Patent ID: 8514286

Claim:
An image transmission apparatus which transfers image files to an external image reception apparatus, comprising: a storage medium in which the image files are recorded; a deletion unit that deletes an image file recorded in the storage medium; an identifying unit that identifies an image file transmission, which has been requested by the external image reception apparatus; a prohibiting unit that prohibits the deletion unit from deleting the image file recorded in the storage medium in accordance with a transmission request by the external image reception apparatus, which has been identified by the identifying unit; a transmission control unit that reads the image file recorded in the storage medium, which has been identified by the identifying unit, and transmits the image file to the image reception apparatus; an interface unit via which an external camera is connected to the image transmission apparatus, and a detection unit that detects an image file transmission disabled state with regard to image file transmission to the image reception apparatus, wherein: if available capacity at the storage medium is smaller than a data size of an image file received from the external camera via the interface unit, the deletion unit deletes as many image files that are not delete-prohibited by the prohibiting unit, among image files recorded in the storage medium, as necessary to secure memory space in the storage medium greater than the data size; the prohibiting unit prohibits the deletion unit from deleting an image file for which the external camera has issued a delete prohibit instruction; the image files recorded in the storage medium include an image file for which the external camera has issued a delete prohibit instruction, an image file for which the image reception apparatus has issued a delete prohibit instruction and an image file deletion of which is not prohibited by the prohibiting unit; and as the detection unit detects the image file transmission disabled state, the prohibiting unit clears prohibition of deletion by the deletion unit of the image file for which the delete prohibit instruction has been issued by the image reception apparatus, without clearing prohibition of deletion by the deletion unit of the image file for which the delete prohibit instruction has been issued by the external camera.