Digital content secondary distribution system

Abstract

A secondary distribution market of digital contents can be realized without making a large change or modification to the existing relationship or system between a publisher and an e-book store. A digital content secondary distribution system (1) that supports secondary distribution of digital contents, having a secondary distribution permission processing section (13) for accepting designation of first digital contents for which secondary distribution is permitted by an issuer and recording it in a secondary distribution book DB (132), an exhibition management section (14) for accepting exhibition instruction of second digital contents by a first user who purchased and possesses the first digital contents and recording it in an exhibition DB (141), and a purchase processing section (15) for accepting instruction of purchase of the second digital contents issued by a second user and updating information of the exhibition DB (141), wherein the exhibition management section (14) limits the number of exhibition times of the same second digital contents to a predetermined number or less.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a technology for supporting management of circulation of digital content, and more particularly, to an effective technology for a digital content secondary circulation system for supporting management of secondary circulation of digital content. BACKGROUND

[0002] The secondary circulation market of second-hand goods of the content of paper media such as books has existed on a large scale from the past in addition to the primary circulation market of new publications. On the other hand, for digital content such as e-books, the primary circulation market has been growing in recent years, and further, the demand for home economy due to the pandemic has rapidly increased, but for secondary circulation, although there are some, the market size is small, and there is no dominant player.

[0003] As a technology related to secondary circulation of digital content, for example, in Japanese Patent No. 6087469 (Patent Literature 1), an electronic content circulation system is described, which has an electronic content management server device, a resale management server device, a plurality of sales server devices each providing a sales website of electronic content, and a plurality of user terminal devices; wherein the resale management server device has a first coefficient decided in accordance with the market circulation amount and the resale inventory number of the electronic content, and a price setting unit that calculates the purchase price and the resale price by using the first coefficient.

[0004] PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS

[0005] PATENT LITERATURE

[0006] Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent No. 6087469 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0008] According to the prior art, a market for secondary circulation of digital content such as e-books can be realized.

[0009] On the other hand, in order to widely popularize the market for secondary circulation of digital content, a mechanism is required in which the secondary circulation market can be realized without making major changes or modifications to the relationship or system between the existing publisher or copyright holder, author (hereinafter sometimes collectively referred to and simply described as "publisher") and e-book store, and the publisher, e-book store and user can each benefit in terms of revenue or convenience, etc. The purpose of the present application is to solve such a mechanism by a technical system, and to provide a single platform as a basis without customizing and developing each company's system. More specifically, in the case where there are M publisher-side systems and N e-book-side systems in the system, M x N independent systems need to be developed, and the technical difficulty of system development according to the specific circumstances is also diverse.

[0010] Therefore, an object of the present application is to provide a digital content secondary distribution system capable of realizing the above-described mechanism. The foregoing and other objects and novel features of the present application will become apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

[0011] Means for solving the problem

[0012] In the present application, a representative outline content is briefly described as follows.

[0013] The digital content secondary distribution system according to the typical embodiment of the present application is a digital content secondary distribution system that supports a digital content purchased and held by a user when the digital content is secondarily distributed by the user, and has a secondary distribution permission processing section for accepting designation of a first digital content, which is permitted to be secondarily distributed, among digital contents issued by an issuer of the digital contents, and recording the designation in a secondary distribution book recording section; a sale management section for accepting a sale indication issued by a seller via a second digital content held by a first user who purchased and holds the first digital content, and recording the indication in a sale record section; and a purchase processing section for accepting an indication issued by a second user to purchase the second digital content sold by the first user, and updating information of the sale record section; wherein the sale management section limits the number of times of sale of the same second digital content to a predetermined number of times or less.

[0014] Effects of the Invention

[0015] In the present application, effects obtainable by representative contents are briefly described as follows.

[0016] That is, according to the typical embodiment of the present application, a secondary distribution market of digital contents can be realized without making large changes or modifications to the relationship or system between an existing publisher and an electronic bookstore, and the publisher, the electronic bookstore, and the user can each benefit in terms of revenue or convenience, and the like. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 is a diagram that schematically shows a configuration example of a digital content secondary distribution system of one embodiment of the present application.

