Patent ID: 7970988

Claim:
A recording medium, comprising: an access control information area for storing different versions of access control information controlling an access to a plurality of segment regions within a user data area of the recording medium, the access control information specifying the segment regions to which the corresponding access control information applies and enlarging a compatibility of the recording medium by controlling the access according to predetermined rules in the access control information if the access control information is not identified by an apparatus attempting to record/reproduce data, the predetermined rules specifying an operation to be applicable to the recording medium when the access control information is not identified by the apparatus, user data being recorded or reproduced on or from the segment regions based on the predetermined rules if the access control information is not identified by the apparatus; and a status information area for storing a status information of the access control information, the status information indicating at least whether each version of the access control information is valid or not and being separated from the access control information, wherein the status information is changed upon updating of the access control information.