Patent ID: 7080042

Claim:
A digital contents distribution method, comprising the steps of: (a) creating, by a content database device, a distribution schedule for transmitting digital contents and their goods information to each of the distribution management devices, with the digital contents being stored in the content database device; (b) transmitting, by the content database device, the digital contents, their goods information and the distribution schedule from the content database device to each of the distribution management devices connected by a network to the content database device; (c) storing, by each of the distribution management devices, the digital contents, their goods information and the distribution schedule in a storage of the particular distribution management device; (d) transmitting, by each of the distribution management devices, the digital contents and their goods information thus stored to each of vending devices connected with the network according to the received distribution schedule; (e) adding, by each of the vending devices, the digital contents and their goods information thus received to digital contents and their goods information already stored in a storage of the particular vending device; (f) if a capacity of the storage of the vending device is insufficient to store the digital contents and their goods information thus received, removing, by the vending device, a part of the digital contents already stored from the storage, based on predetermined criteria, and then storing the digital contents thus received; (g) presenting, by the customer, a desired digital content from among the goods information; (h) if the digital content selected by the customer is not stored in the storage, sending, by the vending device, a request for distribution of the digital content selected by the customer to the content database center; (i) receiving, by the content database center, the request sent from the vending device; and (j) in response to the request sent from the vending device performing steps (a) through (f).