Patent ID: 8386606

Claim:
A group management device for providing a content to a device included in a group managed by the group management device, the group management device comprising: a storage unit configured to store a total number of remote devices that the group management device currently registers, a maximum number of remote devices that the group management device is permitted to register, a total number of local devices that the group management device currently registers, and a maximum number of local devices that the group management device is permitted to register, the remote devices being unconnectable to the group management device, and the local devices being locally connectable to the group management device; a judging unit, upon reception of a registration request of an unregistered device that is not registered in the group, configured to judge whether the unregistered device is a remote device or a local device, and to judge whether the total number of the remote devices exceeds the maximum number of the remote devices when it is judged that the unregistered device is the remote device; and a control unit, when it is judged that the total number of the remote devices does not exceed the maximum number of the remote devices, configured to increment the total number of the remote devices by one, the judging unit, when it is judged that the unregistered device is the local device, being further configured to judge whether the total number of the local devices exceeds the maximum number of the local devices, and the control unit, when it is judged that the total number of the local devices does not exceed the maximum number of the local devices, being configured to increment the total number of the local devices by one, wherein the unregistered device is connected with the group management device via a network, or the unregistered device is unconnectable to the group management device via a network, and exchanges data with the group management device via a portable recording medium, and the judging unit judges that the unregistered device is the local device when the unregistered device is connected to the group management device via the network and judges that the unregistered device is the remote device when the unregistered device is unconnectable to the group management device via the network.