Patent ID: 7520000

Claim:
An information reproducing apparatus comprising: a memory section for storing information; a recording medium loading section for loading a recording medium; an authorized user information specifying section for specifying user registration information of an authorized user of the information reproducing apparatus and storing the user registration information in the memory section; an information reproducing section for reading a signal recorded in the recording medium for obtaining information to be reproduced based on the signal read out; an operating section for supplying user operating information; a registration section for registering, upon determining that the user operating information matches the user registration information, a unique signal or unique reproducing information, based on a first signal that is read out from a specific recording medium loaded in the recording medium loading section, by storing the unique signal or the unique reproducing information in the memory section; a judging section for judging whether a second signal read out by the information reproducing section corresponds to the unique signal or the unique reproducing information stored in the memory section, the judging being performed every time a signal is obtained from the information reproducing section; and an operation restriction section for restricting operation by the information reproducing section for any information based on a signal which does not correspond to the unique signal recorded in the recording medium, and executing the restricting operation: when, upon judging that the second signal read out by the information reproducing section corresponds to the unique signal or the unique reproducing information stored in the memory section, and after a first predetermined period of time elapses without additional judging, a user does not provide, responsive to a prompt, the specific recording medium having a signal corresponding to the unique signal or the unique reproducing information; and when a signal obtained from the information reproducing section does not correspond to the unique signal or the unique reproducing information stored in the memory section within a second predetermined period of time; wherein the second predetermined period of time is a shorter time than the first predetermined period of time.