[0018] Figure 2 is a diagram that schematically shows an example of an overall processing flow in one embodiment of the present application.

[0019] Figure 3 is a diagram that schematically shows an example of a flow of secondary distribution permission processing by a publisher in one embodiment of the present application.

[0020] is a diagram that schematically shows an example of a flow of sale management by a publisher in one embodiment of the present application.Figure 4 is a diagram that outlines a flow example of a user performing a display processing of an electronic book in a secondary distribution market in an embodiment of the present application.

[0021] Figure 5 is a diagram that outlines a flow example of a user performing a purchase processing of an electronic book in a secondary distribution market in an embodiment of the present application.

[0022] Figure 6 is a diagram that outlines a screen example displayed by a user terminal of an electronic book sales system in an embodiment of the present application.

[0023] Figure 7 is a diagram that outlines a screen example displayed by a user terminal of an electronic book sales system in an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present application will be described in detail based on the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, in all the drawings that explain the embodiment, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals in principle, and repeated explanation thereof will be omitted. On the other hand, as for the parts that are explained by the reference numerals in a certain drawing, there are cases where the same reference numerals are not illustrated again but mentioned in the explanation of other drawings.

[0025] SUMMARY

[0026] The digital content secondary distribution system as an embodiment of the present application is an information processing system that provides an electronic book store with a function of being able to display (secondarily sell) a digital content such as an electronic book purchased by a user (i.e., having a right to read), and being able to purchase the secondary distributed digital content as an API (Application Programming Interface), thereby realizing and supporting secondary sales of the digital content by the user.

[0027] Thus, for the electronic book store, it is possible to easily realize a secondary distribution market of the digital content, and it is possible to provide the user with an opportunity to easily and cheaply purchase the digital content, thereby being able to link it with promotion of the secondary distribution market of the digital content. In addition, for the user who displays in the secondary distribution market, for example, points are returned as a reward at the time of purchase, and it is possible to promote the primary distribution market by using it for purchase of the digital content in the primary distribution market. In addition, by returning a part of the sales amount of the secondary distribution to a publisher as, for example, a license fee, creation of a newly sold digital content in the primary distribution market is supported, and it is possible to link it with promotion of the primary distribution market.

[0028] Furthermore, in this embodiment, digital content that is distributed both initially and subsequently is described using e-books published and distributed by a publishing house as an example; however, the type of digital content is not particularly limited. If viewing and use are controlled by access rights and usage permissions, and distribution is conducted through the purchase of content to grant access rights and usage permissions, video content such as animation or music content can also be considered as the target product. Moreover, the entities selling this content (sellers) are not limited to e-bookstores, but can also be sales websites, etc., and the entities distributing this content (distributors) are not limited to publishing houses, but can also be other companies or individuals.

[0029] <System Composition>

[0030] Figure 1 This diagram illustrates a structural example of a digital content secondary distribution system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The digital content secondary distribution system 1 is, for example, composed of server equipment or a virtual server built on a cloud computing service. It utilizes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown) and executes middleware such as an OS (Operating System) or DBMS (Database Management System), a Web server program, or software running thereon, which is deployed from a recording device such as an HDD (Hard Disk Drive) on memory, to implement various functions related to the secondary distribution of digital content, as described later.

[0031] The publisher management system 2 is an information processing system or website used to manage information on e-books published and distributed by various publishers. Additionally, the e-book sales system 3 is an information processing system or website used to operate the e-book sales business of various e-bookstores. E-book users can access the e-book sales system 3 via the internet or other networks using user terminals 4, which consist of portable terminals such as PCs (Personal Computers), smartphones, and tablets. They can purchase e-books for primary or secondary circulation, or exhibit (re-sell) e-books.

