Patent ID: 8768841

Claim:
An information processing system comprising: a first information processing apparatus including processing circuitry configured to control distribution of content; a second information processing apparatus including processing circuitry configured to make a request to distribute the content after purchasing the content, the processing circuitry of the second information processing apparatus configured to make the request based on information directly input by a first user into a user interface of the second information processing apparatus; and a third information processing apparatus including processing circuitry configured to receive the distribution of the purchased content, wherein the processing circuitry of said first information processing apparatus is further configured to manage a first ID identifying the purchased content, manage a second ID identifying a second user of said third information processing apparatus, said second user being different than said first user, supply the first ID and a request to specify the second ID to said second information processing apparatus in response to a request to distribute the purchased content from said second information processing apparatus, identify, in response to receiving the first ID and the second ID from said second information processing apparatus, the second user as a recipient by using the second ID, and distribute the purchased content identified by the first ID to said third information processing apparatus corresponding to the second ID, the purchased content being received from a distribution service provider and not from the second information processing apparatus, wherein the processing circuitry of said second information processing apparatus is further configured to request said first information processing apparatus to distribute the purchased content selected by the first user, and send the first ID, received from said first information processing apparatus, and the second ID to the first information processing apparatus, and wherein the processing circuitry of said third information processing apparatus is further configured to receive and store the purchased content distributed by said first information processing apparatus.