Patent ID: 7609396

Claim:
An image processing apparatus comprising: a scanning unit which scans an image printed on paper; a first determination unit which determines whether a latent pattern exists in the scanned image; a second determination unit which determines whether a background pattern exists in the scanned image; and a control unit which, in the case that said first determination unit determines that the latent pattern exists in the scanned image and said second determination unit determines that the background pattern exists in the scanned image, determines that the scanning by the scanning unit was instructed by a reliable user and controls to copy the scanned image, and in the case that said first determination unit determines that the latent pattern exists in the scanned image and said second determination unit determines that no background pattern exists in the scanned image, determines that the scanning by the scanning unit was not instructed by a reliable user and controls to inhibit copying of the scanned image, wherein each of said first and second determination unit determines by using a periphery region of the scanned image data in order to reduce a determination error due to text or an image other than a copy-forgery-inhibited-pattern.