Patent ID: 7908664

Claim:
A data delivery apparatus comprising: a storage adapted to store limited-access data which associates user data for specifying a user, with data, access to which is permitted or limited to the user; a function determination unit adapted to determine whether a destination device to which the limited-access data is to be transmitted has an access control function of permitting or limiting access to the limited-access data for each user; an authentication unit adapted to, when the limited-access data destination device is determined not to have the access control function, request input of authentication information and performing an authentication process using the input authentication information; a transmission control unit adapted to, when the authentication process by said authentication unit is successful, transmitting the limited-access data to the destination device; and a discrimination unit adapted to, when said function determination unit determines that the limited-access data destination device has the access control function, discriminate user data stored in the destination device and corresponding shared user data among user data stored in said storage, wherein when data associated with user data other than the shared user data among the user data stored in said storage is to be transmitted, said authentication unit further requests input of authentication information and performs an authentication process using the input authentication information, and when the authentication process is successful, said transmission control unit transmits, to the destination device, data associated with the user data other than the shared user data among the user data stored in said storage.