Patent ID: 8300819

Claim:
A service providing apparatus for providing a service to any of a plurality of service target devices, each associated with a same user, via data communications, the service providing apparatus comprising at least one computer programmed to: generate, upon provision of user information and device identification data identifying a first service target device of the plurality of service target devices, system identification data for specifying the first service target device and the user, the generation of the system identification data being performed via processing making it impossible to determine the system identification data from the user information; issue, to the first service target device, the system identification data through data communications with the first service target device; receive a request, from the first service target device, to provide a download program to the first service target device, the request specifying system data, the system identification data and the device identification data, the system data comprising information relating to a hardware construction of the first service target device and information relating to a software configuration of the first service target device; authenticate the user, using the system identification data; authenticate the first service target device, by confirming a correlation between the system identification data and the device identification data; determine whether to provide the download program to the first service target device based on data specified in the request, and not based on any information provided by the user; if it is determined that the download program is to be provided, identify which of a plurality of versions of the download program is to be provided to the first service target device based at least in part on the system data specified in the request; and charge the user upon the download program being downloaded to the first service target device.