Information processing apparatus, information processing method, information processing program and information processing system

Abstract

[The technical problem to be solved] This invention provides a technology that can further reduce the workload of creating, publishing, and operating websites that use fonts published through contracts with font publishers, when multiple entities are involved in the creation, publication, and operation of a website. Technical means to solve the problem The memory is configured to store: information about the paid fonts for which usage fees are payable, and information about the contractors using the paid fonts. The program instructs one or more computer processors to execute: for contracts that require usage fees for the paid fonts, the steps to generate embedding information to be embedded in the source code of the website in order to display the paid fonts on the website, in a manner unique to each contract; the steps to associate the generated unique embedding information with the contract information and store it in the memory; and the steps to, when a user accesses the website using the paid fonts through a browser, to identify the paid fonts used on that website based on the website's embedding information; and the steps to, by specifying the already identified paid fonts... The system responds to website visitors by allowing them to browse the website while a specific paid font is being used. It then performs the following steps: accepting changes to the information of the contracting parties involved in the contract that uses the paid font on the website, without altering the embedded information generated for the website; and updating and storing the information of the contracting parties using the paid font on the website in response to changes to the contracting party information, without altering the unique embedded information generated before the change.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] This disclosure relates to information processing apparatus, methods, programs and systems. [Previous Technology]

[0002] To enhance the appearance and diversity of designs, various fonts have been developed and provided. Among these fonts, some are provided for a fee. For example, websites may offer web pages that use fonts provided by the font maker.

[0003] There is a technology that allows users to browse content using fonts provided by font creators even if the user's terminal does not have font files. Patent Document 1 mainly describes a font publishing system and method for publishing fonts to a user terminal via a communication line so that the text of a webpage such as an HTML file viewed by a web browser can be viewed using fonts not owned by the user's terminal. [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 6158902 [Summary of the Invention]

[0005] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention] When a website is made public, the website operator may also commission a website production company to produce it. Furthermore, there may be situations where the website operator is simultaneously commissioning part of the website production work. Thus, multiple entities are involved in the production process before the website is made public.

[0006] In such websites, fonts provided by font publishers are used under contractual terms, such as payment of consideration. For example, any one of the multiple entities involved in website creation may sometimes use fonts provided by font publishers to create a website, allowing other entities to recognize the created website and undertake the creation work. Thus, the contracting parties with font publishers may differ between the website creation and operation phases. Therefore, it is necessary to further reduce the workload of website creation, publication, and operation, and to further promote technologies for creating, publishing, and operating websites using fonts published by font publishers, achieving more aesthetically pleasing designs and diverse website creation, publication, and operation.

[0007] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a technology that can further reduce the workload of creating, publishing, and operating websites using fonts published under contracts with font publishers, when multiple entities are involved in the creation, publication, and operation of a website. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] To solve the above-mentioned problems, the program disclosed herein is a program for operating a computer having one or more computer processors. The memory is configured to store: information about the paid fonts for which usage fees are payable, and information about the contractor using the paid fonts. A program causes one or more computer processors to execute: for contracts for which usage fees are payable for the use of paid fonts, generating, in a manner unique to each contract, information for embedding into the source code of a website so that the paid fonts can be displayed on the website; and establishing a association between the generated unique embedding information and the contract information, and storing it in the memory; and, when a user accesses a website using a browser, specifying the paid fonts used on that website based on the website's embedding information; and by specifying the unique embedding information... The system responds to paid fonts and allows website visitors to browse the website while a specific paid font is being used. It performs the following steps: accepting changes to the information of the contracting parties involved in the contract using the paid font on the website without altering the embedded information generated for the website; and updating and storing the information of the contracting parties using the paid font on the website in response to changes to the contracting party information without altering the unique embedded information generated before the change. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] Based on this disclosure, a technology can be provided that, in situations where the creation, publication, and operation of a website involve multiple entities, further reduces the workload of creating, publishing, and operating websites using fonts published through contracts with font publishers. This further promotes the creation, publication, and operation of websites using fonts published by font publishers, achieving more aesthetically pleasing designs and greater diversity.

Implementation Method

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings describing the embodiments, common constituent elements are indicated by the same symbols, and repeated descriptions are omitted. Furthermore, the following embodiments are not intended to unduly limit the content of the present disclosure as described in the patent application. Also, not all of the constituent elements shown in the embodiments are necessarily essential constituent elements of the present disclosure. Furthermore, the drawings are schematic diagrams and are not necessarily strictly illustrated.

[0012] Furthermore, in the following description, "processor" refers to one or more processors. At least one processor is typically a microprocessor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), but may also be other types of processors such as a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). At least one processor may be single-core or multi-core.

[0013] In addition, at least one processor may also be a processor in a broad sense, such as part or all of the hardware circuitry that performs the processing (e.g., FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit)).

[0014] Furthermore, in the following description, the term "xxx table" may sometimes be used to describe information that can be output from input. However, this information can be data of any structure, or a learning model such as a neural network that produces output from input. Therefore, "xxx table" can be referred to as "xxx information".

[0015] Furthermore, in the following description, the structure of each table is an example. A table can be divided into two or more tables, or all or part of two or more tables can be combined into one table.

[0016] Furthermore, in the following description, there will be cases where “program” is used as the subject to describe processing. However, a program is a process that is executed by a processor to perform prescribed processing by appropriately using memory and / or interface, etc. Therefore, the subject of processing can also be regarded as the processor (or a device such as a controller that has the processor).

[0017] The program may also be installed on a device such as a computer, or may exist on a program distribution server or a computer-readable (e.g., non-transitory) recording medium. Furthermore, in the following description, two or more programs may be implemented as one program, or one program may be implemented as two or more programs.

[0018] Furthermore, in the following description, identification numbers are used as identification information for various objects, but other types of identification information (such as identification elements containing English letters or symbols) may also be used.

[0019] In addition, in the following description, sometimes reference symbols (or common symbols among reference symbols) are used when describing elements without distinguishing them from each other, and element identification numbers (or reference symbols) are used when describing elements that are distinguished from each other.

[0020] Furthermore, in the following description, control lines or information lines are considered necessary to illustrate the description, and not all control lines or information lines may necessarily be shown on the product. All components may also be interconnected.

[0021] <Overview of Implementation Forms> <1.1 Overall System Structure Diagram> Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the structure of System 1.

[0022] The system 1 shown in Figure 1 includes: a font publishing system server 20, a terminal 10, a primary server 40, an edge server 30, and a font creation tool 50. Regarding the terminal 10, in the illustrated example, other examples of the terminal 10 include a website visitor's terminal 10A, a font creator's user terminal 10B, a website operator's user terminal 10C, and a website creation manager's user terminal 10D. These devices are connected via a network 80.

[0023] The server 20 of the font publishing system is a device required to manage information about available fonts based on font utilization contracts, and to provide services for publishing font information based on the managed font utilization contracts. The server 20 manages fonts formed using fonts such as Mincho or Gothic, or font programs required to reproduce text using fonts such as Mincho or Gothic. The server 20 at least accepts requests for information linking information representing text on a webpage and information representing the font name of the text, and publishes information such as font files required for font display.

[0024] In this embodiment, server 20 serves as the destination for publishing paid fonts managed on server 20, illustrating an example of using paid fonts on a website's webpages for visitors to browse. In addition, although not generally known, paid fonts managed by server 20 may also be published in files, images, etc., in storage accessible to users with browsing privileges.

[0025] The origin server 40, managed by the website operator, maintains the content such as text, images, and videos required for the website to be displayed by the browser of the user terminal 10. As described above, the origin server 40 maintains the content information of the website's web pages and responds to the edge server 30 with the content requested from the edge server 30.

[0026] The edge server 30 obtains and maintains content information from the original server 40, and responds to access by the user terminal 10A or the like when browsing the website, and provides the maintained content information to the user terminal 10A or the like.

[0027] The font creation tool 50 provides font creators with the tools needed to create fonts. The font creation tool 50 outputs various font files in various formats such as PostScript, TrueType, OpenType, SVG, and bitmap fonts according to the font creation operation performed by the user.

[0028] In this embodiment, each device (terminal device, server, etc.) can also be understood as an information processing device. That is, the collection of devices can be understood as one "information processing device", and the system 1 can be formed as a collection of multiple devices. The allocation method for the multiple functions required to implement the system 1 described in this embodiment on one or more hardware devices can be appropriately determined by taking into account the processing capabilities of each hardware device and / or the specifications required for the system 1.

[0029] The following describes the general hardware configuration of terminal 10 and server 20. Terminals 10A, 10B, 10C, and 10D may also have the same hardware configuration as terminal 10. Edge server 30, primary server 40, and font creation tool 50 may also have the same hardware configuration as server 20.

[0030] Terminal 10 is a device operated by a user. Terminal 10 can be implemented as follows: • Handheld portable terminal such as a smartphone or tablet • Desktop PC (Personal Computer) or laptop PC • Wearable terminal worn by the user (watch type, glasses type, etc.) Terminal 10 includes: Communication IF (Interface) 12, Input device 13, Output device 14, Memory 15, Storage 16, and Processor 19.

[0031] The communication IF12 is an interface used to input and output signals so that the terminal 10 can communicate with external devices.

[0032] The input device 13 is a device used to receive input operations from the user (such as a touch panel, touchpad, pointing device of mouse, keyboard, etc.).

[0033] The output device 14 is a device (such as a display or speaker) used to provide information to the user.

[0034] Memory 15 is used to temporarily store programs and data processed by programs, and is a volatile memory such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

[0035] Storage 16 is used to store data, such as flash memory or HDD (Hard Disc Drive).

[0036] The processor 19 is the hardware required to execute the instruction set written in the program, and is composed of a computing device, temporary storage, peripheral circuits, etc.

[0037] The server 20 is equipped with: communication IF22, input / output IF23, memory 25, storage 26, and processor 29.

[0038] The communication IF22 is an interface used to input and output signals so that the server 20 can communicate with external devices.

[0039] Input / output IF23 functions as an input device for receiving input operations from the user and as an interface with an output device for providing information to the user.

[0040] Memory 25 is used to temporarily store programs and data processed by programs, and is a volatile memory such as DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory).

[0041] Storage 26 is used to store data, such as flash memory or HDD (Hard Disc Drive).

[0042] The processor 29 is the hardware required to execute the instruction set written in the program, and is composed of a computing device, temporary storage, peripheral circuits, etc.

[0043] <1.2 Functional Configuration of Server 20 for Font Publishing System> Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of server 20 for font publishing system. As shown in Figure 2, server 20 functions as communication unit 201, memory unit 202, and control unit 203.

[0044] The communication unit 201 performs the processing required to enable the server 20 to communicate with external devices.

[0045] The memory unit 202 stores various databases such as the user database 211, contract database 212, tariff plan database 213, usage management database 214, and paid font data files 215.

[0046] User database 211 is a database for managing information of each user who uses the font publishing system service. Details will be described later.

[0047] Contract Database 212 is a database for managing the contract status of various contracts required for the services of the font publishing system. Details will be described later.

[0048] The tariff plan database 213 is a database for managing information on tariff plans required for using the font publishing system. Details will be described later.

[0049] The usage management database 214 is a database for managing the statistical results of the usage of fonts published by the font publishing system. Details will be described later.

