Patent ID: 7215793

Claim:
An electronic image-capturing apparatus, comprising: an image-capturing element that captures an image of a subject and generates electronic image information; a recording device that records the electronic image information that has been generated in a recording medium; a registration device that registers inherent information with respect to a registrant; an information detection device that detects inherent information with respect to a user of the electronic image-capturing apparatus; an information verification device that references the inherent information with respect to the user detected by the information detection device with the inherent information registered in the registration device; a control device that allows an image-capturing operation to be performed on the electronic image-capturing apparatus if it is decided by the information verification device that the two sets of inherent information match; and a digital watermarking device that adds identification information corresponding to the inherent information detected by said information detection device to the electronic image information, the identification information enabling third parties to readily identify the user when viewing an image reproduced based on the electronic image information, wherein the identification information is a digital watermark.