WO2019167466A1

WO2019167466A1 - Billing management apparatus and billing management method

Info

Publication number: WO2019167466A1
Application number: PCT/JP2019/001584
Authority: WO
Inventors: 幸伸平田
Original assignee: 株式会社日立製作所
Priority date: 2018-03-01
Filing date: 2019-01-21
Publication date: 2019-09-06
Also published as: JP2019152975A

Abstract

[Problem] To make the manner of bill collection from content users for their content usage fitting with regard to the characteristics of the content or the needs of contributors. [Solution] A billing management apparatus 100 is configured to include an arithmetic device 104 that: receives a specification relating to a collection plan of a dividend to be distributed to a contributor, in which usage fees are allocated as funds; calculates a first-stage usage fee on the basis of information about a target collection amount at a first stage and the accumulated number of users assumed at the first stage; calculates a second-stage usage fee on the basis of information about a target collection amount up to a second stage and the accumulated number of users assumed up to the second stage; calculates a return amount to be returned to the users at the first stage by dividing, by the number of users at the second stage, a value obtained by subtracting the second-stage usage fee from the first-stage usage fee; stores information about the first-stage usage fee, the second-stage usage fee, and the return amount; and outputs the information to a terminal.

Description

Billing management apparatus and billing management method

The present invention relates to a billing management apparatus and billing management method, and more specifically, a mode of collecting a fee accompanying content usage from a content user according to the characteristics of the content and the needs of the poster It relates to the technology.

Due to the explosive spread of portable devices such as smartphones, the frequency of video browsing on video distribution sites has reached several billions per day worldwide (2015).

It is common for a poster of such a video (hereinafter referred to as content) to acquire a predetermined incentive along with a reproduction opportunity of advertisement content that is incidentally distributed by the video distribution site regarding the video. In other words, the funds for such incentives are not collected from the viewer of the video, but are paid from the advertising company in accordance with the playback of the advertising content by the viewer.

On the other hand, due to the ad skip function etc., the reproduction of advertising content is avoided even if the video is viewed, and the desired incentive for the contributor cannot be obtained.

Therefore, a technique has been proposed for suitably collecting the funds for such incentives and distributing the incentives to posters.

As such a technique, for example, a content distributor terminal that distributes content on a network, a plurality of terminals that receive and reproduce content distributed on the network, and a management device that manages the operation of the content are provided. And the management device collects a request for an event requesting distribution from users of the plurality of terminals via the network, and generates a list by collecting the collected requests for each event. A list generating means, a publishing means for publishing the list to a site of the network for a certain period of time, and accepting an indication of intention of delivery from a plurality of content distributors via the site for each content included in the list Means and a plurality of content distributors with the intentions indicated A selection means for selecting a content distributor to be given authority for each content included in the list under a predetermined condition, and a selection result by the selection means for the content distributor to which the distribution right is given. Based on the charging data for each content determined by the charging means, the notifying means for notifying the user, the charging means for charging the user who has viewed the content, the investment receiving means for accepting the investment in the content by the user, A content distribution system comprising: a dividend processing unit that calculates a dividend to a user who has made an investment by the investment receiving unit and performs a process for paying the dividend to the user (Patent Document 1) Have been proposed).

JP 2011-186560 A

In the prior art, it is possible to collect a fee for browsing content from the content viewer, and to pay dividends to posters based on this fee. If content is posted, distributed, and viewed in such an environment, it will certainly ensure incentive resources according to the viewing opportunity itself, and appropriate dividends will be paid to the posters.

However, as a viewer placed in the above-mentioned environment, it is severely determined whether or not the content is valuable to itself and whether the value is worth the fee. From another viewpoint, it can be said that the tendency to browse only the content that is determined to be browsed even if a fee is charged becomes stronger. In addition, although it is a target for viewers to pay for a fee, the desire to browse is not so strong, and it is thought that the content left unattended for a while will increase.