[0050] Paid font data file 215 is information about the data files of paid fonts managed by the font publishing system.

[0051] The control unit 203 is implemented by the processor 29 reading the program stored in the memory unit 202 and executing the commands contained in the program. The control unit 203 operates according to the program to perform the functions shown in the signal receiving control module 2041, signal sending control module 2042, user management module 2043, contract registration module 2044, improper use judgment module 2045, usage management module 2046, font usage charging module 2047, and reward assignment module 2048.

[0052] The receiving control module 2041 is responsible for controlling the server 20 to receive signals from external devices in accordance with the communication protocol.

[0053] The signal transmission control module 2042 is responsible for controlling the server 20 to process signals sent by external devices in accordance with the communication protocol.

[0054] User Management Module 2043 is a program module for managing information of each user using the font publishing system.

[0055] More specifically, the user management module 2043, as a user of the font publishing system, manages the information of each user by accepting the registration of information of font creators, website operators, website creators, etc.

[0056] The Contract Registration Module 2044 is a program module that accepts the registration of contracts required for the use of fonts managed by the font publishing system on websites and other platforms.

[0057] More specifically, the contract registration module 2044, as a font managed by the font publishing system, accepts and manages the specification of the font name of the paid font, the domain name of the font, the contract start date, etc., as a contract. Once the contract registration module 2044 accepts the user's specification of the font and domain name, it generates the CSS file (containing the information of the paid font) required for using the font on the website. The server 20 manages the generated CSS file in the contract database 212, and generates and manages the link information as the access target in the contract database 212 in a way that ensures the link pointing to the generated CSS file is unique. Therefore, when displaying the font on the website, the server 20 can determine which contract to publish the font under based on the access based on the unique link pointing to the CSS file.

[0058] Contract registration module 2044, within the scope of the user's tariff plan contract (for example, the number of available fonts and the number of available domains may vary depending on the tariff plan), accepts the specification of the fonts to be used and the domains, etc. Contract registration module 2044, in accordance with the user's tariff plan contract, can also display a prompt to change the tariff plan if the fonts cannot be used (for example, if an operation is in progress and an attempt is made to use fonts that exceed the limits of the number of available fonts or the number of available domains specified in the tariff plan).

[0059] The improper use determination module 2045 is a program module that determines whether the font requirements published by the font publishing system are legitimate requirements made by the contractor or improper requirements made by someone other than the contractor.

[0060] More specifically, the misuse determination module 2045 can determine which contract caused the access to the CSS file based on the unique link to the CSS file managed in the contract database 212. The misuse determination module 2045 determines whether the domain using the font in that contract is managed in the contract database 212. If the request for the CSS file comes from a domain that is not a domain specified in the contract database 212, the misuse determination module 2045 will consider the link tag pointing to the CSS file as an improperly obtained entity and will not publish the managed font. In this way, even if the access comes from a website that improperly obtains the link (link tag) to the CSS file recorded on the webpage of a legitimate contract, the improper display of paid fonts can still be prevented.

[0061] The usage management module 2046 is a program module that counts the usage of fonts when they are being used on web pages by fonts managed by the font publishing system.

[0062] More specifically, the quantity management module 2046 is used to count the number of times the paid fonts are published to the user terminal (the number of views of the web pages where the paid fonts are used) in accordance with the link tags pointing to the CSS files.

[0063] The font usage fee module 2047 is a program module that charges contractors of contracts managed in the contract database 212 based on the amount of fonts used in the font publishing system.

[0064] The Reward Assignment Module 2048 is a program module that determines the reward to be assigned to the font creator based on the amount of fonts used by the font publishing system (the result of statistics from the Utilization Management Module 2046).

[0065] <1.3 Functional Configuration of Edge Server 30> Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the edge server 30. As shown in Figure 3, the edge server 30 functions as a communication unit 301, a memory unit 302, and a control unit 303.

[0066] The communication unit 301 performs the processing required for the edge server 30 to communicate with external devices.

[0067] Memory unit 302 is used to store various information such as contract information 312, usage information 314, and block-based paid font data files 315.

[0068] Contract information 312 refers to the contract information (contract subject, tariff plan involved in the contract) managed in the contract database 212 in the font publishing system server 20 for the domain of content maintained by the edge server 30. The edge server 30 obtains the information in the contract database 212 maintained by the server 20 by communicating with the server 20 and manages it as contract information 312.

[0069] The edge server 30 uses the same processing as the utilization management module 2046 of the server 20 to count the utilization of the font (the number of times the font is published to the user terminal 10, the number of times the web page where the font is used is viewed), and manages it as the utilization information 314 described later, and determines whether it is suitable for the upper limit of utilization specified in the tariff plan of the contract information 312.

[0070] The edge server 30, referring to the contract information 312, uses the same processing as the improper use determination module 2045 of the server 20 to determine whether the font requirements involved in browsing the webpage are legitimate requirements caused by the contractor or improper requirements caused by someone other than the contractor.

[0071] Information 314 is a statistical result information that calculates the number of times the fonts published by the font publishing system are displayed on the user's terminal as the web pages containing the fonts are viewed. Information 314 is linked to the information of the domain to maintain the statistical result information of font usage and send it to the server 20.

[0072] The pre-blocked paid font data file 315 is formed by pre-dividing the data of the paid font data file 215 on server 20 into multiple blocks. For the fonts managed by server 20 of the font publishing system, the frequently used font types are extracted as blocks first, and the blocks containing the text requested by terminal A of the website visitor are published from edge server 30 to terminal 10A. This shortens the font download time on terminal 10A and improves webpage display speed compared to publishing the entire font data file.

[0073] The control unit 303 reads the program stored in the memory unit 202 by the processor of the edge server 30 and executes the commands contained in the program to perform the functions shown in the receiving control module 3041, sending control module 3042, content acquisition module 3043, contract information acquisition module 3044, improper use judgment module 3045, usage management module 3046, and content provision module 3047.

[0074] The receiving control module 3041 is responsible for processing the signal received by the control edge server 30 from the external device in accordance with the communication protocol.

[0075] The signal transmission control module 3042 controls the edge server 30 to process signals sent by external devices in accordance with the communication protocol.

[0076] The content acquisition module 3043 is a program module that acquires and maintains the content that constitutes the website from the original server 40.

[0077] More specifically, the content retrieval module 3043, in response to a website visitor's access to the website, requests website content from the origin server 40 via the edge server 30 and retains the content received from the origin server 40. If the content is already retained on the edge server 30 when a website visitor accesses the website, the content retrieval module 3043 does not query the origin server 40 but instead responds to the website visitor's browser with the retained content. Thus, the edge server 30 functions as a Content Delivery Network (CDN).

[0078] Contract information acquisition module 3044 is a program module that, when a font managed by the font publishing system is used on a website, retrieves contract information related to the domain of the website from the server 20.

[0079] More specifically, the contract information acquisition module 3044 acquires contract information (information managed in the contract database 212 for the domain) from the server 20 and stores it in the memory unit 302 as contract information 312.

[0080] The improper use determination module 3045 is a program module that, with the same function as the improper use determination module 2045, determines, by referring to the contract information 312, whether the font requirements published by the font publishing system are legitimate requirements made by the contractor or improper requirements made by someone other than the contractor.

[0081] The utilization management module 3046 is a program module that, with the same function as the utilization management module 2046, counts the utilization of a font when the font managed by the font publishing system is being used on a webpage.

[0082] The content providing module 3047 is a program module that accepts website access requests from website visitors and, instead of the original server 40, sends the website content to the website visitor's terminal 10A.

[0083] <1.4 Structure of Terminal 10> Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the structure of Terminal 10.

[0084] As shown in FIG4, the terminal 10 includes: a plurality of antennas (antenna 111, antenna 112), communication units corresponding to each antenna (first communication unit 120, second communication unit 121), input device 130 (including touch sensing device 131), display 132, sound processing unit 140, microphone 141, speaker 142, position information sensor 150, camera 160, motion sensor 170, memory unit 180, and control unit 190. The terminal 10 also has functions and configurations not specifically shown in FIG3 (e.g., a battery for maintaining power, a power supply circuit for controlling the power supply from the battery to each circuit, etc.). As shown in FIG3, the various blocks included in the terminal 10 are electrically connected by buses, etc.

[0085] Antenna 111 radiates the signal emitted by terminal 10 as radio waves. Antenna 111 also receives radio waves from space and transmits the received signal to the first communication unit 120.

[0086] Antenna 112 radiates the signal emitted by terminal 10 as radio waves. Furthermore, antenna 112 receives radio waves from space and transmits the received signal to the second communication unit 121.

[0087] The first communication unit 120 performs modulation and demodulation processing, etc., required for transmitting and receiving signals via antenna 111, so that the terminal 10 can communicate with other wireless devices. The second communication unit 121 performs modulation and demodulation processing, etc., required for transmitting and receiving signals via antenna 112, so that the terminal 10 can communicate with other wireless devices. The first communication unit 120 and the second communication unit 121 are communication modules containing a tuner, an RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) calculation circuit, a CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) calculation circuit, a high-frequency circuit, etc. The first communication unit 120 and the second communication unit 121 perform modulation and demodulation, frequency conversion, etc., of the wireless signals received and transmitted by the terminal 10, and transmit the received signals to the control unit 190.

[0088] The input device 130 has a mechanism for accepting user input operations. Specifically, the input device 130 is configured as a touch screen and includes a touch sensor 131. The touch sensor 131 accepts the user's input operations from the terminal 10. The touch sensor 131 detects the user's contact position on the touch panel, for example, using a capacitive touch panel. The touch sensor 131 outputs a signal indicating the user's contact position detected by the touch panel as an input operation to the control unit 190.

[0089] The display 132 displays images, videos, text, and other data in response to the control of the control unit 190. The display 132 is implemented using, for example, an LCD or an organic EL display.

[0090] The sound processing unit 140 performs modulation and demodulation of the sound signal. The sound processing unit 140 modulates the signal received from the microphone 141 and provides the modulated signal to the control unit 190. Furthermore, the sound processing unit 140 provides the sound signal to the speaker 142. The sound processing unit 140 is implemented using, for example, a sound processing processor. The microphone 141 receives sound input and provides the corresponding sound signal to the sound processing unit 140. The speaker 142 converts the sound signal received from the sound processing unit 140 into sound and outputs the sound to the outside of the terminal 10.

[0091] The location information sensor 150 is a sensor for detecting the location of the terminal 10, and is, for example, a GPS (Global Positioning System) module. A GPS module is a receiving device used in a satellite positioning system. In a satellite positioning system, signals from at least three or four satellites are received, and the current location of the terminal 10 equipped with the GPS module is detected based on the received signals.

[0092] The camera 160 is a device that receives light through a light-receiving element and outputs it as a photographic image. The camera 160 is, for example, a depth camera that can detect the distance from the camera 160 to the photographic object.

[0093] The motion sensor 170 includes an accelerometer, an angular velocity sensor, etc., and detects the motion of the terminal 10.

[0094] The memory unit 180 is composed of, for example, flash memory, and stores the data and programs used by the terminal 10. The various information stored in the memory unit 180 will be described later.

