A comprehensive order transaction and file transfer protocol system for the reprographic services industry. A sender application at the user site compiles order information and document data files into a single transfer file and sends the transfer file to the receiver application at the provider site. When the transfer file is sent, the sender application prints a confirmation document for the user confirming that the order has been sent. When the order has been received and checked for errors by the receiver application, the receiver application sends a transfer confirmation document to the user confirming the successful receipt of the order data file and the document data files. The receiver application notifies the provider personnel, such as through activation of a personal pager, that a new order has been received and should be processed.

There is provided a digital information supply and management system comprising a supply unit, a management unit, and a terminal unit, in which digital information including digital video and audio information is supplied from the supply unit to the terminal unit, and the management unit manages utilization of the digital information in the terminal unit. In this system, the supply unit comprises digital information generating means for generating the digital information; management information generating means for generating management information for the digital information; and information synthesis means for synthesizing the digital information and the management information to generate synthetic information. The management unit comprises accumulating means for receiving reported contents from the terminal unit. The terminal unit comprises receiving means for receiving the synthetic information supplied from the supply unit; management information separating means for separating the management information from the synthetic information; management information processing means for processing the management information; report contents storage means for storing contents to be reported to the management unit, corresponding to the management information; and operating means for accepting an operation by a user to the digital information. Therefore, the contents to be reported to the management unit can be limited by making the management information have instructions relating to report of the contents from the terminal unit to the management unit. As a result, the management unit requires no storage means, leading to a reduction in work load for analysis.

A communication system and accounting apparatus are provided capable of easy management of accounting a use of information by a user in multi-media networks while protecting privacy of the user. As a user input money information to an PPC input unit of a user terminal, the money information including cash, a pre-paid card, an IC card, and the like, a discrimination unit judges a use permission of provided information in accordance with the money amount indicated by the money information and/or charge information added to the information provided by an information provider. In response to a user permission signal, a signal processing unit processes the provided information and supplies it to the user.

A content proceeds distribution system distributes proceeds of a sold content to third parties. Each of the third parties has a right of charge, not prescribed in a sales contract, at a rate corresponding to the right thereof. A content database stores by content IDs all providers of the content and all the parties having the right of charge for copying and selling the content. An agreement of a share allocated to an operator of an SD center is registered in a contract master. A payment section, upon a payment of proceeds, subtracts the share of the operator of the SD center from the proceeds by referring to the agreement of the share of the operator that is registered in the contract master. The payment section next distributes the proceeds after subtraction according to each ID stored in the content database.

A goods master is stored with sales prices and sales effective periods of respective contents. A contract master is stored with data as to whether the sales price can be reduced. A key sales section charges a content purchaser for the sale price stored in the goods master. An updating section compares the present time with a sales effective period recorded on the goods master and reduces the sales price recorded on the goods master as far as the contract master is recorded with data indicating that the sales price can be reduced for a content with a remainder of the sales effective period being one month or less.