If this happens, the collection rate and collection amount of the browsing fee for a given period can easily change according to the characteristics of the target content, and there is a tendency for discrepancies between the incentive acquisition schedule and amount that each contributor considers. . However, in the prior art, no proposal has been made for effectively reducing such divergence.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for making the form of charge collection accompanying content usage from a content user suitable for the characteristics of the content and the needs of the poster.

The billing management apparatus of the present invention that solves the above-mentioned problems is provided with a storage device that stores information on content that is paid for distribution on a predetermined network and a usage fee obtained from a user of the content as a source, and a contributor of the content A process of accepting designation regarding a collection plan of dividends distributed to the terminal of the contributor, a recovery target amount in the first stage of the recovery plan, and a first stage assumed to achieve the recovery target amount Based on the information on the cumulative number of users in the first stage, the first stage usage fee to be requested for each user in the first stage is calculated by dividing the collection target amount in the first stage by the cumulative number. Based on the information to be collected and the cumulative amount of users up to the second stage assumed to achieve the collection target amount up to the second stage in the collection plan. Dividing the collection target amount by the cumulative number to calculate a second stage usage fee to be requested for each user in the second stage, and subtracting the second stage usage charge from the first stage usage fee. The subtracted value is divided by the number of users in the second stage out of the cumulative number in the second stage, and the second stage among the usage fees obtained from each user in the second stage. Information on the amount of return to be returned to the user at the first stage at the time of the first stage, the information on the first stage usage charge, the second stage usage charge, and the return amount A process of storing the information in the storage device in association with the first stage usage fee, the second stage usage fee, and the return amount, at least to the terminal of the poster, And an arithmetic unit that executes the above.

Also, the accounting management method of the present invention provides an information processing apparatus including a storage device that stores information on content that is paid for distribution on a predetermined network, using a usage fee obtained from a user of the content as a source, and A process of accepting designation regarding a collection plan of dividends to be distributed to a poster from the terminal of the poster, a collection target amount in the first stage in the collection plan, and a first step assumed to achieve the collection target amount Based on the information on the cumulative number of users in the first stage, the first stage usage fee to be requested for each user in the first stage by dividing the collection target amount in the first stage by the cumulative number Based on each of the information for calculating the collection target amount up to the second stage in the collection plan and the cumulative number of users up to the second stage assumed until the collection target amount is achieved. Dividing the collection target amount up to the stage by the cumulative number to calculate a second stage usage fee to be requested for each user in the second stage, and the second stage usage from the first stage usage charge The value obtained by subtracting the fee is divided by the number of users in the second stage out of the cumulative number in the second stage, and the second stage out of the usage charges obtained from each user in the second stage. The process of calculating the amount of return to be returned to the user at the first stage at the time of arriving at, and each information of the first stage usage fee, the second stage usage fee, and the reduction amount, A process of storing the information in the storage device in association with the content, and outputting each information of the first stage usage charge, the second stage usage charge, and the return amount to at least the poster terminal. And executing.

According to the present invention, the form of fee collection accompanying content usage from a content user can be made suitable for the characteristics of the content and the needs of the poster.

It is a network block diagram containing the charge management apparatus of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of the charge management apparatus in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the data structural example of the accounting management information of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the data structural example of the content information of this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example 1 of a flow of the charge management method in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example 1 of a screen in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the conceptual example of the content usage fee system in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example 2 of a screen in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example 2 of a flow of the charge management method in this embodiment.

---- Network configuration ---
Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a network configuration diagram including a charge management apparatus 100 of the present embodiment.

The billing management apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 is a computer apparatus that makes the form of charge collection accompanying content usage from a content user suitable for the characteristics of the content and the poster's needs.

The billing management apparatus 100 is connected to the poster terminal 200, the user terminal 300, and the content server 400 through an appropriate network 10 such as the Internet so as to be able to communicate with each other.