[0032] Multiple publisher management systems 2 or multiple e-bookstore e-book sales systems 3 access the digital content secondary distribution system 1 via network 5 and can use various functions related to the secondary distribution of e-books. In this embodiment, as described above, the digital content secondary distribution system 1 provides various functions as APIs, and each publisher management system 2 or each e-book sales system 3 utilizes these functions related to the secondary distribution of e-books by specifically calling these APIs.

[0033] That is, for the previous mechanism of primary circulation of e-books executed by the publisher management system 2 or the e-book sales system 3, the independent digital content secondary circulation system 1 can add secondary circulation functions without making major modifications. The front-end parts, such as the user (user terminal 4) interface, are handled by the e-bookstore in the e-book sales system 3 as before. Furthermore, it is not limited to such a system structure; for example, it can also be in the form of a CMS (Contents Management System) used in the installation of the e-book sales system 3 as an API, or it can be integrated into the e-book sales system 3.

[0034] The digital content secondary distribution system 1 includes, for example, departments such as a bookstore management department 11, a book management department 12, a secondary distribution license processing department 13, an exhibition management department 14, and a purchase processing department 15, all installed as software. Additionally, it includes data storage such as a bookstore database (DB) 111, a book database (DB) 121, a secondary distribution bookstore database (DB) 131, a secondary distribution book database (DB) 132, and an exhibition database (DB) 141, all installed as databases or file tables.

[0035] Bookstore Management Department 11 has the function of managing information recorded in Bookstore DB111 related to e-bookstores undergoing primary and secondary circulation. Bookstore DB111 contains master table information for each e-bookstore. Additionally, Book Management Department 12 has the function of managing information recorded in Book DB121 related to e-books undergoing primary and secondary circulation. Book DB121 contains master table information for each e-book.

[0036] The secondary distribution license processing unit 13 has functions for performing processing related to the licensing of e-books for secondary distribution by publishers. Publishers can specify conditions or restrictions for allowing secondary distribution of e-books they publish and distribute, as well as related conditions or restrictions such as price or period during secondary distribution. Information on e-books allowed for secondary distribution and their conditions is recorded in the secondary distribution book DB132. Additionally, publishers can designate e-bookstores to process e-books allowed for secondary distribution. Information on the designated e-bookstores is recorded in the secondary distribution bookstore DB131.

[0037] The Exhibition and Sales Management Department 14 has functions for managing information related to the exhibition and sales (secondary sales) of users' e-books. Additionally, the Purchasing Processing Department 15 has functions for managing information related to e-books that are resold after the exhibition and are purchased by users. Information related to the exhibition and purchase of e-books is recorded in the Exhibition DB141.

[0038] <Processing Flow (Overall)>

[0039] Figure 2 This diagram illustrates an example of the overall processing flow in one embodiment of the present invention. First, each publisher accesses its own publisher management system 2 and allows the secondary distribution of its published and distributed ebooks (S1). Then, each user of each ebookstore, through their own ebookstore (ebook sales system 3), showcases (sells) the ebooks they have already purchased that are allowed for secondary distribution (S2). Finally, each user of each ebookstore, through their own ebookstore (ebook sales system 3), purchases the showcased ebooks that have undergone secondary distribution (S3).

[0040] The following describes the processing steps S1 to S3.

[0041] <Processing Flow (Secondary Circulation Permit (Step S1))>

[0042] Figure 3 This diagram illustrates an example of a publisher's secondary distribution licensing process according to one embodiment of the present invention. First, the publisher accesses its own publisher management system 2 (or the website provided therefrom) and requests information about the e-books that were previously distributed from the digital content secondary distribution system 1. In the digital content secondary distribution system 1, information about the e-books published by the publisher of the target product is obtained from the book management unit 12 from the book DB121 and provided to the publisher via the publisher management system 2 (S11).

