Patent ID: 8005974

Claim:
A contents distribution system for distributing a content via a communication network, said contents distribution system comprising: a server; and a terminal, wherein said server comprises: a condition setting unit operable to determine a usage rule for the content to be transmitted to said terminal; a server-side storage unit operable to store an execution program for processing at least the content; and a transmission unit operable to transmit the content, the execution program, and the usage rule to said terminal, wherein said terminal comprises: a reception unit operable to receive the content, the execution program, and the usage rule from said server; a terminal-side storage unit operable to store the content, the execution program, and the usage rule which are received by said reception unit; a control unit operable to, at a time of using the content, permit use of the content within bounds of the usage rule; and a processing unit operable to execute the execution program stored in said terminal-side storage unit to process the content stored in said terminal-side storage unit, and wherein the execution program checks with said control unit whether or not use of the content received by said reception unit is permitted, and processes the content only when use of the content is permitted.