Among these, the accounting management apparatus 100 and the content server 400 can be assumed as an example a server apparatus operated by a business operator who operates a video distribution site on the Internet.

In this case, the content that is managed by the charge management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is a moving image. Of course, the type of content is not limited to moving images, and any type of content can be assumed as long as the content can be distributed and charged via the network.

Note that the above-mentioned video distribution site operated by the business operator is a pay video distribution site that collects a usage fee from the user when using the content, that is, when browsing the video.

The charge management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is responsible for general business processing for collecting a usage fee from a user for a video that is paid for distribution on a video distribution site by the content server 400, and a system for the usage fee of the video. Is defined and managed for each contributor. Details of these functions will be described later.

In addition, the poster terminal 200 included in the network 10 is a terminal of a poster who posts a video on a video distribution site. The poster terminal 200 can upload the video file to be posted held in the storage device to the content server 400 via the network 10.

Also, the poster terminal 200 is a terminal that accepts information related to a dividend collection plan using a usage fee obtained from a video user as a source of money from a poster using an input device such as a keyboard and transmits the information to the billing management device 100. is there.

Also, the user terminal 300 is a terminal for a user who accesses the above-described video distribution site to browse a desired video file.

Further, as described above, the content server 400 is a server device that stores a moving image file uploaded from the poster terminal 200 and distributes it to the user terminal 300 for a fee in the network 10 such as the Internet. The billing management apparatus 100 may have the configuration and functions of the content server 400.

--- Hardware configuration ---
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of the charge management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. The hardware configuration of the charge management apparatus 100 in the present embodiment is as follows.

That is, the charge management device 100 is held in the storage device 101, which is configured by a suitable nonvolatile storage element such as an SSD (Solid State Drive) or a hard disk drive, the memory 103 is configured by a volatile storage element such as a RAM, and the storage device 101. The program 102 is read out to the memory 103 and executed to perform overall control of the device itself, and perform various determinations, computations, and control processes, and the CPU 104 and other devices connected to the network 10 to communicate with other devices. The communication device 105 is responsible for. However, an input device that receives key input and voice input from the user and an output device such as a display that displays processing data may be provided as necessary.

The storage device 101 stores at least billing management information 125 and content information 126 in addition to the program 102 for implementing functions necessary for the billing management device 100 of the present embodiment. Details of these information will be described later.

---- Data structure example ---
Next, tables used by the charge management apparatus 100 of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 3 shows an example of the billing management information 125 in the present embodiment.

The billing management information 125 of this embodiment includes information on a payout collection plan designated by the poster of the video for each video, and usage fee and return amount storage information specified by the billing management device 100 based on the plan. Is stored.

The data structure is a set of records composed of data such as the collected amount of dividends and the estimated number of accumulated users at each stage in the collection plan, the usage fee, the amount of return, etc., using the moving image ID that uniquely identifies the moving image as a key. Is the body. Of these, each value of the amount of collected dividends and the estimated cumulative number of users is a value designated by the poster. Each value of the usage fee and the return amount is a value calculated by the charge management apparatus 100.

FIG. 4 shows a data configuration example of the content information 126 of the present embodiment. The content information 126 of the present embodiment is information that stores information for each moving image described above.

The data structure is a collection of records composed of data such as the content name of the video, the URL that is the address on the network 10, the poster, and the evaluation value, with the video ID uniquely identifying the video as the content as a key. It is.

Of these, the evaluation value is a value evaluated by a predetermined person in charge or the charge management device 100 regarding the promptness of the moving image. For example, many people in the world are concerned about a large-scale conflict, but a news video suddenly generated with respect to an event that is difficult to predict is a content that has a high level of promptness.

For example, it can be assumed that the evaluation regarding the promptness is performed by a person who has a predetermined knowledge among the operators of the content server 400 that has reviewed the acceptance of the video at the time of uploading the video. Alternatively, the billing management apparatus 100 holds a movie evaluated by many people as a learning model when it has a high level of promptness, and performs a pattern matching process on the newly uploaded movie with the learning model described above. It may be possible to evaluate the breaking performance of the video. In any case, the above-described evaluation value acquisition mode is not limited.

