Patent ID: 7023586

Claim:
A communication apparatus capable of sending and receiving an e-mail comprising: a first unit for sending a first e-mail to a recipient, the first e-mail being originated from the communication apparatus itself; a second unit for receiving a second e-mail and transferring it to a recipient, the second e-mail being originated from a client outside of the communication apparatus; and a controller for appending first identification data, which indicates the client as the origin of the second e-mail, to the second e-mail before sending the second e-mail to the recipient, identifying the client as the origin of the second e-mail based on the first identification data appended to a reception acknowledgement e-mail returned to the communication apparatus, and identifying the communication apparatus as the origin of the first e-mail based on second identification data included in the first e-mail and associated with the reception acknowledgement e-mail, wherein the controller causes the communication apparatus to send the reception acknowledgement e-mail to the client if it determines that the origin of the e-mail is the client, and causes a printer to print the reception acknowledgement e-mail if it determines that the origin of the e-mail is the communication apparatus.