Patent ID: 8473940

Claim:
A data processing apparatus comprising: a storage unit adapted to store control data for controlling the data processing apparatus; a reception unit adapted to receive update data for updating the control data; an updating unit adapted to update the control data at the data processing apparatus based on the update data received by said reception unit; a determining unit adapted to determine whether or not corresponding control data, which corresponds to the control data stored by the storage unit, but is stored at another data processing apparatus for controlling the another data processing apparatus, is finished updating based on the update data at the another data processing apparatus, which belongs to a same group as the data processing apparatus; and a control unit adapted to permit execution of a function of the data processing apparatus corresponding to the control data updated by said updating unit in a case where the determining unit determines that the corresponding control data has finished updating at the another data processing apparatus based on the update data, and to restrict the execution of the function of the data processing apparatus in a case where the determining unit determines that the corresponding control data has not finished updating at the another data processing apparatus based on the update data, wherein said control unit is adapted to restrict the execution of the function of the data processing apparatus corresponding to the updated control data in the case where said determining unit determines that the corresponding control data has not finished updating based on the update data at the another data processing apparatus, even if the control data has finished updating based on the update data at the data processing apparatus, wherein said determining unit is adapted to determine, based on information received from an external apparatus, whether or not the corresponding control data has finished updating based on the update data at the another data processing apparatus, and wherein said reception unit is adapted to receive the update data from the external apparatus.