[0095] The control unit 190 reads the program stored in the memory unit 180 and controls the operation of the terminal 10 by executing the commands contained in the program. The control unit 190 is, for example, an application processor. The control unit 190 operates according to the program to perform the functions of the operation receiving unit 191, the receiving and transmitting unit 192, the data processing unit 193, the notification control unit 194, and the memory control unit 195.

[0096] The operation receiving unit 191 processes and accepts the user's input operations on the input device such as the touch sensing device 131. The operation receiving unit 191 determines the type of operation, such as a swipe operation, a tap operation, or a drag (swipe) operation, based on the coordinate information of the user's finger or other contact with the touch sensing device 131.

[0097] The receiving and transmitting unit 192 performs the necessary processing for the terminal 10 and external devices such as the server 20 to receive and transmit data in accordance with the communication protocol.

[0098] The data processing unit 193 performs calculations on the data input received by the terminal 10 according to the program, and outputs the calculation results to memory and other processing.

[0099] The notification control unit 194 performs the following processes: displaying the image on the monitor 132, outputting sound from the speaker 142, and generating vibration.

[0100] Memory control unit 195 controls the data stored in memory unit 180.

[0101] The various information stored in the memory unit 180 will be explained. In a certain situation, the memory unit 180 stores various information such as user information 181.

[0102] User information 181 is information such as the login ID of the user in the service provided by, for example, the server 20 of the font publishing system.

[0103] <2 Data Structure> Figure 5 is a diagram of the data structure of the user database 211. The user database 211 contains: "User ID", "User Attributes", "Contact Information", "Affiliation", "Name", "Font Creation Achievements", and "Font Usage Achievements".

[0104] Item "User ID" is information used to identify each user.

[0105] Item "User Attributes" contains information about the type of each user.

[0106] Item "User Attributes" refers to the type of user using the font publishing system, and may include the following: • Font creator who created the font • Website creator who created the website • Website operator who operates the website Item "Contact Information" is the contact information for each user.

[0107] More specifically, the item "Contact Information" contains contact information used to identify users who log in to the font publishing system.

[0108] Item "Belongs to" refers to the information of the unit to which each user belongs.

[0109] More specifically, the item “belonging” is information used to identify the unit to which each user belongs.

[0110] Item "Name" contains information about each user's name.

[0111] Item "Font Creation Achievements" refers to information about the fonts created by the user.

[0112] The item "Font Production Performance" can also be linked to the item "Paid Fonts Used" in Contract Database 212 described later.

[0113] Item "Font Usage Performance" is information on the performance of fonts used by the user.

[0114] The item "Font Usage Performance" can also be linked to the item "Paid Fonts Used" in the contract database 212 described later. Information used to identify the fonts used by the user to date can be included as information on the user's font usage performance.

[0115] Figure 6 is a diagram of the data structure of the contract database 212. The contract database 212 contains: "Contract ID", "Contract Subject User ID", "Paid Fonts Used", "Paid Font Defined CSS Files", "Domains Using Paid Fonts", "Links to CSS Files", "Contract Start Date", "Contract End Date", "Status", and "Pricing Plan".

[0116] Item "Contract ID" is information used to identify each contract of the user in the service provided by the server 20 of the font publishing system.

[0117] Item "Contract Subject User ID" is information used to identify the contract subject of the contract using the font.

[0118] The item "Contract Subject User ID" can also be linked to the item "User ID" in the user database 211.

[0119] Item "Paid fonts used" is information used to identify the fonts that should be used by the contracting parties as specified in the contract.

[0120] More specifically, the "paid fonts used" in the project refers to the font identification information issued for each of the fonts managed by the server 20 of the font publishing system.

[0121] Item "Paid Font Defined CSS File" is information about a CSS file that specifies the use of the fonts designated in the contract.

[0122] More specifically, the item "Paid Font Defined CSS File" is information about the CSS file (defined to use the specified font) generated by the server 20 along with the contract.

[0123] Item "Domain using paid fonts" refers to information about a domain that is the object of font usage in the contract.

[0124] More specifically, the item "domains using paid fonts" includes: information about domains designated in accordance with the conditions specified in the tariff plan in the contract (such as the upper limit on the number of domains that can use paid fonts).

[0125] Item "Link to CSS file" is information about a uniquely generated link in the contract for accessing the generated CSS file.

[0126] Item "Contract Start Date" is information about the time when the font uses the contract to start.

[0127] Item "Contract End Date" is information about the time when the font usage contract ends.

[0128] Item "Status" refers to information about the status of each contract.

[0129] The item "Status" refers to the status of the contract and may include the following: • In use (the website can be browsed using the font specified by the contract) • Use ended (the font was previously used under the contract, but due to the termination of the contract, the font will no longer be published for browsing the website) • Contract processing (the contract conditions such as the font and domain required for the use of the font are being set, but the contract has not yet been initiated) The item "Pricing Plan" is information that identifies the pricing plan in each contract.

[0130] The item "Tariff Plan" can also be associated with the item "Tariff Plan ID" in the tariff plan database 213 shown in Figure 7.

[0131] Figure 7 is a diagram of the data structure of the tariff plan database 213. The tariff plan database 213 contains: "Tariff Plan ID", "Plan Name", "Monthly Fee", "Usage Limit", "Number of Available Fonts", and "Number of Available Domains".

[0132] Item "Tariff Plan ID" is information used to identify each tariff plan.

[0133] Item "Plan Name" is information about the name of the tariff plan.

[0134] Item "Plan Name", as the name of the tariff plan, may include the following: • Free plan (in the example shown, it is "Free Plan") • Paid plan that is set with multiple stages corresponding to the usage (in the example shown, it is "Plan 1" and "Plan 2") Item "Monthly Fee" is information about the charge amount corresponding to the tariff plan.

[0135] More specifically, the item "Monthly Fee" is as shown in the figure, which is information indicating the cost of the monthly fee.

[0136] Item "Usage Limitation" refers to information regarding the usage limitations of the fonts corresponding to the tariff plan.

[0137] The information regarding the limitation of usage may include the following: • Usage as specified under regular payment, as shown in the item "Monthly Fee". • Conditions in case the above-mentioned usage is exceeded. In the illustrated example, the fee corresponding to the excess usage is specified. In the case of exceeding the usage corresponding to the monthly fee, the fee corresponding to the excess usage may be automatically charged without the contractor's operation, or the server 20 may process the contractor's purchase of the excess stored value (in the illustrated example, it means that in "Plan 1", the font can be published up to 300,000 page views, but if it exceeds 300,000 page views, a fee of 600 yen will be charged for every 100,000 page views). Even for the excess page views, the font will still be published according to the fee for the excess portion purchased. Alternatively, once the usage limit is exceeded, fonts will not be released for the remainder of the month (font release will resume after the excess is paid or the tariff plan is updated). Server 20 can also manage the number of times the webpages using the managed fonts are viewed, and the number of times the fonts are displayed on those webpages, in the usage management database 214 described later (because the usage limit stipulated in the tariff plan has been reached, even if the webpage is viewed, the fonts may not be sent to the user terminal 10A). In this way, server 20 can separately display the number of webpage views and the number of times the fonts are displayed for the contractor, as described above, making it easier for the contractor to consider paying the prepaid fees and changing the tariff plan. The item "Number of Available Fonts" indicates the maximum number of fonts that can be used in the tariff plan.

[0138] Item "Number of Available Fonts", which is information regarding the upper limit of the number of available fonts, may include the following: • As shown in the figure, the higher the tariff plan (the larger the payment amount), the more fonts are available. For example, it may also mean that there is no upper limit to the number of available fonts when the tariff plan reaches a certain level. Item "Number of Available Domains", which is information regarding the upper limit of the number of domains available in the tariff plan.

[0139] Item "Number of Available Domains" is information that represents the upper limit of available domains, and may include the following: • As shown in the figure, the higher the tariff plan (the larger the payment amount), the more domains can be used. Alternatively, there may be no upper limit on the number of available domains depending on the tariff plan. Figure 8 is a diagram of the data structure of the usage management database 214. The usage management database 214 contains: Item "Contract ID", Item "Statistical Period", Item "Statistical Target Domains", Item "Usage", Item "Status", and Item "Charging Amount During the Statistical Period".

[0140] Item "Contract ID" is information used to identify each contract of the user in the service provided by the server 20 of the font publishing system.

[0141] The item "Contract ID" can also be linked to the item "Contract ID" in the contract database 212.

[0142] Item "Statistical Period" refers to information about the period during which the usage of the font is statistically analyzed.

[0143] Item "Statistical Period", which is the statistical period for font usage, may include the following: • Usage is statistically analyzed at any time after the start of the statistical period (e.g., cumulative statistical results on a daily basis). • The statistical period corresponding to the payment cycle of the tariff plan in the tariff plan database 213 (e.g., in the case of monthly payment, the statistical period is divided into monthly units). Item "Statistical Target Domain", which is information about the domains that are the targets of font usage statistics.

[0144] Item "Utilization" refers to the utilization information of fonts that have been statistically analyzed.

[0145] The item "Utilization" is information on the utilization of the fonts that have been statistically analyzed, and may include the following: • The number of times the fonts were published to user terminals 10A that browse the websites where the fonts are used. • The number of times the web pages of the websites where the fonts are used were viewed. • As shown in the figure, it may also include information indicating that the upper limit of the tariff plan stipulated in the tariff plan covered by the contract has been reached, along with the font utilization during the statistical period. The item "Status" is information on the contractual publishing status of the fonts managed by the font publishing system.

[0146] The item "Status", as information on the publication status, may include the following: • The status of fonts being published based on a contract. • In cases where the tariff plan stipulates a usage limit, and the fonts are not displayed on the website (the fonts are not published to the user terminal 10A) once the usage limit is exceeded, the status of font publication is restricted due to exceeding the plan's limit. The item "Charging amount during the statistical period" is information on the charging amount for the contractor based on the font usage during the period shown in the item "Statistical Period" and the tariff plan.

[0147] <3 Action> Figure 9 is a diagram of the process of generating embedded information to be embedded in the source code of a website based on the font utilization contract managed by the server 20 of the font publishing system.

[0148] In step S921, the contract login module 2044 of server 20 outputs the operation screen required to use the paid font to the user terminal 10D of the website production manager.

[0149] In step S911, terminal 10D, as an operation required for concluding a contract, accepts the user's specification of the font to be used, the domain name of the font to be used, and the tariff plan. Terminal 10D sends the information related to the contract for the paid font to server 20.

[0150] In step S923, the contract registration module 2044 of server 20 updates the contract database 212 in response to the contractor's operation by receiving information related to the contract for the paid font from terminal 10D. The contract registration module 2044 generates the CSS file required for using the specified paid font on the website. The CSS file defines the information of the font specified by the contractor.

[0151] In step S925, the contract registration module 2044 of server 20 generates a unique link required to access the generated CSS file. This link is different for each CSS file. Thus, the contract registration module 2044 generates, for contracts that pay usage fees for the use of paid fonts, information to be embedded in the source code of the website in order to display the paid fonts on the website, in a manner that is unique to each contract. The contract registration module 2044 establishes a link between the generated unique embedding information and the information of the contracting parties involved in the contract, and stores it in the contract database 212.