[0043] The publisher designates which ebooks are permitted for secondary distribution and specifies the licensing conditions. In the Digital Content Secondary Distribution System 1, the Secondary Distribution License Processing Department 13 receives the information on the permitted ebooks and licensing conditions specified via the Publisher Management System 2 and registers it in the Secondary Distribution Books DB132 (S12). Methods for designating permitted ebooks for secondary distribution include, for example, designating them individually by title, or specifying ebooks that meet the criteria in general terms such as author affiliation, new publication affiliation, or old publication affiliation. Furthermore, for publishers without a system like the Publisher Management System 2, the operations manager of the Digital Content Secondary Distribution System 1 can receive and register data from the publisher online or offline.

[0044] Because ebooks are digital data, it is virtually impossible to assume physical deterioration between new products in the initial circulation and secondhand products in the secondary circulation. Therefore, when secondary circulation is freely permitted, it will negatively impact the primary circulation market, such as diminishing the value of new products. Consequently, it may hinder the development of the secondary circulation market, which is based on the primary circulation market.

[0045] Therefore, in this embodiment, restrictions are set when the publisher allows secondary distribution, and the publisher itself can set the restrictions. For example, restrictions are set in the early stages when the publisher is able to allow secondary distribution, and the secondary distribution license processing unit 13 and the like are controlled so that the e-book, as the target product, can only be allowed to be distributed in the secondary distribution market after it has been sold as a new publication in the primary distribution market for a certain period of time (e.g., one month).

[0046] Furthermore, when a publisher allows secondary distribution, a minimum display price is set as a condition of the license, ensuring that the product is sold to the secondary market at a price no lower than this. This maintains the value of new products and protects the primary market while ensuring that the publisher's or author's desire to publish and create is not diminished. The minimum display price is not limited to the publisher; it can also be set by the e-bookstore. When both are set separately, the choice of which price to use (the higher price, or priority given to the publisher's price, etc.) can be appropriately determined based on requirements.

[0047] Subsequently, the publisher management system 2 requests information from the digital content secondary distribution system 1 about e-bookstores that process e-books that are permitted for secondary distribution. In the digital content secondary distribution system 1, the bookstore management department 11 obtains information about e-bookstores that process e-books as target products from the bookstore DB111, and provides it to the publisher via the publisher management system 2 (S13).

[0048] The publisher designates specific e-bookstores that are permitted to conduct secondary distribution of e-books as the target product. In the Digital Content Secondary Distribution System 1, the Secondary Distribution License Processing Department 13 receives information from e-bookstores designated by the publisher management system 2 that are permitted secondary distribution and registers it in the secondary distribution store DB131 (S14). In principle, e-bookstores permitted secondary distribution are the same as those permitted primary distribution, but in some cases, primary distribution may be permitted while secondary distribution is not. This allows the primary distribution market to be protected by designating e-bookstores permitted for secondary distribution on the publisher's side.

[0049] Subsequently, the publisher management system 2 sends a notification to the publisher allowing secondary distribution by displaying the e-book as the target product on a screen, and requests the digital content secondary distribution system 1 to send a notification to the e-bookstore that has been granted permission for secondary distribution. In the digital content secondary distribution system 1, the secondary distribution license processing unit 13 sends a notification allowing the secondary distribution of the e-book as the target product to the e-book sales system 3 related to the e-bookstore that is the target product (S15), and ends the secondary distribution license processing.

[0050] <Processing Flow (Exhibition and Sales (Step S2))>

[0051] Figure 4 This diagram illustrates a flowchart of a user's process for displaying e-books in the secondary market, according to one embodiment of the present invention. First, a user wishing to display their purchased e-books in the secondary market visits the e-book sales system 3 associated with the e-bookstore where they purchased the e-book, and via this system requests information from the digital content secondary distribution system 1 regarding which e-books (e-books permitted for secondary distribution by the publisher) are eligible for display in the secondary market. In the digital content secondary distribution system 1, the display management unit 14 retrieves the relevant e-book information from the secondary distribution books DB132 and provides it to the user via the e-book sales system 3 (S21).

