Patent ID: 7184377

Claim:
A multi-layered information recording medium including a plurality of recording layers, the multi-layered information recording medium comprising: a user data area for recording user data; and a plurality of spare areas including at least one replacement region, wherein when the user data area includes at least one defect region, the at least one replacement region may be used in place of the at least one defect region, wherein the plurality of recording layers include a first recording layer and a second recording layer positioned contiguous to each other, the first recording layer includes a first user data area which is a portion of the user data area, and a first spare area which is one of the plurality of spare areas, the second recording layer includes a second user data area which is another portion of the user data area, and a second spare area which is another one of the plurality of spare areas, the first spare area is positioned so as to be contiguous to the first user data area, the second spare area is positioned so as to be contiguous to the second user data area, and the first spare area and the second spare area are positioned approximately at the same radial position on the multi-layered information recording medium.