--- Flow example ---
Hereinafter, the actual procedure of the charge management method in the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. Various operations corresponding to the charge management method described below are realized by a program that the charge management apparatus 100 reads into the memory or the like and executes. And this program is comprised from the code | cord | chord for performing the various operation | movement demonstrated below.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flow example of the accounting management method in the present embodiment. Here, first, it is assumed that the charge management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment returns an input screen 1000 (FIG. 6) in response to a request from the poster terminal 200 (s100). This input screen 1000 is a screen for accepting designation regarding a payout collection plan desired by the poster.

As an example, assume that the above-mentioned contributor assumes a collection plan including each of the first to third collection stages starting from video release on a paid video distribution site, and sets the information on the input screen 1000 described above. Suppose that

Of the above-described first to third collection stages, the first collection stage is a stage for collecting the production cost (for example, 20 yen) of the video posted or posted on the pay video distribution site. The second collection stage is a stage for securing a profit (for example, 40 yen) after the completion of the production cost collection. The third collection stage is a stage for acquiring the production cost (eg, 100 yen) of the next moving image after securing the above-mentioned profit.

The input screen 1000 illustrated in FIG. 6 has a configuration in which a desired recovery amount setting column 1001 and an assumed number of users setting column 1002 are arranged for each of the above-described recovery stages.

In the case of the above-mentioned contributor, regarding the first collection stage, “20” yen is entered in the setting column 1001 as the desired collection amount, and “2” people are entered in the setting column 1002 as the assumed number of users. . Similarly, regarding the second collection stage, “40” yen is entered in the setting column 1001 as the desired collection amount, and “8” people are entered in the setting column 1002 as the assumed number of users. Similarly, regarding the third collection stage, “100” yen is entered in the setting column 1001 as the desired collection amount, and “40” people are entered in the setting column 1002 as the assumed number of users.

In other words, in the first collection stage, it is planned to collect usage fees from two users and collect “20 yen” of production costs. Also, in the second collection stage, it is planned to collect the usage fee from 8 users and collect “40 yen” as profit. Also, in the third collection stage, it is planned to collect usage fees from 40 users and collect “100 yen” as production costs for the next video.

Subsequently, the charging management apparatus 100 divides the value in the collection amount setting column 1001 by the value in the setting column 1002 for the assumed number of users for the first collection phase among the above-described collection phases. The value of the first stage usage fee 1003 to be requested to each user in one collection stage is calculated, and the value in the setting column 1002 of the assumed number of users is displayed on the screen as the assumed number of accumulated users 1004 ( s101).

In the case of the example in FIG. 6, “20”, which is the value in the collection amount setting column 1001, is divided by “2”, which is the value in the setting column 1002 of the assumed number of users, to obtain the user at the first collection stage. “10” yen is calculated as the value of the first stage usage fee 1003 to be requested to each, and the value “2” in the setting column 1002 of the assumed number of users is displayed on the screen as the estimated number of accumulated users 1004. ing.

Subsequently, the billing management apparatus 100 divides the value in the collection amount setting column 1001 by the value in the setting column 1002 for the assumed number of users for each of the second and third collection steps among the above-described collection steps. Thus, the value of the usage fee 1005 assumed by the contributor is calculated, and the value in the setting column 1002 of the assumed number of users is added retroactively to the collection stage before the own collection stage. The value is calculated (s102).