[0052] The user specifies the e-books that are permitted to be exhibited in the secondary distribution market and specifies their selling price. In the digital content secondary distribution system 1, the exhibition management department 14 receives the information on the e-books and selling prices specified as exhibited goods via the e-book sales system 3 and registers them in the exhibition DB141 (S22).

[0053] E-books exhibited in the secondary market do not need to be new products purchased in the primary market; they can also be secondhand goods purchased in the secondary market and then re-exhibited there. As mentioned above, e-books do not physically deteriorate even with continuous circulation. Therefore, allowing them to circulate in the same way as new products could negatively impact the primary market. Therefore, in this embodiment, the number of times the same e-book can be exhibited in the secondary market (the number of times it circulates continuously) is limited to, for example, three times, preventing further exhibitions. That is, each time it circulates continuously in the secondary market, the remaining number of exhibitions decreases, and this characteristic is used as a conceptual deterioration of the product's value.

[0054] Furthermore, by setting limits on the discount range that can be set as the selling price based on the number of exhibitions, negative impacts on the primary distribution market can be mitigated. For example, when a new product purchased at the primary distribution market price is exhibited for the first time in the secondary distribution market, the discount range that users can set at the time of the exhibition is limited to 30% of the purchase price of the e-book (at this time, the new product price). When a user who purchased the e-book from the secondary distribution market exhibits it again in the secondary distribution market for the second time, the discount range is limited to 50% of the purchase price of the e-book. And when a user who purchased the e-book exhibits it a third time in the secondary distribution market, since they no longer have the right to exhibit it in the secondary distribution market, the discount range can be set to 70% of the purchase price of the e-book.

[0055] Furthermore, in either case, the value cannot be set below the above. Figure 3 The minimum exhibition price set by the publisher or e-bookstore in step S12 is the selling price. Information on the number of exhibitions (or the remaining number of exhibitions) for each e-book is recorded, for example, in Exhibition DB141 or Secondary Circulation Books DB132.

[0056] On the other hand, since the continuous circulation of e-books is accomplished solely through the exchange of digital data, it is also possible to consider, for example, targeting high-demand books such as those that are out of print or unavailable, or popular books, and conducting transactions solely for the purpose of so-called "resale" using automated transactions via software programs. Therefore, in this embodiment, the selling price when exhibiting in the secondary market cannot be set above the purchase price to prevent "resale."

[0057] Whether the above-mentioned restrictions on the number of exhibitions or exhibition prices are met can be determined by the exhibition management department 14 of the digital content secondary circulation system 1. In the event that an exhibition cannot be held, the user can be notified through the e-book sales system 3. Control can also be exercised on the e-book sales system 3 side so that it cannot conduct exhibitions exceeding the number of exhibitions allowed or set sales prices that conflict with the restrictions on exhibition prices from the outset.

[0058] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the user selects the e-books they wish to exhibit and specifies their selling price. However, for example, the user can also pre-set the e-book sales system 3 to automatically exhibit the e-books that the user has finished reading in the secondary market at a predetermined discount rate, thereby promoting the revitalization of the secondary market.

[0059] When information about an e-book to be exhibited in the secondary market is registered in the exhibition DB141, the exhibition management department 14 requests the e-book sales system 3, which is the target product, to terminate the user's viewing rights associated with the exhibited e-book (S23). In the e-book sales system 3, while the viewing rights for the e-book are being terminated, the user can purchase the book, thus ending the exhibition process. Furthermore, because the viewing rights have been terminated, the user cannot browse the e-book, which is the target product, but remains in a state of ownership.

[0060] When a user cancels the display of an e-book as a target product through the e-book sales system 3, the display of the target product is canceled (removed from the display DB141) through the display management department 14 of the digital content secondary circulation system 1, and the user requests the restoration of reading rights from the e-book sales system 3. In addition to the user canceling the display, the e-bookstore can also stop the display.

