Patent ID: 7263724

Claim:
An unauthorized usage monitoring system for image forming apparatus, comprising: identifying means which, when image data specified by a user is recorded onto recording paper by an image forming apparatus, identifies an ID code of a user who requested the recordation of the specified image data; pattern detecting means for detecting a preset pattern attached to the specified image data such that if said predetermined pattern is detected none of said specified image data is stored; judgment means for determining when said preset pattern is not attached to the specified data whether a portion of the specified image data should be stored or not ,and if a portion of the specified image data is to be stored, the content of the portion of the specified image data to be stored, according to the nature and/or characteristics of said specified image data, and storage means for storing only said content of said portion of the specified image data in association with the ID code identified by the identifying means and otherwise not storing any of said specified image data, wherein only when the judgment means has determined that a portion of the specified image data should be stored and the content of the portion of the specified image data to be stored, only said portion of the specified image data is stored in association with the ID code of the user in the storage means, wherein the image forming apparatus records onto recording paper all of the specified image data transferred to the image forming apparatus from a network through a user terminal or shared document server connected thereto.