In the case of the input screen 1000 in FIG. 6, for the second collection stage, “40” that is the value in the collection amount setting column 1001 is divided by “8” that is the value in the setting column 1002 of the assumed number of users. , "5" yen is calculated as the value of the usage fee 1005 assumed by the contributor, and "2" in the first collection stage is added to the value "8" in the setting column 1002 of the assumed number of users. “10” people are displayed on the screen as the assumed user cumulative number 1004. Similarly, for the third collection stage, the contributor assumes that “100”, which is the value in the collection amount setting column 1001, is divided by “40”, which is the value in the setting column 1002 of the assumed number of users. “2.5” yen is calculated as the value of the usage fee 1005, and “2” and “8” in each of the first and second collection stages are added to the value “40” in the setting column 1002 of the assumed number of users. In total, “50” people are displayed on the screen as the cumulative number of expected users 1004.

Next, the billing management apparatus 100 calculates a sum 1020 of the values 1001 of the collection amounts 1001 in the first and second collection stages described above, and uses the sum 1020 in the second collection stage. The second stage usage fee 1006 to be requested for each user in the second collection stage is calculated by dividing by the value of the cumulative number of users 1004 (s103).

In the case of the input screen 1000 in FIG. 6, the value of the collection amount 1001 of each of the first and second collection stages, “20”, “40” is added up to calculate “60” yen as the combined value 1020, The total value “60” is divided by the value “10” of the assumed number of accumulated users 1004 in the second collection stage, and the second stage usage fee 1006 to be requested for each user in the second collection stage. As a result, “6” yen is calculated.

Subsequently, the billing management apparatus 100 calculates a total value 1030 of the value of the recovery amount 1001 in each of the first, second, and third recovery stages described above, and uses this total value 1030 as the third recovery value. The third stage usage fee 1007 to be requested for each user in the third collection stage is calculated by dividing by the value of the assumed user cumulative number 1004 in the stage (s104).

In the case of the input screen 1000 in FIG. 6, the values of the collection amounts 1001 of the first, second, and third collection stages, “20”, “40”, and “100” are added together to obtain a total value 1030 of “ 160 ”yen is calculated, and this total value“ 160 ”is divided by the value“ 50 ”of the assumed number of accumulated users 1004 in the third collection stage to request each user in the third collection stage. “3.2” yen is calculated as the third stage usage fee 1007 to be applied.

Further, the billing management apparatus 100 divides the value obtained by subtracting the second stage usage fee 1005 from the first stage usage fee 1003 described above by the value of the assumed number of users 1002 in the second collection stage, thereby obtaining the second Of the usage fees obtained from each user at the collection stage, a reduction amount to be returned to the user at the first collection stage at the time of reaching the second collection stage is calculated (s105).

In the case of the input screen 1000 in FIG. 6, “4” yen, which is the result of subtracting “6” yen, which is the second stage usage fee 1006, from “10” yen, which is the first stage usage charge 1003, is assumed in the second collection stage. Dividing by the value “8” of the number of users 1002 and using the first collection stage at the time of reaching the second collection stage out of the usage charges obtained from each user in the second collection stage “0.5” yen is calculated as a reduction amount 1050 to be returned to the person.

Subsequently, the billing management apparatus 100 divides the value obtained by subtracting the third stage usage fee 1007 from the second stage usage fee 1006 described above by the value of the assumed number of users 1002 in the third collection stage, Of the usage fees obtained from each user at the collection stage, the amount to be returned to the users at the first and second collection stages at the time of reaching the third collection stage is calculated (s106). .

In the case of the input screen 1000 in FIG. 6, “2.8” yen, which is the result of subtracting “3.2” yen as the third stage usage fee 1007 from “6” yen as the second stage usage charge 1006, Dividing by the value “40” of the assumed number of users 1002 in the collection stage, and the first and the second at the time of reaching the third collection stage out of the usage fees obtained from each user in the third collection stage “0.07” yen is calculated as a reduction amount 1051 to be returned to the user at each second collection stage.

Next, the billing management apparatus 100 obtains the collection amount, the estimated number of accumulated users, the usage fee (first stage usage fee, second stage usage fee, third stage usage fee) obtained at this stage in each collection stage. ) And the value of the return amount are generated in correspondence with the above-mentioned poster ID and stored in the billing management information 125 (s107).