[0152] Specifically, the contract registration module 2044 generates a style sheet from the website involved in the contract with the contractor, which specifies the paid font for displaying the paid font. The contract registration module 2044 generates unique embedding information by generating a unique link pointing to the generated style sheet.

[0153] In step S927, the contract registration module 2044 of server 20 generates the link tags required to be embedded in the website source code based on the unique link pointing to the generated CSS file, and updates the contract database 212. The contract registration module 2044 outputs the generated link tag information to terminal 10D.

[0154] Here, the contract registration module 2044 can accept a temporary paid font usage contract from the contractor, which is based on a change of the contractor, and store the contractor's information and unique embedding information in the memory unit 202 (e.g., in the contract database 212). In this case, the contract registration module 2044 can also provide the paid font to the website's visitors before the contractor changes, under certain restrictions corresponding to the temporary contract, regarding the visitor's browsing of the website using the paid font. Such restrictions may include the following: • In the case of a temporary contract, the subject of the contract may be changed by meeting certain conditions. For example, in the contract with the previous subject, once the upper limit of paid font usage is reached, the subject of the contract may be changed to a pre-specified object. Also, in the contract with the previous subject, once the paid font usage period reaches a certain period, the subject of the contract may be changed to a pre-specified object. In this way, for example, the person in charge of creating a website can enter into a usage contract with the font publishing system managed by the server 20 through their own contract. After the website operator confirms the website, the contract subject can be changed to the pre-specified party (such as the website operator) based on the satisfaction of certain conditions such as the usage volume or usage period of the paid font. This can reduce the trouble of changing the contract subject.

[0155] In step S913, the terminal 10D will display the information, links, etc. related to the use of paid fonts, such as the domain name of the paid font and the font used.

[0156] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating the process of changing the subject of the font utilization contract managed by the font publishing system server 20 without changing the embedded information.

[0157] In step S1021, the contract registration module 2044 of server 20 outputs the operation screen required for changing the contract for the paid font to the user terminal 10D of the website production manager. Thus, in the example of Figure 10, this illustrates how, through the operation of the website production manager, the change operation of the contract subject for the paid font is accepted, the contract subject is changed to the changed subject, and the contract database 212 is updated.

[0158] In addition, the server 20 series can also be used to accept the operation of the contract subject change operation. It can accept the operation of the user before the change (in the example of Figure 10, it is the person in charge of website production). Even if the user after the change (in the example of Figure 10, it is the website operator) does not confirm, the contract subject will still be changed.

[0159] Also, the server 20 can be used to accept the operation of changing the contract subject. It can accept the operation of the user before the change, and after notifying the user after the change (or notifying), the contract subject can be changed by the user after the change approving the operation of changing the contract subject, and the contract database 212 can be updated.

[0160] Furthermore, the server 20 series can also be used to accept the operation of changing the contract subject, starting from the user after the change, accepting the operation of the request to change the contract subject, and after notifying the user before the change (or notifying), by accepting the operation of the change of the contract subject approved by the user before the change, the contract subject is changed and the contract database 212 is updated.

[0161] In step S1011, terminal 10D displays a list of contracts and, without changing the link tags based on the unique link pointing to the CSS file defining the paid font, accepts the operation of specifying the contract subject for changing the contract subject and the operation of specifying the changed contract subject from the user. Terminal 10D sends the information related to the change of the contract subject of the paid font to server 20.

[0162] In step S1023, the contract login module 2044 of the server 20 updates the contract database 212 by changing the contract subject without changing the link tag in response to the operation of changing the contract subject received from the terminal 10D.

[0163] Thus, the contract registration module 2044 can process changes to the information of the contractor using the font for which the payment is made on the website, without requiring changes to the embedded information generated for the website. The contract registration module 2044 updates the information of the contractor using the paid font on the website and stores it in the contract database 212 in response to changes in the contractor's information, without requiring changes to the unique embedded information generated before the change.

[0164] Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating the process in the edge server 30 where, if a domain is not pre-registered, the fonts managed by the font publishing system server 20 are not provided. As described below, the confirmation of whether the fonts managed by the font publishing system server 20 are suitable for the target domain, and whether the font usage has not yet reached the upper limit specified in the tariff plan (if it has, the fonts will not be sent to the user terminal 10A), is implemented not on the font publishing system server 20 but on the edge server 30. This shortens the response time in the user terminal 10A for browsing the webpages where the fonts are used, further improving the browsing experience. Furthermore, it reduces the processing load on the font publishing system server 20, enhances security, and suppresses improper access related to font requests from domains outside the contract.

[0165] In step S1111, the website visitor's terminal 10A performs the operation of accessing the website through a browser, which is accepted by the user.

[0166] In step S1121, the control unit 203 of the edge server 30 responds with the information (HTML, images, videos, etc. that make up the webpage) required to display the website on the user terminal.

[0167] In step S1113, terminal 10A requests the CSS file shown in the link by referring to the information of the link tag embedded in the source code (HTML) of the website.

[0168] In step S1123, the control unit 203 of the edge server 30 specifies the paid font usage contract based on the unique link pointing to the CSS file by referring to contract information 312, the contract database 212 of the server 20, etc. The control unit 203 determines whether the access is from a domain specified in the contract based on the information of the paid font usage contract, such as referring to contract information 312. If the access is from an inappropriate domain not specified in the contract, the control unit 203 does not send the font file of the paid font involved in the contract to the user terminal 10A; if the access is from a domain that has been specified, the control unit 203 sends the font file of the font specified in the contract to the user terminal 10A.

[0169] Thus, the control unit 203, by having a browser access a website that uses paid fonts, identifies the paid fonts used on the website based on the embedded information of that website. The control unit 203 responds with the identified paid fonts, allowing the website visitor to browse the website while the identified paid fonts are in use. More specifically, the control unit 203 provides the browser with the file of the stylesheet referenced by the link based on the information of the unique link embedded in the website's source code, thereby identifying the paid fonts used on the website.

[0170] As described above, the unique embedded information is associated with the domain specified by the contractor and stored in contract information 312 and contract database 212. Control unit 203 acquires information about the domain of the website accessed by the visitor. If the acquired domain is one specified by the contractor in contract information 312, control unit 203 responds by providing paid fonts to the website visitor, allowing them to browse the website where the paid fonts are used. Conversely, if the domain is not specified, control unit 203 prevents the website visitor from browsing the website with the paid fonts in use. For example, if the acquired domain is different from the specified domain, control unit 203 prevents the website visitor from browsing the website with the paid fonts in use by not publishing the paid fonts to the website visitor's terminal.

[0171] The website is accessed by: an edge server that temporarily stores the content of the website's web pages and provides the stored web page content in response to access from the user's terminal; and an original server that stores the information of the website's web page content and provides the content to the edge server in response to requests from the edge server, thereby enabling the user to browse the website. The edge server determines whether the domain information of the website accessed by the user, containing unique embedding information, is a domain designated by the contractor. Server 20 receives the determination result from the edge server. Server 20 determines the feasibility of responding to the paid font based on the received determination result. If the server 20 is required to respond to the paid font, it provides the paid font to the user's terminal through the edge server; otherwise, it does not provide the paid font to the user's terminal.

[0172] Furthermore, the contract database 212 or contract information 312 is configured to store, as information about the paid font, the upper limit of the extent to which the website used by the paid font is viewed, and the usage fee, as information about the pricing plan (pricing plan database 213). In the control unit 203 of the edge server, it is also possible to determine whether the upper limit stipulated in the pricing plan involved in the contract is appropriate based on the amount of website accessed by the browser (usage information 314).

[0173] Control unit 203 may also, when the access volume of a website where a paid font is used exceeds the limit, not provide the paid font to the terminal of the user browsing the website, and, in response to the fact that the user's access volume is close to the limit, notify the contracting party of the tariff plan to urge them to change the tariff plan.

[0174] In step S1115, terminal 10A receives the font file of the paid font in the case of the domain specified by the contract, and displays the webpage containing the paid font through a browser.

[0175] Figure 12 illustrates the process of pre-segmenting and storing font files managed by the font publishing system server 20 into blocks on the edge server 30, and providing the stored font files as blocks to users accessing the website. With the following processing, for example, for fonts with a large number of characters, such as Japanese, publishing from the font publishing system server 20 may take longer. However, by segmenting the font files according to frequently used character types and configuring them on the edge server 30, when a font is requested from the terminal 10A, the block containing the font file containing the used characters is sent to the terminal 10A. This shortens the font download time and improves the display speed of the webpage using the font, thus further enhancing the webpage browsing experience.

[0176] In step S1221, the control unit 203 of the edge server 30 communicates with the server 20 of the font publishing system. For the font files of paid fonts, the font files are received as blocks divided according to the frequency of use of each type of character, and the received block data is stored as a block-based paid font data file 315.

[0177] Thus, in the memory unit 302 of the edge server 30, the font files of the fonts managed by the font publishing server are divided into a plurality of blocks and stored therein. In the memory unit 302 of the edge server 30, the blocks that are formed by the most frequently displayed text types on the website are stored in advance according to each font published by the font publishing server, and the blocks of the divided font files are stored in advance.

[0178] In step S1225, the control unit 203 of the edge server 30 responds to the user terminal 10A with the font specified in the contract and the block of font files that includes the types of characters used in the web page, based on the information of the paid font usage contract.

[0179] Thus, the control unit 203, in order to publish the font specified in the contract to the user terminal involved in the access, does not request the font specified in the contract from the server 20 of the font publishing system, but sends the font file corresponding to the block of the font displayed in the browser of the user terminal 10A by referring to the block-based paid font data file 315 obtained and stored in advance from the server 20.

[0180] In step S1215, terminal 10A receives the block of the font file and displays the webpage containing the paid font specified by the CSS file through the browser.

[0181] Figure 13 is a flowchart illustrating the process in which the edge server 30 counts the usage of fonts, determines their suitability for the pricing scheme involved in the contract, and sends the statistical results of font usage to the font publishing system server 20. In the illustrated example, as in steps S1321 and S1325 described later, the edge server 30 counts the usage of fonts and sends the statistical results to the font publishing system server 20. However, the process of counting the usage of fonts (step S1321) and the process of sending the statistical results to the font publishing system server 20 (step S1325) can be performed as different processes. For example, the frequency of the statistical processing and the frequency of sending the statistical results to the server 20 can also be different. Furthermore, the edge server 30 can receive queries from the font publishing system server 20 and respond to the server 20 with statistical results regarding the font usage of the domains that can be counted by the edge server 30. The font publishing system server 20 can also periodically send the aforementioned queries to the edge server 30.

[0182] In step S1321, the utilization management module 3046 of the edge server 30 calculates the amount of paid fonts used (page views) for each domain based on the access logs of web pages.

[0183] The content acquisition module 3043 of the edge server 30 requests the font file of the font used in the webpage from the server 20 when the user terminal accesses the webpage using the font published by the font publishing system, and the edge server 30 does not retain the font file of the font used in the webpage. The content acquisition module 3043 receives and retains the font file of the font from the server 20. The content provision module 3047 sends the font to the user terminal involved in the access so that the user terminal's browser can view the webpage using the font. The usage management module 3046 counts the number of times the webpage using the font managed by the server 20 has been viewed by the user terminal's browser.

