Patent ID: 7383341

Claim:
A relay device for transmitting and receiving contents between at least one terminal device connected to a first network and at least one terminal device connected to a second network, the relay device being connected to the first network and the second network and comprising: a first collection unit configured to collect an address and attribute information of each terminal device connected to the first network, by inquiring at least one of a type of the each terminal device and the contents possessed by the each terminal device, and the attribute information containing the address of the each terminal device; a second collection unit configured to collect the address and the attribute information of each terminal device connected to the second network, by inquiring at least one of a type of the each terminal device and the contents possessed by the each terminal device, and the attribute information containing the address of the each terminal device; a memory unit configured to store the address and the attribute information of each terminal device on the first network and the second network collected by the first collection unit and the second collection unit; a display control unit configured to enable display of information stored in the memory unit; a first set up unit configured to set up a connection on the first network for transmitting contents to be transmitted from a transmitting terminal which is a terminal device on the first network to a receiving terminal which is a terminal device on the second network, upon receiving a request for transmission of the contents possessed by the transmitting terminal from the transmitting terminal to the receiving terminal, the transmitting terminal and the receiving terminal being selected according to the display of information enabled by the display control unit; a second set up unit configured to set up a channel on the second network for transmitting the contents to be transmitted from the transmitting terminal; a reception unit configured to receive the contents transmitted from the transmitting terminal by using the connection; and a transmission unit configured to transmit the contents received by the reception unit to the receiving terminal by using the channel.