FIG. 7 illustrates a systematic representation of the information stored in the charging management information 125 in this way. As shown in FIG. 7, for the total of two users “I-1” to “I-2” of the first and cumulative second users in the first collection stage, the first-stage usage charge “10” respectively. “Yen” is collected, and “20 yen” is counted as a dividend to the contributor.

In addition, the second stage usage fee “6 yen” is applied to a total of eight users, “II-1” to “II-8”, who have moved to the second collection stage and have accumulated the third to tenth users. Are collected, and “1 yen” is extracted from the second stage usage fee “6 yen” of each user in the second collection stage as a resource for return, and each user in the first collection stage ” "0.5 yen" will be given back to each of the two people, I-1 "to" I-2 ". As a result, at the final point of the second collection stage, the usage fee for each user in the first collection stage is reduced from “10 yen” to “6 yen”. In addition, in this second collection stage, the total of “40 yen” is obtained by counting “5 yen”, which is obtained by subtracting “1 yen” for the above-mentioned return from the second stage usage fee “6 yen”, for eight people. , And the dividend to the contributor. However, in FIG. 7, “60 yen” added to the dividend “20 yen” in the first collection stage is displayed.

In addition, the third collection fee “3.2” is applied to a total of 40 users “III-1” to “III-40” of the 11th to 50th cumulative users after moving to the third collection stage. "Yen" is collected and the third collection fee "3.2 yen" of each user in the third collection stage is extracted from the "0.7 yen" as a source for reduction, and the first collection Return "0.07 yen" to each user "I-1" to "I-2" in the stage and each user "II-1" to "II-8" in the second collection stage. ing. As a result, at the end of the third collection stage, the usage fee for each user in the first and second collection stages is “6 yen”. In addition, in this third collection stage, “2.5 yen” obtained by subtracting the above-mentioned resource for return “0.7 yen” from the third stage usage fee “3.2 yen” was counted for 40 people. A total of “100 yen” is a dividend to the contributor. However, in FIG. 7, “160 yen” added to the dividend “60 yen” up to the second collection stage is displayed.

Subsequently, the billing management apparatus 100 displays a screen 1100 on which information on the above-described first stage usage fee 1003, second stage usage charge 1006, second stage usage charge 1007, and return

amounts

1050 and 1051 is arranged (FIG. 8) is generated and output to the user terminal 200 of the user at each of the first and second collection stages described above (s108), and the process is terminated.

--- Flow example 2 ---
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flow example 2 of the accounting management method in the present embodiment. In addition, if the above fee structure is appropriately modified / updated according to the characteristics of the content, the form of fee collection accompanying the use of the content from the content user can be further changed according to the characteristics of the content and the needs of the poster. It can be made suitable.

For example, it is assumed that there is a content “A” that has a quick report that a user wants to watch early even if the usage fee is high, and a content “B” that has a good quality but has no quick report. Further, at this time, it is assumed that there is a use candidate who is interested in the content “B” that is of good quality but has no promptness.

Under this assumption, if a record is already stored in the billing management information 125 for the content “A”, the usage fee indicated by the record for the content “A” is appropriately reduced for the content “B”. think of.

For example, the billing management apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment receives designation of a video ID of a video that has not been considered in regard to breaking news from the contributor terminal 200, and searches the content information 126 using this video ID as a key. An evaluation value for breaking news of a moving image is acquired (s200). Here, for example, it is assumed that the evaluation value “C” is obtained for the moving image with the content ID “1001”.

Subsequently, the billing management apparatus 100 determines whether or not the evaluation value “C” relating to this quick reportability is equal to or less than a predetermined reference value “B” (s201). Here, it is assumed that the quick reportability is low in the direction from “A” to “B” to “C”.

If the value obtained in s200 is greater than the reference value as a result of the above determination (s202: n), the charge management apparatus 100 ends the process.