[0184] In step S1323, the usage management module 3046 of the edge server 30 checks the usage of each domain's paid fonts against the pricing plan of the paid font usage contract by referring to the contract information 312, and determines the suitability of the pricing plan (whether it has not exceeded the upper limit of web page views specified in the pricing plan). The usage management module 3046 can also notify the contract holder according to the determination result. (The edge server 30 can also notify the server 20 of the above-mentioned usage and contract suitability determination result, and the server 20 can also notify the contract holder according to the determination result.) The server 20 manages the information on the upper limit of the number of times a specific font can be viewed in the pricing plan involved in the contract (pricing plan database 213).

[0185] The usage management module 3046 of the edge server 30 determines whether the usage statistics of the paid fonts have reached the upper limit of the number of times the fonts can be viewed under the tariff plan involved in the contract information 312. If the usage management module 3046 determines that the upper limit of the number of times the statistics have been reached, it will not provide the user terminal with the fonts managed by the server 20, but will allow the user to browse the webpage.

[0186] The usage management module 3046 notifies the contracting parties of its intention when the statistical result of the usage of the fonts managed by the server 20 indicates that the maximum number of times the fonts can be viewed under the tariff plan is about to be reached. The usage management module 3046 may also determine that the maximum limit is about to be reached based on, for example, the usage fee reaching a predetermined percentage relative to the maximum limit (e.g., 90%).

[0187] In step S1325, the utilization management module 3046 of the edge server 30 sends the statistical results of the utilization of paid fonts in each domain to the server 20 of the font publishing system.

[0188] More specifically, the usage management module 3046 counts the number of times a webpage using the fonts managed by the server 20 has been viewed by the user's browser for each domain of the webpage, and stores this count as usage information 314. The usage management module 3046 sends the statistical results for each domain to the server 20 by referring to the usage information 314.

[0189] In step S1311, the utilization management module 2046 of server 20 receives the statistical results of font utilization for each domain from edge server 30 and updates the utilization management database 214. Thus, the utilization management module 2046 maintains the statistical results for each domain by associating them with the contract. The utilization management module 2046, referring to the statistical results in the utilization management database 214, prompts the user with information about the utilization status of the fonts managed by server 20 in each domain. The utilization management module 2046 can also, for example, display font utilization information for each domain specified by the contractor in the contract.

[0190] Figure 14 is a diagram illustrating the process of processing the fees involved in the contract and the process of assigning remuneration to the font creator in the server 20 of the font publishing system according to the usage of the font.

[0191] In step S1421, the font usage billing module 2047 of server 20 calculates the corresponding billing amount for font usage based on the font usage information of each domain and the tariff plan involved in the contract (tariff plan database 213) with reference to the usage management database 214, and updates the usage management database 214.

[0192] Thus, the font usage fee module 2047, based on the statistical results of the usage of fonts associated with the contract maintained in the usage management database 214 (statistical results of the number of times the font has been viewed), processes a payment request from the contractor in order to collect consideration for the use of the fonts in the contract. The font usage fee module 2047 processes fees for payment methods such as credit cards and account numbers pre-specified by the contractor.

[0193] In step S1423, the reward assignment module 2048 of server 20 determines the reward amount for font creators by referring to the usage management database 214 and according to the font usage in each domain. Furthermore, in the illustrated example, the processing of the reward assignment module 2048 is performed after the processing of the font usage fee module 2047, but each process can also be performed individually.

[0194] In step S1425, the font usage fee module 2047 of server 20 notifies the contractor of the calculated fee amount. The reward assignment module 2048 notifies the font creator of the determined reward amount. Thus, the reward assignment module 2048 assigns rewards to the font creator based on the number of times the font managed in server 20 is viewed.

[0195] In step S1411, the user terminal 10C of the website operator displays the corresponding charge amount for the usage of paid fonts.

[0196] Figure 15 is a flowchart illustrating the process of displaying the usage status of managed fonts in the server 20 of the font publishing system.

[0197] In step S1521, the utilization management module 2046 of server 20 generates information on the utilization status of each domain's characters by referring to the utilization management database 214.

[0198] In step S1523, the utilization management module 2046 of server 20 outputs the utilization information of the fonts (including paid fonts) managed in server 20 to the font creator.

[0199] The utilization management module 2046, as a prompt for the utilization status of fonts in various domains, displays the utilization of fonts in each domain in a way that allows comparison between domains. At this time, the utilization management module 2046 can also display details of the types of fonts used in each domain. This allows font creators to easily identify which domain their fonts are being used in, and serves as a reference for font creation.

[0200] Furthermore, the usage management module 2046 can also display the usage status of fonts created by the font creator's own users, and may also include fonts created by other users (such as all fonts managed by server 20, or a portion of the fonts), thus displaying the font usage status. This makes it easy to identify which domain various fonts are being used in, and can serve as a reference for font creation.

[0201] The utilization management module 2046, as a prompt for the utilization status of the fonts managed by the server 20 in each domain, displays the utilization of the fonts used in each domain in a way that allows comparison between fonts, with each font as the unit. At this time, the utilization management module 2046 can also display details of the domains in which the fonts are used, according to each type of font.

[0202] The utilization management module 2046 outputs information on the utilization status of fonts managed by the server 20. It can also provide information on the utilization status of fonts in various domains by specifying at least one of the font creators of the fonts managed by the server 20 or the contractors who use the fonts managed by the server 20 through contracts. For example, for contractors who use fonts on websites, it is easier to understand the tendency of font usage and this can serve as a reference for font selection, thereby further promoting the public use of fonts on websites, etc.

[0203] In step S1511, the user terminal 10B of the font creator displays the usage status of the fonts managed by the server 20 in each network domain.

[0204] <4 Screen Example> Figure 16 is a screen example of an operation screen that prompts the person in charge of the website production with the service contract content of the font publishing system server 20 and the embedding information to be embedded into the website source code.

[0205] The contract operation screen of the 1600 series is the operation screen for setting up the fonts managed by the server 20 using the contract.

[0206] Contract operation screen 1600 corresponds to step S921 in Figure 9.

[0207] Account display field 1602 is a field that displays information about users who log in to the services provided by server 20.

[0208] More specifically, the account display area 1602, as the information of the logged-in user, displays various information of the users managed in the user database 211.

[0209] Set the display area 1604 as the area where the contract settings are displayed.

[0210] Setting the display area 1604 corresponds to step S911 in Figure 9, etc.

[0211] The tariff plan display area 1606 is an area that displays the tariff plan contracted by the user.

[0212] In the illustrated example, the tariff plan display area 1606 displays the details of each tariff plan as shown in the tariff plan database 213. It can also handle user operations on the tariff plan display area 1606, and in response to the user's operation, display the operation screen required to change the tariff plan by overlaying or moving to another screen. This allows for easy modification of the tariff plan while referring to the contract content in the contract content specification section 1608 described later.

[0213] The contract content specification unit 1608 is an operation component that accepts the specification of the contract content of the font managed by the server 20.

[0214] Contract Content Designation Section 1608, as the acceptance of the designation of contract content, may include the following: • Domains using fonts. Depending on the pricing plan, an upper limit may be set on the number of domains that can be used. In the illustrated example, it is shown that, depending on the pricing plan, fonts can be used in up to 3 domains. • Fonts used. As shown, the font name and the information of the font's creator may also be displayed. • Information on the unique link to the CSS file generated by designating the domains and fonts and concluding the contract required for using the fonts. In the illustrated example, the link tag to be embedded in the HTML file of the webpage is shown. Also, in the illustrated example, the intention to generate the link tag to the CSS file before the start of the usage operation is shown. In this way, when using the font, the contractor will be prompted that the link tag to the CSS file is embedded in the HTML file, making it easier to grasp the content of the operation after the usage begins. • The status of using the font. In the illustrated example, for those already in use, it is displayed as "In Use". After accepting the domain and font designation, before the use start operation proceeds, the use start operation unit 1610 (described later) is displayed to accept the user's use start operation (the operation of confirming the domain and font designation). The use start operation unit 1610 is an operation component that accepts the operation of starting font release use for the domain and font specified in the contract content designation unit 1608.

[0215] In the illustrated example, the Start Operation Unit 1610 is enabled by accepting the specification of the domain and the font to be used, based on the restrictions (number of domains, number of fonts to be used, etc.) specified in the tariff plan.

[0216] The subject change operation unit 1612 is an operation component that accepts the change operation of the contract subject without changing the unique link pointing to the CSS file shown in the link tag.

[0217] In the illustrated example, the subject change operation unit 1612 processes the change of the contract subject for the service provided by the server 20 after specifying the domain of the font to be used as shown in the contract content specification unit 1608. This corresponds to steps S1011, S1023, etc. in Figure 10. As explained above, the server 20 generates a CSS file after specifying the domain of the font to be used and the font, and at the same time, generates a link tag containing a unique link to the CSS file.

[0218] For example, even if another contracting party specifies the same domain and font as above, the link pointing to the CSS file will still be generated differently. Therefore, in cases where the website is created by multiple parties (e.g., the website creation manager creates the website first, and then hands over the work to the website operator and adds content), if the action is confirmed by including the unique link pointing to the CSS file generated by the contract concluded by the first party in the website, and then handed over to the second party, it may be necessary to perform the following operation: delete the link, and then embed the link tag of the unique link pointing to the CSS file generated by the contract concluded by the second party.

[0219] In contrast, by using the preparation subject change operation unit 1612, the contract subject can be changed without changing the link tags, including the unique link pointing to the CSS file. In this way, in cases like the above, the subject that undertakes the website production does not need to embed the link tags separately, making the website production and publication easier.

[0220] The Change Reservation Operation Unit 1614 is an operation component that accepts operations that conclude contracts based on changes in the contracting parties.

[0221] The Change Reservation Operation Department 1614, as a contract based on a change of contracting entity, may include the following: • A pre-defined period for the use of fonts by the previous entity; once the usage period expires, the contract is changed to the pre-defined new entity. • A pre-defined upper limit for the amount of fonts used by the previous entity; once the upper limit is exceeded, the contract is changed to the pre-defined new entity. In this way, the person in charge of website development creates a website using the fonts, and after the website operator confirms the content, the website operation can be easily handed over. In this case, a pricing plan can also be prepared that differs from the one specified in the pricing plan database 213.

[0222] Figure 17 is an example of an operation screen that changes the subject of the contract for the service provided by the font publishing system server 20 without changing the information used for embedding.

[0223] The subject update operation unit 1616 is an operation component that accepts the update operation of the contract subject.

[0224] The subject update operation unit 1616 corresponds to steps S1011, S1023, etc. in Figure 10. In the illustrated example, the contract subject is changed by the subject before the change, and the contract subject is changed and the contract database 212 is updated by accepting the approval operation of the subject after the change.

[0225] Figure 18 is an example of an operation screen that displays the statistical results of the usage of fonts involved in the contract to the service contractor of the font publishing system server 20.

[0226] The contractor's operation screen 1618 is the operation screen used by the contractor, and it is the operation screen that accepts operations based on the statistical results of the usage of fonts.

[0227] Statistical results show that field 1620 is a field that displays the statistical results of the usage of fonts involved in the contracts of contractors.

[0228] The statistical period display field 1622 is a field that displays the statistical period during which the usage of fonts is statistically analyzed.

