Patent ID: 8108688

Claim:
An information processing apparatus that processes content data supplied in a format that has at least a metadata region in which metadata of a content is stored, the apparatus comprising: acquisition means for acquiring the content data in said format, the content data containing the content and encrypted metadata stored in the metadata region, and for acquiring decryption information for decrypting the encrypted metadata in response to a determination that the apparatus, in connection with a source that supplies the content data, is a member of a supplementary service, the encrypted metadata being encrypted apart from the content; decryption means for decrypting the encrypted metadata stored in the metadata region using the decryption information when the decryption information is acquired and the content is selected or reproduced; and supplementary service providing means for providing the supplementary service by recommending another content based on similarities between metadata of the another content and the metadata decrypted by said decryption means, wherein the decrypted metadata is either data representing a genre of the content or data expressing an impression of the content, and the content data contains the content and the encrypted metadata stored in the metadata region as a single file.