[0061] <Processing Flow (Purchase (Step S3))>

[0062] Figure 5 This diagram illustrates an example of a user's purchase process for e-books in the secondary market according to one embodiment of the present invention. First, the user accesses the e-book sales system 3 associated with their own e-bookstore account and requests information about e-books being sold in the secondary market from the digital content secondary distribution system 1. In the digital content secondary distribution system 1, the sales management department 14 retrieves information about the e-books being sold by referring to the sales DB141 and provides it to the user via the e-book sales system 3 (S31). Not limited to secondary distribution e-books, the e-book sales system 3 can also retrieve information about newly released e-books from the book DB121 and provide it to the user.

[0063] In the e-book sales system 3, when offering e-books for sale in the secondary market, a list is displayed, for example, showing the sale price and number of sales (or remaining sales) for each e-book. When users consider reselling the e-books they purchased in the secondary market, they can consider not only the sale price but also the number of sales of e-books with the same title and the number of sales (remaining sales) for each e-book. Therefore, this information is provided as a reference. Furthermore, since e-books are digital data and there is no physical difference between each sale, there is no need to provide information about the seller.

[0064] The user decides and instructs to purchase a product from the displayed e-books. In the digital content secondary distribution system 1, the purchase processing unit 15 receives information about the e-books designated as purchase targets via the e-book sales system 3, and registers the display information related to the e-books as target products recorded in the display DB141 as purchased (S32). Furthermore, for e-books with the same title, if there are multiple display items with the same number of display times (remaining display times), when the user wants to purchase the e-book, it can be controlled to automatically select the product with the lowest display price, for example. If multiple products with the lowest display prices are displayed, it can also be controlled to automatically select the product that was displayed first.

[0065] Subsequently, in the e-book sales system 3, while processing the settlement for the user who purchased the product, as compensation for selling the e-book, a process can be performed to grant points that can be used in the e-book store to the exhibitor who displayed the e-book (S33). Furthermore, a process is performed to transfer the viewing rights associated with the e-book (S34) from the exhibitor to the purchaser, and the purchase process ends. Moreover, the series of processes from steps S32 to S34 are indivisible and exclusive transaction processes.

[0066] Although not illustrated, users can check the purchase status of ebooks exhibited in the secondary market at any time via ebook sales system 3. In the digital content secondary distribution system 1, the exhibition management department 14 obtains information about the ebooks being exhibited by the user or whether they have been purchased from the exhibition DB141, and provides this information to the exhibitor via ebook sales system 3. At this time, information about the points awarded to the user is also provided.

[0067] Furthermore, in this embodiment, any payment made to the exhibitor for purchasing an e-book on display, whether the purchaser pays with money or points, can be converted into points usable in the e-bookstore for the target product, as described above. These points are then limited to purchases of newly released e-books in the e-bookstore and their validity period can be limited to a certain period (e.g., 6 months). This further boosts the primary and secondary circulation of the target product in the e-bookstore.

[0068] <Screen example>

[0069] Figure 6 and Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a screen displayed on a user terminal 4 of an e-book sales system 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6This is an example of a screen showing a user accessing the e-book sales system 3 using a user terminal 4 and retrieving e-books processed in an e-bookstore associated with the e-book sales system 3. Here, as a search result, an e-book titled "COMIC" is displayed, and the new issue's selling price is shown as 462 yen.

[0070] If the ebook is authorized for secondary distribution by the publisher and has already been sold as a secondhand item by other users, as shown in the image, a "Buy Secondhand Item" button is displayed at the bottom of the screen. By clicking or tapping (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as "click"), users can purchase the secondhand ebook. Figure 6 The example shows 20 secondhand items for sale of the e-book, with the lowest price being 400 yen.

[0071] Additionally, if the ebook is authorized for secondary distribution by the publisher and the user has already purchased and owns a new or used product, as shown in the image, a "Showcase" button will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. By clicking this button, the user can showcase and sell the ebook they own on the secondary market.

[0072] Figure 7 This image shows an example of a user displaying their own ebooks on the secondary market. For example, through the user's display of the aforementioned... Figure 6 In the example screen, clicking the "Showcase" button displays this screen. Alternatively, it can display the user's purchase history in the e-bookstore, from which instructions can be issued to specify e-books as eligible items for showcase.

