Patent ID: 8190589

Claim:
A data processing device comprising: an edit data information memory that stores state information indicative of a state of access control to a document to be edited and associated information indicating that the document to be edited is associated with other documents to be edited, the information set up for each document to be edited; a first updating unit that updates the state of access control of the document to be edited in the edit data information memory to an exclusive state in response to an exclusion request for the document to be edited; a second updating unit that updates the state of access control of the document to be edited in the edit data information memory from the exclusion removal request to an exclusion removal standby state when said edit data information memory includes associated information indicating that the document to be edited corresponding to the exclusion removal request is associated with other documents to be edited; and a third updating unit that updates the state of access control to all associated documents to be edited from the exclusion removal standby state to an exclusion removal state when the state information of the document to be edited in said edit data information memory indicates that the document to be edited corresponds to the exclusion removal standby request and the associated information indicates that all the associated documents to be edited correspond to an exclusion removal standby request.