On the other hand, if the value obtained in s200 is equal to or smaller than the reference value as a result of the above determination (s202: y), the charging management apparatus 100 searches the charging management information 125 for the above-described moving image “1001” and defines the value there. The first stage usage fee is reduced by a predetermined rate (s203). For example, the first stage usage fee “10” yen is reduced by 10%, and “9” yen is set as a new first stage usage fee.

Subsequently, the billing management apparatus 100 increases the cumulative number of assumed users in the first collection stage by a predetermined rate (s204). For example, the first stage assumed user cumulative number “2” is increased by 50%, and “3” person is set as a new first stage assumed user cumulative number.

In addition, the charge management apparatus 100 sets the value of the first stage usage charge corrected in s203 to the first stage usage charge 1003 of the input screen 1000, and assumes the cumulative number of users in the first collection stage corrected in s204. Is set to the assumed number of users 1002 and the assumed number of accumulated users 1004 in the first collection stage of the input screen 1000, and the above-described flow example 1 is executed again to obtain the second stage usage fee and the third stage usage. The fee and the return amount are calculated (s205).

By appropriately modifying and updating the fee structure in this way, the effect of attracting users who want to use “high-quality but non-prompted content” at a slightly lower fee, and ensuring the fund collection of contributors early and reliably Can be expected.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention has been specifically described above. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to make the form of fee collection accompanying content usage from a content user suitable for the characteristics of the content and the needs of the poster.

記載 At least the following will be made clear by the description in this specification. That is, in the billing management apparatus according to the present embodiment, the computing device includes at least the first stage usage charge and the information of the first stage usage charge, the second stage usage charge, and the return amount. Processing for outputting the information on the second-stage usage fee to each terminal of the first-stage user and the second-stage user may be further executed.

According to this, the transition of the content usage fee due to the usage fee reduction accompanying the increase in the cumulative number of content users will be clearly indicated to the content user. Therefore, the user who can know the usage fee that will be reduced in the end has a lower psychological and economic hurdle for using the content, and as a result, the total number of users of the content can be increased. As a result, the form of charge collection accompanying the use of content from the content user can be made more suitable according to the characteristics of the content and the needs of the poster.

In the billing management apparatus according to the present embodiment, when the evaluation value is equal to or less than a predetermined reference based on a predetermined evaluation value related to the promptness of the content indicated by the content information, At least one of a process for reducing the stage usage fee by a predetermined ratio and a process for increasing the cumulative number of users in the first stage by a predetermined percentage is executed, and the second stage usage fee and the reduction amount are renewed. It is good also as what performs calculation of these.

According to this, for example, many users who are interested in content that has been evaluated as content that is of good quality but has no promptness are solicited to use the content contributors at a reasonable price. It will lead to early and certain recovery of funds. As a result, the form of charge collection accompanying the use of content from the content user can be made more suitable according to the characteristics of the content and the needs of the poster.

Further, in the billing management method of the present embodiment, the information processing apparatus has at least the first-stage usage fee among the information of the first-stage usage fee, the second-stage usage fee, and the return amount. And the process which outputs the information of the said 2nd step utilization charge to each terminal of the said user of the 1st step and the user of the 2nd step may be further performed.

Further, in the billing management method of the present embodiment, when the information processing apparatus is based on a predetermined evaluation value related to the promptness of the content indicated by the content information, At least one of a process for reducing the one-stage usage fee by a predetermined ratio and a process for increasing the cumulative number of users in the first stage by a predetermined ratio is executed, and the second-stage usage charge and the reduction are performed again. The calculation of the amount may be performed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Network 100 Charge management apparatus 101 Storage apparatus 102 Program 103 Memory 104 Arithmetic apparatus 105 Communication apparatus 125 Charge management information 126 Content information 200 Contributor terminal 300 User terminal 400 Content server