[0073] exist Figure 7 The "Product Details" section at the top shows the new price of the "COMIC" e-book held by the user as 462 yen. If the user owns a used item, the price at which the used item was purchased can also be displayed here. Additionally, the e-book's release date and the number of days elapsed since its release can be displayed, serving as reference information for the user when setting a promotional price.

[0074] exist Figure 7In the lower half of the screen, under the "Exhibition Price" section, the user can set the selling price for the e-book when exhibiting it on the secondary market. The system can then recommend a "best-selling" price range, for example, based on analysis of past transaction data or the number of days since its release. The system also displays the sales commission received by the e-bookstore, calculated according to predetermined conditions, and the user's profit after deducting that commission from the selling price. By clicking the "Exhibition" button at the bottom of the screen, the user can exhibit the e-book on the secondary market at the set price.

[0075] Furthermore, by returning a portion of the sales commissions earned by the e-bookstore to the publisher as, for example, licensing fees, the creation of new digital content sold in the primary distribution market can be supported, and this can be linked to a boost to the primary distribution market. Additionally, as mentioned above, by returning the sales profits earned by users from exhibitions as points that can be used to purchase new e-books from the e-bookstore, the primary distribution market can be boosted.

[0076] As explained above, the digital content secondary distribution system 1, which is one embodiment of the present invention, enables e-bookstores to easily realize a secondary distribution market for digital content and provides users with the opportunity to easily and cheaply purchase digital content, thereby boosting the secondary distribution market for digital content and linking it to boosting the primary distribution market. Furthermore, as previously stated, multiple publisher management systems 2 or multiple e-bookstore e-book sales systems 3 access the digital content secondary distribution system 1 via network 5 and can use various functions related to the secondary distribution of e-books. The digital content secondary distribution system 1 provides these functions as APIs, and since each publisher management system 2 or each e-book sales system 3 has a structure that utilizes various functions related to the secondary distribution of e-books by specifically calling these APIs, the secondary distribution of digital content can be realized by modifying existing publisher management systems or existing e-book sales systems to a minimum. Furthermore, the secondary circulation of digital content differs from that of physical secondhand books in that there is no quality difference (degree of damage). Therefore, the main criterion for end users to choose multiple secondhand items with the same content is price. Thus, when prices are the same, there can be a structure on the system side that prioritizes providing the end users with the exhibited items from earlier sales periods or setting them as the settlement objects. This not only saves end users the trouble of choosing but also reduces the system load caused by the accompanying selection.

[0077] The invention described above is based on specific embodiments, but the invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from its spirit. Furthermore, the above embodiments are detailed to facilitate understanding of the invention, but are not limited to having all the described components. Additionally, regarding a portion of the above embodiments, other components can be added, deleted, or substituted.

[0078] For example, the above embodiment describes a structure where digital content holders receive points after participating in a sale. However, in addition to this structure, an additional structure could be added where e-bookstores directly repurchase digital content from holders through their e-book sales systems. In this case, even if the repurchase price is set low enough, compared to selling after a sale, there is no step of a typical user purchase during the repurchase process, and therefore no corresponding ordering cycle, which is beneficial for holders who want to sell immediately. For example, if a holder wants to buy an e-book but doesn't have enough points, even though the amount is lower than during a sale, they can immediately obtain the e-book they want by repurchasing it from an e-bookstore and quickly selling it.

[0079] Furthermore, some or all of the aforementioned components, functions, processing units, and processing methods can be implemented in hardware, such as through design in integrated circuits. Alternatively, the aforementioned components and functions can be implemented in software by a processor interpreting and executing programs that perform their respective functions. The programs, tables, files, and other information implementing these functions can be stored in recording devices such as memory, hard disks, SSDs (Solid State Drives), or recording media such as IC cards, SD cards, and DVDs.

