Patent ID: 8239485

Claim:
A system for content distribution in a network, comprising: at least one sharing node including a processor for storing a content item associated with an access requirement value in a memory, the at least one sharing node comprising a communication unit for sharing the content item, wherein the access requirement value stipulates a minimum counter value that a peer must have in order to download the content item, and wherein the access requirement value is independent of a number of requests; at least one requesting node including a processor that is associated with a counter value, the processor of the at least one requesting node requesting the content item and downloading the content item; wherein the processor of the at least one sharing node further comprises a comparator for comparing the counter value of the at least one requesting node with the access requirement value for the content item to determine if the at least one requesting node is allowed to download the content item; wherein the processor of the at least one sharing node modifies the access requirement value associated with the content item stored on at least one of the at least one sharing nodes as the number of sharing nodes changes; wherein the counter value reflects the probability that the requesting node will distribute the content item, and wherein the at least one requesting node is allowed to download the content item in case the counter value is greater than the access requirement value.