To realize the simultaneous protection of the position of an industrial field which protects a copywrite and the position of a consumer who enjoys music.

The available number of times of utilization of digital contents is managed, and when the digital contents are copied, the available number of times of utilization of copy origin data is distributed to the available number of times of utilization of copy destination data. Also, when a user purchases a book of tickets to increase the available number of times of utilization when the available number of times of utilization reaches its limit, a copywrite fee is collected. In addition, when the holder of the copy destination data purchases the book of tickets to increase the available number of times of utilization, the available number of times of utilization of the holder of the copy origin data is increased only by the predetermined number of times. This management of the available number of times of utilization is executed not only when the digital contents are copied between equipment but also when the digital contents are distributed through the computers of users connected to a communication network.