[0080] Furthermore, the control lines and information lines shown in the above diagrams are for illustrative purposes only and may not represent all control lines and information lines in the installation. In practice, it can be assumed that almost all components are interconnected.

[0081] practicality

[0082] This invention is a digital content secondary circulation system that supports and manages the secondary circulation of digital content.

[0083] Symbol Explanation

[0084] 1. Digital Content Secondary Circulation System

[0085] 2. Publishing House Management System

[0086] 3. E-book sales system

[0087] 4 user terminals

[0088] 5 Networks

[0089] 11 Bookstore Management Department

[0090] 12 Book Management Department

[0091] 13 Secondary Circulation Permit Processing Department

[0092] 14 Exhibition and Sales Management Department

[0093] 15 Purchasing and Processing Department

[0094] 111 Bookstore DB

[0095] 121 Books DB

[0096] 131 Secondary Circulation Bookstore DB

[0097] 132 Secondary Circulation Books DB

[0098] 141 DB Exhibition

Claims

1. A digital content secondary distribution system, particularly a digital content secondary distribution system that supports secondary distribution of digital content purchased and held by a user, characterized in that: the digital content secondary distribution system is configured as an independent middleware platform that provides functions of a secondary distribution permission processing section, a reselling management section, and a purchase processing section described below through an application programming interface (API), thereby enabling a plurality of issuer systems independent of each other and a plurality of seller systems independent of each other to participate in secondary distribution by calling the API without direct system-to-system integration between each of the issuer systems and each of the seller systems, the secondary distribution permission processing section accepts, through the API, designation of a first digital content that is permitted to be secondarily distributed among digital contents issued by an issuer system and designation of a secondary distribution rule associated with the first digital content, and records them in a secondary distribution book recording section, wherein the secondary distribution rule includes at least a minimum reselling price set by the issuer system, the reselling management section accepts, through the API, a reselling instruction from a first user who purchased and holds the first digital content to the seller system via which the first digital content was initially purchased, to resell the first digital content held by the first user as a second digital content for reselling, and records it in a reselling recording section, the purchase processing section accepts, through the API, an instruction from a second user to purchase the second digital content resold by the first user, and updates information of the reselling recording section, wherein the reselling management section limits the number of times the same second digital content can be resold to a predetermined number of times or less, and limits a reselling price that can be set by the first user when reselling the second digital content so as not to be lower than the minimum reselling price set by the issuer system that issued the first digital content, after the second digital content is successfully sold, the digital content secondary distribution system is configured to, through the API, give a reward to the first user limited for purchasing a primary distribution digital content at the seller system via which the first user resold, when a plurality of the second digital contents corresponding to the same first digital content and having the same number of times of reselling are resold, the purchase processing section automatically selects the second digital content having the lowest reselling price to perform purchase processing, and when a plurality of the second digital contents having the lowest reselling price exist, the purchase processing section automatically selects the second digital content resold earliest to perform purchase processing.

2. The digital content secondary distribution system according to claim 1, characterized in that: the reselling management section limits a reselling price that can be set by the first user when reselling the second digital content so as not to be an amount less than a discount amount set in accordance with a number of times of reselling of the second digital content with respect to a price at which the first user purchased the second digital content. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 3. The digital content secondary distribution system according to claim 1, wherein at the time when the first user finishes reading the second digital content, an amount obtained by subtracting a predetermined rate from the price at which the first user purchased the second digital content is set as a sales price and is sold through the seller system.

4. The digital content secondary distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the secondary distribution permission processing section initially limits the secondary distribution of the first digital content to a predetermined period after the first digital content is distributed by the distributor system.

5. The digital content secondary distribution system according to claim 1, wherein points usable for a predetermined period when purchasing digital content from the seller system are given to the second user.

6. The digital content secondary distribution system according to claim 1, wherein the secondary distribution permission processing section accepts designation of the seller system that performs the secondary distribution processing of the first digital content issued by the distributor system and records it in a secondary distribution book store recording section.

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