Patent ID: 8675233

Claim:
An electronic apparatus, comprising: a communication unit to communicate with a plurality of other electronic apparatuses and with a license management apparatus for managing one or more license files; a storage device to store a plurality of software programs; a license file management unit to obtain one or more license files from the license management apparatus and to manage the one or more license files for granting licenses for some or all of the plurality of software programs; a license information management unit to manage license information useable to determine whether a license has been granted for each of the plurality of software programs; an apparatus management unit to manage apparatus-related information including information on one or more component parts required for executing each of the plurality of software programs; and a license distribution management unit to transfer a plurality of licenses to one or more electronic apparatuses, wherein the license distribution management unit confirms that a plurality of licensed software programs is present among the plurality of software programs based on the license information managed by the license information management unit, wherein when transferring one or more licenses among the plurality of licenses for the plurality of confirmed licensed software programs, the license distribution management unit requests and obtains the license information and the apparatus-related information from each of the plurality of other electronic apparatuses, wherein the license distribution management unit conducts a searching process for the plurality of other electronic apparatuses to identify from the plurality of other electronic apparatuses one or more electronic apparatuses to which licenses are allowed to be transferred based on the obtained license information and the apparatus-related information on the plurality of other electronic apparatuses, and transfers the plurality of licenses to the plurality of identified electronic apparatuses.