Patent ID: 8230230

Claim:
A data cartridge for interfacing with a data cartridge authorization system, the data cartridge comprising: a drive configured to store data, wherein: the data comprises: information, a first password, and a fingerprint, the drive comprises an authentication feature configured to lock access to at least a portion of the data when a second password presented to the drive doesn't agree with the first password; and a communication interface coupled to the drive and configured to communicatively couple to an authorization system external to the data cartridge, the communication interface further configured to: pass the information to the authorization system subsequent to being communicatively coupled to the authorization system; if the authentication feature is activated: receive the second password in response to passing the information, and unlock access to the portion of the data locked by the first password if the second password agrees with the first password; and pass the fingerprint to the authorization system; wherein the communication interface is authorized by the authorization system to pass data to and/or receive data from the authorization system if the authorization system verifies the fingerprint as being correlated to the information.