Claims

A storage device that stores information on content that is paid for distribution on a predetermined network;
Processing for accepting from the terminal of the contributor a designation related to a collection plan for dividends to be distributed to the contributor of the content, using the usage fee obtained from the content user as a source, and in the first stage of the collection plan Based on the information of the collection target amount and the cumulative number of users in the first stage assumed until the collection target amount is achieved, the collection target amount in the first stage is divided by the cumulative number, A process of calculating a first-stage usage fee to be requested for each user in the first stage, a recovery target amount up to the second stage in the recovery plan, and a second stage assumed to achieve the recovery target amount Based on each piece of information on the cumulative number of users up to, the collection target amount up to the second stage is divided by the cumulative number to calculate the second stage usage fee to be requested for each user in the second stage. And the first stage Usage obtained from each user in the second stage by dividing the value obtained by subtracting the second stage usage charge from the usage charge by the number of users in the second stage out of the cumulative number in the second stage Among the fees, a process of calculating a reduction amount to be returned to the user of the first stage at the time of reaching the second stage, the first stage usage charge, the second stage usage charge, and the Processing for storing each information of the return amount in the storage device in association with the content, and each information of the first stage usage fee, the second stage usage fee, and the return amount at least Processing to output to the contributor's terminal;
An accounting management apparatus comprising:
The arithmetic unit is:
Among the information of the first stage usage fee, the second stage usage fee, and the reduction amount, at least information on the first stage usage fee and the second stage usage fee is used in the first stage usage. The process of outputting to each terminal of the user and the user in the second stage is further executed.
The charge management apparatus according to claim 1.
The arithmetic unit is:
A process of reducing the first-stage usage fee by a predetermined rate when the evaluation value is equal to or less than a predetermined reference based on a predetermined evaluation value related to the promptness of the content indicated by the content information; and Executing at least one of the processes of increasing the cumulative number of users in a stage by a predetermined ratio, and again calculating the second stage usage fee and the reduction amount,
The charge management apparatus according to claim 1.
An information processing apparatus including a storage device that stores content information that is paid for distribution on a predetermined network.
A process for accepting from the terminal of the poster a designation related to a collection plan of dividends to be distributed to the poster of the content, using the usage fee obtained from the user of the content as a source,
Based on each information of the collection target amount at the first stage in the collection plan and the cumulative number of users at the first stage assumed until the collection target amount is achieved, the collection target amount at the first stage is calculated. Dividing the cumulative number to calculate a first stage usage fee to be requested for each of the first stage users;
Based on each information of the collection target amount up to the second stage in the collection plan and the cumulative number of users up to the second stage assumed until the collection target amount is achieved, the collection target amount up to the second stage is calculated. A process of calculating a second stage usage fee to be requested for each of the second stage users by dividing by the cumulative number;
The value obtained by subtracting the second stage usage charge from the first stage usage charge is divided by the number of users in the second stage out of the cumulative number in the second stage to obtain the user in the second stage. Among the usage fees obtained from each, a process of calculating a reduction amount to be returned to the user of the first stage at the time of reaching the second stage;
A process of storing each information of the first-stage usage fee, the second-stage usage fee, and the return amount in the storage device in association with the content;
A process of outputting each information of the first stage usage fee, the second stage usage fee, and the return amount to at least the terminal of the poster;
The charge management method characterized by performing.
The information processing apparatus is
Among the information of the first stage usage fee, the second stage usage fee, and the reduction amount, at least information on the first stage usage fee and the second stage usage fee is used in the first stage usage. Further executing processing to output to each terminal of the user and the user in the second stage,
The charge management method according to claim 4, wherein:
The information processing apparatus is
A process of reducing the first-stage usage fee by a predetermined rate when the evaluation value is equal to or less than a predetermined reference based on a predetermined evaluation value related to the promptness of the content indicated by the content information; and Executing at least one of the processes of increasing the cumulative number of users at the stage by a predetermined rate, and again calculating the second stage usage fee and the reduction amount,
The charge management method according to claim 4, wherein: