Patent ID: 7266590

Claim:
A print portal server that intermediates between a client and a printing apparatus connected to a network to execute a printing operation of contents data provided by a content provider connected to the network, the print portal server comprising: a print job receiving module that receives a print job from the client via the network, the job including address information representing an address of the contents data on the network, and output resource information representing the printing apparatus as an output resource; a data fetching module that fetches the contents data from the content provider via the network based on the address information; a start command receiving module that receives a print start command from the client via the network, wherein the print start command includes accounting information for accepting to pay for a printing cost, the accounting information being received by the client in advance of the reception of the print start command; a conversion module that converts the fetched contents data into a format capable of being printed by the printing apparatus; a transfer module that transfers the converted contents data to the printing apparatus via the network in compliance with the received print start command; and a charging module that, after the printing apparatus prints the transferred converted contents data, charges for the printing cost based on the accounting information.