Patent ID: 8024232

Claim:
A recording and reproducing apparatus for content capable of downloading a plurality of contents distributed from the outside and recording and reproducing the plurality of contents due to a purchase by a plurality of users, comprising: an input unit configured to set, for each of a plurality of contents to be purchased by at least one specific other user of a plurality of other users, whether to present to the at least one specific other user a fact that the content is already purchased; a content management unit configured to record at least one information unit on the plurality of to be purchased contents, wherein the at least one information unit stores the fact, set for each content by the input unit, representing whether to present to the at least one specific other user that at least one content attempted to be newly purchased of the to be purchased content is already purchased, and the content management unit configured to determine, based on the at least one information unit, whether or not the at least one content attempted to be newly purchased by the at least one specific other user is a content which may be presented to the at least one specific other user that the at least one content attempted to be newly purchased is already purchased when the content attempted to be newly purchased is already purchased; and an output unit configured to present to the at least one specific other user the fact that the at least one content attempted to be newly purchased by at least one specific other user is already purchased when the content management unit determines that the fact may be presented to the at least one specific other user.