[0229] In the illustrated example, the statistics display area 1622 shows the period up to the completion of the statistics, based on monthly statistics (e.g., from the beginning to the end of the month) in accordance with the billing time of the tariff plan. This makes it easier to select the tariff plan corresponding to the font usage at any time.

[0230] The usage display area 1624 is an area that displays the statistical results of the usage of fonts in each domain involved in the contract.

[0231] In the illustrated example, the usage display area 1624 is arranged according to each domain, showing the fonts currently in use and the number of times web pages containing those fonts have been viewed (page views). Alternatively, the font usage of each domain can be arranged and displayed in descending order of page views.

[0232] The plan change operation unit 1626 is an operation component that accepts changes to the tariff plan.

[0233] In the illustrated example, the plan change operation unit 1626 displays the statistical results of the font usage of each domain involved in the contract, which is close to the upper limit shown in the tariff plan in the contract, and prompts the user whether to pay the additional fees for the excess or to re-examine the tariff plan.

[0234] The fee display field 1628 is a field that displays fees based on the amount of font used.

[0235] In the illustrated example, the tariff display area 1628 is designed for a basic statistical period (e.g., a monthly period coinciding with the billing time). Based on the rate of increase in font usage up to the middle of the statistical period, the assumed usage up to the end of the statistical period is calculated, and the assumed usage and the assumed monthly fee based on the tariff plan are displayed. Furthermore, if the tariff plan includes a charge for exceeding the usage limit, the assumed charge for that exceeding portion is also displayed in the tariff display area 1628. In addition, for the basic statistical period, the monthly fee based on the font usage up to the end of the statistical period can also be displayed. This makes it easier for contractors to review whether the tariff plan is appropriate, and changes to the tariff plan that are suitable for font usage become easier.

[0236] The overall statistical results show that the domain 1630 is not limited to the usage of fonts currently being used by contractors, but also includes the statistical results of the usage of fonts used by each user in the services provided by server 20.

[0237] The font-based ranking operation unit 1632 is an operation component that processes the confirmation operation of the statistical results of each user's usage in the domain according to each font.

[0238] More specifically, the font ranking operation unit 1632 handles operations that confirm the usage of fonts in a ranking format. It can also arrange fonts in descending order of usage according to user operations and display details of the domains used by each font.

[0239] The domain ranking operation unit 1634 is an operation component that accepts the confirmation operation of the statistical results of the usage of each user's fonts for each domain.

[0240] More specifically, the domain ranking operation unit 1634 handles the operation by ranking each domain to confirm the usage of fonts. It can also arrange domains in descending order of font usage according to the user's operation, and display the details of the fonts used in each domain.

[0241] Figure 19 is an example of an operation screen that displays the usage status of the fonts managed by the server 20 of the font publishing system.

[0242] The operation screen 1636 for font creators is an operation screen for font creators, and it is an operation screen for accepting operations based on the statistical results of font usage.

[0243] The receiver operation unit 1638 is an operation component that processes and accepts the statistical results of the usage of the fonts created by the font creator.

[0244] The usage display area 1640 is an area that displays the statistical results of the usage of the fonts in each domain regarding the fonts that have been created.

[0245] More specifically, the 1640 series is used in the field of quantity display.

[0246] The reward display area 1642 is an area that displays the amount of the reward for the fact that the created font has been used.

[0247] More specifically, the reward display area 1642 displays the amount of reward that varies with the usage of the font. Alternatively, the reward can be set such that the greater the usage of the font, the greater the contribution of the font creator, and the greater the proportion of the fee paid to the font creator in the contractor's fee for the use of the font.

[0248] The tool startup operation unit 1644 is an operation component that accepts the operation of the startup font creation tool 50.

[0249] In the illustrated example, the font creation tool startup unit 1644 is embedded with a link to a service providing the font creation tool 50. The service website or an application installed on the terminal is launched via this link. This allows font creators to easily create new fonts while referring to the usage of existing fonts.

[0250] <Modified Example> In addition to the forms described in the above-mentioned embodiments, the following may also be described.

[0251] Furthermore, all or part of the hardware components can be distributed across multiple computers and interconnected via a network to virtually realize the computer. In this way, the computer is not just a computer housed in a single frame or chassis, but also includes the concept of a virtualized computer system.

[0252] A database, specifically a relational database, is used to manage collections of data in a table-like format, structured by rows and columns, and to establish relationships between them. In a database, tables are called tables or master tables, columns are called columns, and rows are called records. In a relational database, the relationships between tables and master tables can be defined and established.

[0253] Typically, each table and each master table is set with a column to uniquely assign a primary key to a record, but the setting of the primary key column is not mandatory. The control unit can, in accordance with various programs, instruct the processor to add, delete, and update records in the specific tables and master tables stored in the memory unit.

[0254] Furthermore, by having the memory unit store data, various programs, and various databases, it can be considered that the information processing device and information processing system described in this disclosure have been manufactured.

[0255] Furthermore, the database and main table in this disclosure may contain any data structure (list, dictionary, associative array, object, etc.) in which information is structurally defined. The data structure also includes data that can be regarded as a data structure by combining data with functions, levels, methods, etc. written using any programming language.

[0256] Furthermore, the aforementioned components, functions, processing units, and processing methods can also be partially or entirely implemented in hardware, for example, by designing integrated circuits. Furthermore, the present invention can also be implemented by software program code that implements the functions of the embodiments. In this case, a memory medium storing the program code is provided to a computer, and the processor of the computer reads the program code stored in the memory medium. In this case, the functions of the aforementioned embodiments are implemented by the program code itself read from the memory medium, and the program code itself and the memory medium storing it constitute the present invention. As the memory medium used to supply such program code, examples include: soft magnetic disks, CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, hard disks, SSDs, optical discs, optical magnetic disks, CD-Rs, magnetic tapes, non-volatile memory cards, ROMs, etc.

[0257] Furthermore, the code that implements the functions described in this embodiment can be implemented using a wide range of programming or scripting languages, such as assembly language, C / C++, perl, Shell, PHP, Java (registered trademark).

[0258] Alternatively, the program code of the software that implements the functions of the embodiment can be distributed through the Internet and stored in a computer's hard drive or memory or a memory medium such as a CD-RW or CD-R. The computer's processor can then read out and execute the program code stored in the memory or memory medium.

[0259] The functions implemented by the constituent elements described in this specification can also be implemented in a circuit or processing circuitry that is programmed to implement the described functions, including: a general-purpose processor, a special-purpose processor, an integrated circuit, ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), a CPU (a Central Processing Unit), prior art circuits, and / or combinations thereof. A processor is considered a circuit or processing circuitry as it contains transistors or other circuitry. A processor can also be a programmed processor that executes a program stored in memory.

[0260] In this specification, circuit, unit, and means refer to hardware that is programmed or executes to implement the described function. The hardware system may also be any hardware disclosed in this specification, or any known hardware that is programmed or executes to implement the described function.

[0261] In the case where the hardware is considered to be a circuit type processor, the circuit, means, or unit is a combination of hardware and software used to constitute the hardware and / or processor.

[0262] Although several embodiments of this disclosure have been described above, these embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments or their variations are included in the scope or spirit of the invention as well as in the invention described in the claims and their equivalents.

[0263] (Note) The contents described in the above embodiments are noted below.

[0264] (Notes on the first implementation)

[0265] (Appendix 1) A program for operating a computer having one or more computer processors, wherein the program is configured in its memory to store: information of a paid font for which a usage fee is payable, and information of the contractor using the paid font; the program instructs one or more computer processors to execute: for contracts for which a usage fee is payable for the use of the paid font, generating, in a manner unique to each contract, information to be embedded in the source code of the website for displaying the paid font on the website; and storing in the memory the generated unique embedded information in relation to the contract information; and, when a user accesses the website using the paid font through a browser, the program will... The steps include: specifying the paid fonts used on the website using embedded information; responding to the specified paid fonts and allowing website visitors to browse the website while the specified paid fonts are in use; and instructing them to: accept changes to the information of the contractors involved in the contract that uses the paid fonts on the website without changing the embedded information generated for the website; and updating and storing the information of the contractors using the paid fonts on the website in response to changes to the information of the contractors involved in the contract without changing the unique embedded information generated before the change.

[0266] (Appendix 2) As described in Appendix 1, in the generation step, the style sheet that specifies the paid font in the website involved in the contract with the contractor for the purpose of displaying the paid font is generated; by generating a unique link pointing to the generated style sheet, unique embedding information is generated; in a specific step, based on the information of the unique link pointing to the style sheet embedded in the source code of the website, the file of the style sheet referenced by the link is provided to the browser, thereby identifying the paid font used in the website.

[0267] (Appendix 3) As described in Appendix 2, in the step of storing the unique embedding information in the memory, the unique embedding information is associated with the domain designated by the contractor and stored in the memory; the program further instructs one or more computer processors to execute the step of obtaining the domain information of the website involved in the visitor's access; if the obtained domain is a designated domain, the paid font is responded to allow the website visitor to browse the website where the paid font is used; on the other hand, if it is not a designated domain, the website visitor is not allowed to browse the website in the state where the paid font is used.

[0268] (Note 4) As described in Note 3, if the domain obtained in the acquisition step is different from the domain that has been designated, then by not publishing paid fonts to the terminal of the website visitor, the website visitor will be unable to browse the website while the paid fonts are in use.

[0269] (Appendix 5) As described in Appendix 3, the website enables the user to browse the website by: temporarily storing the content of the website's web pages and providing the stored web page content to an edge server in response to access from the user's terminal; and storing the information of the website's web page content and providing the content to the original server of the edge server in response to requests from the edge server; the edge server determines the domain information of the website involved in the user's access and contains unique embedded information. The program further instructs one or more computer processors to perform the following steps: receiving the determination result from the edge server; and determining the feasibility of a paid font response based on the received determination result. As a result of the determination step, if a paid font response is required, the paid font is provided to the browser's terminal through the edge server; otherwise, the paid font is not provided to the browser's terminal.

[0270] (Note 6) As described in Note 2, the program is configured such that, in the memory unit, information on the paid font is associated with information on the pricing plan for the use of the paid font and information on the contractor, depending on the extent to which the website where the paid font is used is visited.

[0271] (Appendix 7) As described in Appendix 5, the program is configured in the memory section to store the upper limit of the extent to which the paid font is used on the website and the usage fee as information of the pricing plan; the website is accessed by: temporarily storing the content of the website's web pages and providing the stored web page content to the edge server in response to access from the user's terminal; and storing the information of the website's web page content and providing the content to the edge server in response to requests from the edge server, so that the user can access the website; in the edge server, the upper limit specified in the pricing plan is determined based on the amount of website access by the user.

[0272] (Appendix 8) As described in Appendix 6, the program is configured in the memory section to store the upper limit of the number of times the paid font is viewed on the website where the paid font is used, and the usage fee, as information of the tariff plan. When the number of times a visitor accesses the website where the paid font is used exceeds the upper limit, the paid font is not provided to the visitor's terminal. In response to the fact that the visitor's access is close to the upper limit, the tariff plan contractor is notified to urge the tariff plan to change.

