Patent ID: 7328353

Claim:
A content distribution system comprising: a plurality of terminal devices; a distribution device for storing predetermined contents and distributing the contents; and a recording management system; wherein the recording management system comprises a content-dividing section which generates seperate storing information regarding in which one of the plurality of terminal devices a specified sub-content of a plurality of sub-contents comprising a single piece of the contents distributed from the distribution device is to be stored, and the content-dividing section transmitting the separate storing information to the plurality of terminal devices; wherein each of the plurality of terminal devices comprises a storing section, wherein each of the plurality of terminal devices further comprises a reproducing section for reproducing the single piece of the contents before being divided by the content-dividing section, wherein each of the plurality of terminal devices receives the whole single piece of the contents distributed from the distribution device and is forced to store in the storing section only the specified sub-content of the single piece of the contents having been distributed based on the separate storing information transmitted from the content-dividing section, and wherein, when any one of the terminal devices requests distribution of the single piece of the contents for reproduction by using its own reproducing section, the recording management system manages transmission and reception of the stored sub-contents between the terminal device that has made the request and one or the plurality of the terminal devices each storing the specified sub-content.