Patent ID: 8493176

Claim:
An image data management system comprising: a monitoring apparatus for monitoring a user's exit from a managed area; a storage apparatus for storing processing information; an image processing apparatus provided in the managed area, the image processing apparatus for creating processing information about processed image data and for outputting the processing information to the storage apparatus when the user uses the image processing apparatus to process any of a copy mode, print mode, scanner mode, facsimile mode, document filing mode and data transmission mode for the image data; and a management server connected with the monitoring apparatus and the image processing apparatus over a network, wherein the management server is the storage apparatus, the image processing apparatus writes the processing information into the management server, and the monitoring apparatus obtains the processing information from the management server when the user is going to exit the managed area, wherein the monitoring apparatus knows the state of use indicating what kind of processing has been performed by the user, who has used the image processing apparatus, for what kind of image data based on the processing information in the storage apparatus, and determines whether the user's exit from the managed area is permitted or prohibited depending on the state of use.