[0273] (Appendix 9) As described in Appendix 1, the program further instructs one or more computer processors to accept the temporary paid font usage contract based on the change of the contractor from the contractor, and to store the contractor's information and unique embedding information in the memory; before the change of the contractor, regarding the browsing of the website using the paid font, the paid font can be provided to the website's browsing users under certain restrictions corresponding to the temporary contract.

[0274] (Appendix 10) A method for causing a computer having one or more computer processors to operate, wherein a memory is configured to store: information of a payable font for which a usage fee is payable, and information of the contractor using the payable font; a program executed by one or more computer processors: for contracts for which a usage fee is payable for the use of the payable font, generating embedding information to be embedded in the source code of the website in order to display the payable font on the website, in a manner unique to each contract; and storing in the memory a link between the generated unique embedding information and the contract information; and, by means of a browser accessing the website using the payable font, the program will... The steps include: specifying the paid fonts used on the website based on the embedded information of the website; responding to the specified paid fonts and allowing website visitors to browse the website while the specified paid fonts are in use; and performing the following steps: accepting changes to the information of the contractors involved in the contract that uses the paid fonts on the website without changing the embedded information generated for the website; and updating and storing the information of the contractors using the paid fonts on the website in the memory unit in response to changes to the information of the contractors involved in the contract without changing the unique embedded information generated before the change.

[0275] (Appendix 11) An information processing apparatus, configured in a memory unit to store: information of a paid font for which a usage fee is payable, and information of a contractor using the paid font; the control unit of the information processing apparatus executes: for contracts for which a usage fee is payable for the use of the paid font, generating embedding information to be embedded in the source code of the website in order to display the paid font on the website, in a manner unique to each contract; and establishing a association between the generated unique embedding information and the contract information, and storing it in the memory unit; and, when a user accesses the website using the paid font through a browser, the embedding information of the website will be used... The steps include: identifying the paid fonts used on the website; responding to the identified paid fonts and allowing website visitors to browse the website while the identified paid fonts are in use; and performing the following steps: accepting changes to the information of the contractors involved in the contract that uses the paid fonts on the website without changing the embedded information generated for the website; and updating and storing the information of the contractors using the paid fonts on the website in the memory unit in response to changes to the information of the contractors involved in the contract without changing the unique embedded information generated before the change.

[0276] (Note 12) A system comprising a font publishing server, user terminals, edge servers, and origin servers, wherein the font publishing server manages information on available fonts based on font usage contracts and publishes font information based on the managed font usage contracts; the origin server maintains information on the content of web pages of a website and responds to requests from the edge server by sending content to the edge server; the edge server retrieves and maintains content information from the origin server and responds to access by user terminals browsing the website by providing the maintained content information to the user terminals; the font publishing server is configured in its memory unit to store: information on paid fonts for which usage fees are payable, and information on the contract holders using the paid fonts; the control unit of the font publishing server executes: for contracts for which usage fees are payable with the use of paid fonts, information for embedding the paid fonts into the source code of the website in order to display the paid fonts on the website. The system includes the following steps: generating information unique to each contract; associating the generated unique embedded information with the contract information and storing it in the memory; specifying the paid fonts used on a website based on the website's embedded information when a user accesses the website using a browser; responding with the specified paid fonts to allow the website user to browse the website while the specified paid fonts are in use; and performing the following steps: accepting changes to the information of the contracting parties involved in the contract that uses the paid fonts on the website without changing the embedded information generated for the website; and updating and storing the information of the contracting parties using the paid fonts on the website in response to changes to the information of the contracting parties involved in the contract without changing the unique embedded information generated before the change.

[0277] (Notes on the second implementation)

[0278] (Appendix 1) A system comprising a font publishing server, a user terminal, an edge server, and an origin server, wherein the font publishing server manages information on usable fonts based on font utilization contracts and publishes font information based on the managed font utilization contracts; the origin server maintains information on the content of web pages of a website and responds to requests from the edge server by sending the content to the edge server; the edge server obtains and maintains content information from the origin server and responds to access requests from user terminals browsing the website by providing the maintained content information to the user terminals; the processor of the edge server executes: responding to requests from the edge server by sending the content to the user terminal. The steps for a user terminal accessing a webpage using a specific font managed by a font publishing server, where the edge server does not maintain the specific font used in the webpage, are as follows: The steps for requesting the specific font from the font publishing server; receiving and maintaining the specific font from the font publishing server; and, in the case of a user terminal accessing a webpage using a specific font managed by a font publishing server, where the edge server already maintains the information of the specific font, the steps for not requesting the specific font from the font publishing server, but instead sending the specific font to the user terminal involved in the access, so that the webpage using the specific font can be viewed by the user terminal's browser.

[0279] (Note 2) As described in Note 1, the processor of the edge server further executes the step of counting the number of times a webpage using a specific font is viewed by the browser of the user terminal.

[0280] (Note 3) As described in Note 2, the processor of the edge server further executes the step of sending the statistical results obtained in the statistical step to the font publishing server; the font publishing server performs the following: establishing a connection with the contract and maintaining the information of the statistical results; and levying consideration for the use of the font in the contract on the contractor based on the statistical results of the number of times a specific font has been viewed.

[0281] (Appendix 4) As described in Appendix 3, the font publishing server manages information on the upper limit of the number of times a specific font can be viewed in the pricing plan covered by the contract; the processor of the edge server further performs the following: determining whether the statistical results obtained in the statistical step have reached the upper limit of the number of times a specific font can be viewed in the pricing plan covered by the contract; and if it is determined that the statistical results have reached the upper limit, then the webpage is not viewed by providing the specific font to the user terminal.

[0282] (Note 5) As described in Note 4, the processor of the edge server further executes the step of notifying the parties to the contract of the intention if the statistical result indicates that the maximum number of views in the tariff plan is about to be reached.

[0283] (Note 6) In any of the systems described in Notes 3 to 5, the font publishing server pays the font creators who created the fonts based on the number of times the managed fonts are viewed.

[0284] (Note 7) In the system described in any of Notes 1 to 6, the font files of the fonts managed by the font publishing server are divided into multiple blocks and stored in advance in the memory of the edge server; in the step of making it browsed, instead of requesting the fonts from the font publishing server, the font files of the blocks corresponding to the fonts displayed in the browser of the user terminal are sent to publish the specific fonts to the user terminal involved in the access.

[0285] (Note 8) As described in Note 7, in the memory of the edge server, the blocks that are composed of the most frequently displayed text types in the website are pre-stored according to each font published by the font publishing server, and the blocks of the already segmented font files are stored in advance.

[0286] (Appendix 9) In the system described in any of Appendices 2 to 8, in the statistical step, the edge server counts the number of times a webpage using a specific font has been viewed by the browser of a user terminal for each domain of the webpage; the processor of the edge server further executes the step of sending the statistical results of each domain counted in the statistical step to the font publishing server; the font publishing server performs the following: establishing a connection with the contract and maintaining the statistical results information for each domain; and referring to the statistical results information, providing a prompt on the usage status of the fonts managed by the font publishing server in each domain.

[0287] (Appendix 10) As described in Appendix 9, the font publishing server performs the following: As a notification of font utilization in each domain, it displays the utilization of fonts in each domain in a way that allows comparison between domains. It also displays a detailed list of the types of fonts utilized in each domain.

[0288] (Appendix 11) As described in any of Appendix 9 to 10, the font publishing server performs the following: as a prompt of the utilization status of fonts in each domain, it displays the utilization of fonts in each domain in a way that allows comparison between fonts; and displays the details of the domains in which the fonts are utilized according to each type of font.

[0289] (Note 12) In any of the following notes 9 to 11, the font publishing server provides information on the usage of fonts in various domains on the condition that either the font maker who creates the fonts managed by the font publishing server or the contractor who uses the fonts managed by the font publishing server by contract.

[0290] (Appendix 13) A method is a method performed by a system comprising a font publishing server, a user terminal, an edge server, and an origin server, wherein the font publishing server manages information on available fonts based on font utilization contracts and publishes font information based on the utilization contracts of the managed fonts; the origin server maintains information on the content of web pages of a website and responds to requests from the edge server by sending the content to the edge server; the edge server obtains and maintains content information from the origin server and responds to access by user terminals browsing the website by providing the maintained content information to the user terminals; the method is executed by the processor of the edge server. The steps are as follows: 1) When a user terminal accesses a webpage using a specific font managed by a font publishing server, and the edge server does not retain the specific font used in the webpage, the user terminal requests the specific font from the font publishing server; 2) The user terminal receives and retains the specific font from the font publishing server; 3) When a user terminal accesses a webpage using a specific font managed by a font publishing server, and the edge server already retains the information of the specific font, the user terminal does not request the specific font from the font publishing server, but instead sends the specific font to the user terminal involved in the access, so that the webpage using the specific font can be viewed by the user terminal's browser.

[0291] (Appendix 14) An edge server is an edge server in a system consisting of a font publishing server, a user terminal, an edge server, and an origin server. The font publishing server manages information about usable fonts based on font utilization contracts and publishes font information based on the utilization contracts of the managed fonts. The origin server maintains information about the content of web pages on a website and responds to requests from the edge server by sending the content back to the edge server. The edge server obtains and maintains content information from the origin server and responds to access requests from user terminals browsing the website by providing the maintained content information to the user terminals. The control unit of the edge server executes: The procedure includes the following steps: when a user terminal accesses a webpage using a specific font managed by a font publishing server, and the edge server does not retain the specific font used in the webpage, the procedure involves requesting the specific font from the font publishing server; receiving and retaining the specific font from the font publishing server; and when, in the case of a user terminal accessing a webpage using a specific font managed by a font publishing server, the edge server already retains the information of the specific font, the procedure involves not requesting the specific font from the font publishing server, but instead sending the specific font to the user terminal involved in the access, so that the webpage using the specific font can be viewed by the user terminal's browser.

[0292] (Appendix 15) A program is a program for instructing the operation of an edge server in a system consisting of a font publishing server, a user terminal, an edge server, and a source server, wherein the font publishing server manages information about available fonts based on font utilization contracts and publishes font information based on the utilization contracts of the managed fonts; the source server maintains information about the content of web pages of a website and responds to requests from the edge server by sending the content back to the edge server; the edge server obtains and maintains content information from the source server and, in response to access by user terminals browsing the website, provides the maintained content information to the user terminals; the program instructs the processor of the edge server to execute... The steps are as follows: When a user terminal accesses a webpage using a specific font managed by a font publishing server, and the edge server does not retain the specific font used in the webpage, the steps are: requesting the specific font from the font publishing server; receiving and retaining the specific font from the font publishing server; and when a user terminal accesses a webpage using a specific font managed by a font publishing server, and the edge server already retains information about the specific font, the steps are: instead of requesting the specific font from the font publishing server, the steps are: sending the specific font to the user terminal involved in the access so that the webpage using the specific font can be viewed by the user terminal's browser. [Simplified Explanation of the Diagram]

[0010] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the structure of System 1. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the structure of the server 20 of the font publishing system. [Figure 3] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the structure of the edge server 30. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the structure of the terminal 10. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a diagram illustrating the data structure of the user database 211. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the data structure of the contract database 212. [Figure 7] Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating the data structure of the tariff plan database 213. [Figure 8] Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the data structure of the usage management database 214. [Figure 9] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating the process of generating embedded information to be embedded in the source code of the website based on the usage contracts of the fonts managed by the server 20 of the font publishing system. [Figure 10] Figure 10 illustrates the process of changing the subject of the font usage contract managed by the font publishing system server 20 without changing the embedded information. [Figure 11] Figure 11 illustrates the process of controlling the edge server 30 to not provide fonts managed by the font publishing system server 20 unless the domain is pre-registered. [Figure 12] Figure 12 illustrates the process of pre-dividing and storing the font files managed by the font publishing system server 20 into blocks in the edge server 30, and providing the stored font files as blocks according to the access of website visitors. [Figure 13] Figure 13 illustrates the process of statistically analyzing font usage in the edge server 30, determining its suitability with the pricing plan involved in the contract, and sending the statistical results of font usage to the font publishing system server 20. [Figure 14] Figure 14 illustrates the process of processing contract-related fees and awarding remuneration to font creators in the font publishing system server 20 based on font usage. [Figure 15] Figure 15 illustrates the process of displaying the usage status of managed fonts in the font publishing system server 20. [Figure 16] Figure 16 is an example of a screen showing the contract content of the font publishing system server 20's service and the embedding information to be embedded in the website source code to the person in charge of website creation. [Figure 17] Figure 17 is an example of a screen showing how to change the subject of the contract for the service provided by the font publishing system server 20 without changing the embedding information. [Figure 18] Figure 18 is an example of a screen showing the statistical results of font usage involved in the contract to the contractors of the font publishing system server 20's service.[Figure 19] Figure 19 is an example of an operation screen that displays the usage status of the fonts managed by the server 20 of the font publishing system.

