Patent ID: 7337364

Claim:
A contents distribution supporting apparatus comprising: a point recording device that records points owned by users; a contents accumulating device that accumulates contents files to be provided for the users, the contents files each including at least one of a music file, an image file, and a moving image file; a contents receiving device that receives contents files from the users via a network and accumulates the received contents files in said contents accumulating device, and adds a first additional point value to a value of points owned by a user who has provided one of the contents files; an acceptance device that accepts, from a user, information for specifying a contents file which the user wishes to be provided with; a determination device that determines, in response to the information being accepted, whether or not points recorded in said point recording device for the user wishing to be provided with the contents file specified by the information are higher than points required for provision of the specified contents file; and a contents providing device that reads out the specified contents file from said contents accumulating device and provides the specified contents file via the network to the user wishing to be provided with the specified contents file when it is determined that the points recorded for the user wishing to be provided with the specified contents file are higher than the points required for the provision of the specified contents file, and subtracts a subtractive point value from a value of the points owned by the user who has been provided with the specified contents file, and further adds a second additional point value to a value of the points which has been owned by a user who has provided the specified contents file and to which the first additional point value has been added, wherein said contents providing device does not download the specified contents file from said contents accumulating device when it is determined that the points recorded for the user wishing to be provided with the specified contents file are not higher than the points required for the provision of the specified contents file.