Abstract: A license distribution system and a license distribution method for selling/purchasing a license securely are provided. When a purchase request of a license for viewing digital contents is received via a network from a client terminal, a reception window terminal of a storefront server receives the purchase request of a license and executes a process of settling accounts at a first stage. Then, a proof of purchase is issued and the license is sent in exchange for the proof of purchase. Accordingly, no mistake is made in acquiring money at the time of selling the license, and further a table and a process for checking whether charging is made or not are not necessary for a license selling process, thus an operational process and a process program can be simplified and a memory can be used effectively. A license for a subscription commodity and/or a package commodity can be purchased and/or sold as well.

Abstract: A digital contents license sale system for managing licenses for digital contents data and realizing appropriate distribution of digital contents is to be provided. For a purpose as such, the electronic license sale system includes purchase certificate generating means for generating a purchase certificate on the basis of a license purchase request sent by a client terminal via a network, purchase certificate providing means for confirming reception of the purchase certificate by the client terminal by returning the purchase certificate to the client terminal via the network, account settling means for settling an account of pertinent trading only when the client terminal has received the purchase certificate, and license generating means for generating license information matching the pertinent purchase certificate by receiving the purchase certificate from the client terminal via the network.

Abstract: Disclosed is a system for protecting personal attributes information (PAI) to inhibit unauthorized use of personal information disclosed on the network and protect the disclosed information. The system comprises: a terminal apparatus including PAI managing means to generate and manage customer's attributes information, and PAI protecting means to modify changeable items of the customer's attributes information to be transmitted to a destination across a network in such a manner as to make different changes for different destinations; and a center apparatus which offers services in a manner refined by using customer's attributes information received from the terminal apparatus. Even if a personal information leak occurred, defensive action can be taken promptly by discarding the e-mail address disclosed to the information leaker without changing the e-mail address in ordinary use. The information leaker can be traced from the leaked e-mail address and dealt with warningly afterward.

Abstract: Disclosed herewith is an attribute information utilization system for enabling network services in various forms. To achieve the above object, the attribute information utilization system of the present invention includes a center device and a terminal. The center device includes a communication block and a server that receives user attribute information and supplies services in accordance with the attribute information. The terminal includes a communication block, a personal attribute information generation/management block that generates/manages user attribute information, an external device interface block connected to a portable storage device and used to exchange attribute information with the memory device. The terminal sends attribute information managed by the personal attribute information generation/management block or inputted from the portable storage device to the center device to receive services from a server.

Abstract: Data acquiring apparatus 10 that acquires data, downloading server 50 that transmits the data, and trigger server 80 that instructs the data acquiring apparatus to acquire the data from the downloading server are connected via network 2, and downloading server 50 provides an instruction to trigger server 80 via network 3. The data acquiring apparatus has a holding section that holds a server address, a communication starting trigger section that detects trigger information from the trigger server and triggers a start of communications with the server, a communication control section that receives the notification to start communicating with the server, and a data storing section that stores data acquired via the communications. The data acquiring apparatus operates to acquire the data by itself, and therefore is capable of acquiring the data safely.

Abstract: A concept dictionary management device includes a fundamental concept dictionary data holding portion for holding fundamental concept network connection information which represents fundamental concept network connections among words stored in a concept dictionary, a first supplemental concept dictionary data holding portion for holding first supplemental concept network connection information to be used for adding words to and deleting words from the concept network connections represented by the fundamental concept network connection information, a second supplemental concept dictionary data holding portion for holding second supplemental concept network connection information to be used only for personal use, to add one or more words to and deleting one or more words from the concept network connections obtained as a result of an addition of a deletion of the words connection by using the first supplemental concept network connection information, a concept dictionary retrieval portion for retrieving a conc

Abstract: A finite state automaton (FSA) text search apparatus converts each of successively received binary code numbers, representing successive characters of a text to be searched, into two portions. Two portions are extracted from a state number which is currently being read out from a first table memory, with one portion being combined with one of the input character portions and the combination used to select one of a set of 1st displacement numbers from a second table memory, while a second portion of the current state number and the other portion of the input character number similarly select one of a set of 2nd displacement numbers from a third table memory, and the entire current state number selects one of a set of base numbers from a fourth table memory. The selected 1st and 2nd displacement numbers are combined with the selected base number, and the result used to select the next state number from the first table memory.