Patent ID: 6999991

Claim:
A content push service system for push-distribution of content to subscribers to the service where a plurality of content servers, at least one agent unit, and a plurality of user terminals of the subscribers are connected to a network using an Internet protocol, where each of the content servers is configured to store respective content and to push-transmit update information related to updating of its content to the at least one agent serving as a substitute for the user terminals connected via the network, the push-transmit being responsive to the content having been updated in the content server, the system comprising: the at least one agent unit, which is configured to receive the update information and to transmit via the network the update information to one or more of the user terminals if the update information relates to content that has been registered in the at least one agent unit as being requested by the users of the one or more of the user terminals; and where the one or more of the user terminals are configured to receive the update information transmitted from the at least one agent unit and to obtain the content updated the at least one agent is locally connected to at least one provider connected to the network, the user terminals are connected to the at least one provider, and the content servers transmit the update information or the content updated to the at least one agent via the at least one provider, and the at least one agent transmits at least one of the update information and the content updated to the user terminals via the at least one provider, the at least one provider comprises a plurality of providers having a hierarchical relationship among each other, and each including the at least one agent unit, the user terminals and a lower agent unit of the agent units that is directly connected to a lower provider in a hierarchy lower than a hierarchy of an upper provider of the providers register information about the user terminals and about which information is requested into an upper agent unit connected directly to the upper provider, and the upper agent unit transmits, to the lower agent unit connected to lower user terminals of the user terminals, the lower user terminals that have requested at least one of the update information and the content updated, the update information updated transmitted from the content servers.