Patent ID: 8220064

Claim:
A content management system comprising: a first content management device; and a second content management device, wherein the first content management device (i) copies an original content to a first external device so that the first external device can use the copied content only in a restricted usable period, and (ii) moves the original content to the second content management device, wherein the first content management device includes: a condition storage unit storing a permitted number of copies that indicates a predetermined maximum number of times for the original content to be copied; a storage unit storing period information that indicates an available period during which a copied content, which was copied last to the first external device from among a plurality of copied contents copied from the original content, is permitted to be used in the first external device; and an output unit operable to output the permitted number of copies and the period information together with the original content to the second content management device when the original content is moved to the second content management device, and wherein the second content management device includes: a receiving unit operable to receive the permitted number of copies and the period information together with the original content from the first content management device; a period judgment unit operable to, at a time when the moved original content is to be copied to a second external device, judge whether or not the available period in the first external device indicated by the received period information has expired; and a copy control unit operable to (i) inhibit the moved original content from being copied to the second external device if the period judgment unit judges that the available period has not expired and (ii) copy the moved original content to the second external device if the period judgment unit judges that the available period has expired and the permitted number of copies has not been reached.