Claims

1. An information processing program, which is an information processing program for causing a computer having one or more computer processors to operate, wherein, The memory is configured to store: information about the paid fonts that require payment for use, and information about the contractors who use the pre-paid fonts; the pre-program instructs one or more computer processors to execute: For contracts that involve paying usage fees for the use of pre-existing paid fonts, the following steps are performed: First, generating embedding information to be embedded in the source code of the website in order to display the pre-existing paid fonts on the website, making this information unique to each contract. Second, establishing a link between the generated unique pre-existing embedding information and the information of the pre-existing contract, and storing it in memory. Third, when a visitor accesses the pre-existing website using the pre-existing paid fonts through a browser, the pre-existing paid fonts used on that website are identified based on the pre-existing embedding information. Fourth, responding with the identified pre-existing paid fonts, allowing the website's visitors to browse the website while the identified pre-existing paid fonts are in use. And the following steps are executed: Without changing the information generated for embedding the font in the previous website, the process involves the previous contractor accepting changes to the information of the previous contractor involved in the contract that uses the font for the previous usage fee payment object in the previous website; and in response to changes to the information of the previous contractor involved in the previous contract, without changing the information generated for embedding the font unique to the previous website before the change, the process involves updating the information of the previous contractor using the previous paid font in the previous website and storing it in the previous memory.

2. The program as described in request item 1, wherein, In the preface generation step, the style sheet that specifies the paid font in the preface website for displaying the preface's paid font, as involved in the contract with the preface contractor, is generated; by generating a unique link pointing to the generated preface style sheet, unique preface embedding information is generated; in the preface specification step, based on the information of the unique link pointing to the preface style sheet embedded in the source code of the preface website, the file of the style sheet referenced by the link is provided to the preface browser, thereby specifying the preface paid font used in the preface website.

3. The program as described in request item 2, wherein, In the step of storing the unique embedding information of the previous version in the previous version memory, the unique embedding information of the previous version is associated with the domain designated by the previous version contractor and stored in the previous version memory. The previous version program causes the previous version 1 or a plurality of computer processors to further execute: the step of obtaining the domain information of the previous version website involved in the access of the previous version browser; and if the obtained domain is the domain designated by the previous version, by responding with the previous version paid font, allowing the previous version browser of the previous version website to browse the previous version website where the previous version paid font is used; on the other hand, if it is not the domain designated by the previous version, the previous version browser of the previous version website cannot browse the previous version website when the previous version paid font is used.

4. The program as described in request item 3, wherein, If the domain obtained in the previous step is different from the domain already designated in the previous step, then by not publishing the paid fonts in the previous step to the terminals of the previous visitors to the previous website, the previous visitors to the previous website will be unable to browse the previous website while the paid fonts in the previous step are in use.

5. The program as described in request item 3, wherein, The aforementioned website is provided to an edge server by: temporarily storing the content of the web pages of the aforementioned website and responding to access from the terminal of the aforementioned website visitor; and storing the information of the content of the web pages of the aforementioned website and providing the aforementioned content to the original server of the aforementioned edge server in response to requests from the aforementioned edge server, so that the aforementioned website visitor can browse the aforementioned website; the aforementioned edge server determines whether the domain information of the aforementioned website involved in the access of the aforementioned website by the aforementioned visitor and containing the aforementioned website's unique embedded information is a domain designated by the aforementioned contractor; the aforementioned program causes the aforementioned 1 or more computer processors to further execute: the step of receiving the aforementioned determination result from the aforementioned edge server; and the step of determining the validity of the aforementioned paid font response based on the determination result involved in the received information. As a result of the prior determination process, if the prior paid font is required to be responded to, it is provided to the prior viewer's terminal through the prior edge server; otherwise, it is not provided to the prior paid font.

6. The program as described in request item 2, wherein, In the pre-record memory section, the information of the pre-record paid font is configured such that, depending on the extent to which the pre-record website is viewed before the pre-record paid font is used, information on the pricing plan for the use of the pre-record paid font and information on the pre-record contract holders are linked and remembered.

7. The program as described in request item 5, wherein, The memory unit is configured to store information such as the maximum extent to which the paid font can be viewed on the website and the usage fee, as part of the website's pricing plan. The website is accessed by: a front-end server that temporarily stores the content of the website's webpages and provides this content in response to access requests from the user's terminal; and a back-end server that stores the content of the website's webpages and provides this content to the front-end server in response to requests from the front-end server, enabling the user to browse the website. The front-end server determines whether the user's access to the website exceeds the maximum limit specified in the pricing plan.

8. The program as described in request item 6, wherein, The pre-registration memory is configured to store information such as the maximum extent to which the pre-registration paid font can be viewed on the pre-registration website before it is used, and the pre-registration usage fee, as information for the pre-registration pricing plan. Once a pre-registration user's access to the pre-registration paid font on a pre-registration website exceeds the pre-registration limit, the pre-registration paid font will not be provided to the pre-registration user's terminal. In response to the fact that the access of a pre-registration user has reached a predetermined ratio relative to the pre-registration limit, the pre-registration contract holders of the pre-registration pricing plan will be notified to request a change to the pre-registration pricing plan.

9. The program as described in request item 1, wherein, The pre-programming program instructs one or more computer processors to further: accept the pre-contractor's paid font usage contract based on the change of the pre-contractor, and store the pre-contractor's information and the pre-contractor's unique embedded information in the pre-contractor's memory; before the change of the pre-contractor, regarding the browsing of the pre-contractor's website using the pre-contractor's paid font, until the usage of the pre-contractor's paid font reaches the limit, or the usage period of the pre-contractor's paid font reaches a certain period, provide the pre-contractor's paid font to the pre-contractor's website users.

10. An information processing method, which is an information processing method for causing a computer having one or more computer processors to operate, wherein, The memory is configured to store: information about paid fonts that require usage fees, and information about the contractors who use the pre-recorded paid fonts; the pre-recorded program is executed by one or more computer processors. For contracts that involve paying usage fees for the use of pre-existing paid fonts, the following steps are performed: First, generating embedding information to be embedded in the source code of the website in order to display the pre-existing paid fonts on the website, making this information unique to each contract. Second, establishing a link between the generated unique pre-existing embedding information and the information of the pre-existing contract, and storing it in memory. Third, when a visitor accesses the pre-existing website using the pre-existing paid fonts through a browser, the pre-existing paid fonts used on that website are identified based on the pre-existing embedding information. Fourth, responding with the identified pre-existing paid fonts, allowing the website's visitors to browse the website while the identified pre-existing paid fonts are in use. And the following steps are executed: Without changing the information generated for embedding the font in the previous website, the process involves the previous contractor accepting changes to the information of the previous contractor involved in the contract that uses the font for the previous usage fee payment object in the previous website; and in response to changes to the information of the previous contractor involved in the previous contract, without changing the information generated for embedding the font unique to the previous website before the change, the process involves updating the information of the previous contractor using the previous paid font in the previous website and storing it in the previous memory.

11. An information processing apparatus, wherein, The memory unit is configured to store: information about paid fonts for which usage fees are required, and information about the contractors using the previously specified paid fonts; The control unit of the previous information processing device executes: a step of generating, for contracts that require usage fees for the use of previously specified paid fonts, information for embedding into the source code of the website to be displayed on the website in order to make the previously specified paid fonts unique for each contract; a step of establishing a link between the generated previously unique previously specified embedding information and the information of the previous contract and storing it in the memory unit; a step of specifying the previously specified paid fonts used on the website based on the previously specified embedding information when a browser accesses the previous website where the previously specified paid fonts are used; and a step of responding to the previously specified paid fonts and allowing the previously specified website visitor to browse the previous website in a state where the previously specified paid fonts are being used. And perform the following steps: First, without changing the information generated for the pre-existing embedded portion of the pre-existing website, the steps include: accepting changes to the information of the pre-existing contractor involved in the contract that uses the pre-existing paid font on the pre-existing website; and second, updating and storing the information of the pre-existing contractor using the pre-existing paid font on the pre-existing website in response to changes to the information of the pre-existing contractor involved in the pre-existing contract, without changing the unique pre-existing embedded portion of the pre-existing website generated before the change.

12. An information processing system comprising a font publishing server, a browser terminal, an edge server, and a source server, wherein... The Font Publishing Server manages information about available fonts based on font usage contracts and publishes Font Publishing information based on the managed font usage contracts. The Font Origin Server maintains the content information of the website's web pages and responds to requests from the Font Edge Server. The Font Edge Server retrieves and maintains Font Content information from the Font Origin Server and responds to access from Font Visitors' terminals browsing the Font website, providing the maintained Font Content information to the Font Visitors' terminals. The Font Publishing Server's memory is configured to store: information about paid fonts requiring usage fees and information about the contractors using the Font paid fonts. The Font Publishing Server's control unit executes: For contracts that involve paying usage fees for the use of pre-existing paid fonts, the following steps are performed: First, generating embedding information to be embedded in the source code of the website in order to display the pre-existing paid font on the website, making this information unique to each contract. Second, establishing a link between the generated unique pre-existing embedding information and the information of the pre-existing contract, and storing it in memory. Third, when a user accesses the website using a browser, the pre-existing paid font used on that website is identified based on the website's embedding information. Fourth, responding with the identified pre-existing paid font allows the user to browse the website while the identified pre-existing paid font is in use. And the following steps are executed: Without changing the information generated for embedding the font in the previous website, the process involves the previous contractor accepting changes to the information of the previous contractor involved in the contract that uses the font for the previous usage fee payment object in the previous website; and in response to changes to the information of the previous contractor involved in the previous contract, without changing the information generated for embedding the font unique to the previous website before the change, the process involves updating the information of the previous contractor using the previous paid font in the previous website and storing it in the previous memory.

Images