gift condition determination unit, 302 ... message transmission / reception unit, 303 ... electronic content playback unit, 304 ... electronic content use condition determination unit, 305 ... electronic content display unit

Claims (9)

A first terminal device acquiring meta information of electronic content;
The first terminal device determining a gift condition for the electronic content to be given to the second terminal device based on the meta information; and
The second terminal device obtaining the gift condition from the first terminal device;
The second terminal device determining a use condition of the electronic content to be gifted based on the meta information and the acquired gift condition;
The second terminal device transmitting the use conditions to the electronic content distribution server;
The electronic content distribution method comprising: a step of adapting the electronic content based on the transmitted usage conditions and distributing the electronic content to the second terminal device. A meta information acquisition unit for acquiring electronic information meta information;
A gift condition determining unit that determines a gift condition of the electronic content to be gifted to another terminal device based on the meta information;
A terminal device comprising: a gift condition transmitting unit that transmits the gift condition to the other terminal device or an electronic content distribution server that distributes the electronic content. A gift condition acquisition unit for acquiring a gift condition of electronic contents gifted from another terminal device;
Based on the meta information and the gift condition acquired by the gift condition acquisition unit, a use condition determining unit that determines a use condition of the electronic content to be gifted,
A usage rule transmitter for transmitting the usage rule to the electronic content distribution server;
The terminal device according to claim 2, further comprising: an electronic content acquisition unit that acquires the electronic content adapted based on the usage conditions by the electronic content distribution server. A meta information acquisition unit for acquiring electronic information meta information;
The electronic content distribution server that distributes the electronic content includes a first predetermined information transmission unit that transmits first predetermined information used to determine a gift condition for the electronic content to be gifted to another terminal device. A terminal device characterized by that. A gift condition acquisition unit for acquiring a gift condition of electronic contents gifted from another terminal device;
Based on the meta information and the gift condition acquired by the gift condition acquisition unit, a second predetermined information for transmitting second predetermined information used for determining a use condition of the electronic content to be gifted An information transmitter;
The terminal device according to claim 4, further comprising: an electronic content acquisition unit that acquires the electronic content adapted by the electronic content distribution server based on the use conditions. A usage condition acquisition unit that acquires from the second terminal device a usage condition of electronic content gifted from the first terminal device to the second terminal device;
An electronic content distribution server comprising: an electronic content distribution unit that adapts the electronic content based on the use conditions and distributes the electronic content to the second terminal device. A first predetermined information acquisition unit for acquiring, from the first terminal device, first predetermined information used to determine a gift condition for electronic content to be gifted from the first terminal device to the second terminal device; ,
A gift condition determination unit that determines a gift condition for the electronic content based on the first predetermined information and the meta information of the electronic content;
An electronic content distribution server comprising: a gift condition transmission unit that transmits the gift condition to the first terminal device. A second predetermined information acquisition unit that acquires, from the second terminal device, second predetermined information used to determine a use condition of electronic content to be gifted from the first terminal device to the second terminal device; ,
A use condition determining unit for determining a use condition of the electronic content based on the second predetermined information and the meta information;
The electronic content distribution unit according to claim 7, further comprising: an electronic content distribution unit that adapts the electronic content based on the use condition determined by the use condition determination unit and distributes the electronic content to the second terminal device. Electronic content distribution server. 9. The billing processing unit according to claim 6, further comprising a billing processing unit that collects billing information based on meta information of the electronic content adapted and distributed by the electronic content distribution unit. The electronic content distribution server described in 1.

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