Patent ID: 8869247
Filing Date: 2014-10-21
Classification: H04N

Abstract:
1. An apparatus with a single function or a plurality of functions, comprising: a user information receiving unit that receives user information about a user in response to an operation by the user; a request unit that requests use permission information, indicating whether the user is permitted to use the function, from a server which stores the use permission information; a receiving unit that receives the use permission information transmitted from the server in response to the request from the request unit; a memory that stores the received use permission information; a user permission determining unit that performs a first determination process of determining whether the user is permitted to use the function on the basis of the user information received by the user information receiving unit and the user permission information which has been stored in the memory before the user information is received and a second determination process of determining whether the user is permitted to use the function on the basis of new user permission information which is received by the receiving unit in response to a request from the request unit and the user information after the first determination process, wherein the new user permission information is different from the user permission information; and an operation controller that, when the determining unit determines that the use of the function is permitted in the first determination process, performs control such that operations other than a predetermined operation among the operations related to the function which is permitted to be used are only available before the second determination process is performed by the determining unit and, only when it is determined that the function whose use is determined to be permitted in the first determination process by the determining unit is also permitted to be used in the second determination process, performs control such that the user is permitted to use all operations of the function.