Patent ID: 9652187
Date: 2017-05-16
CPC Classifications: G06F,H04N

Claim:
1. An image forming system comprising: a plurality of image forming apparatuses connected to a network; a client computer that is connected to the network and creates print data; and a print server that causes the plurality of the image forming apparatuses connected to the network to execute an image formation process based on the print data in response to a print request from the client computer that creates the print data, wherein the print server requests, in response to a new connection of the plurality of the image forming apparatuses to the network, a resource related to the image formation process available for the plurality of the image forming apparatuses, and a license key including a validity term of a license for using the resource in the print server to the newly connected image forming apparatuses, the plurality of the image forming apparatuses provide the resource and the license key for the print server via the network in response to the print request, and the print server stores the resource and the license key provided by the plurality of the image forming apparatuses and registers resource information related to the resource and the license key in a database of the print server.