Patent ID: 8139247

Claim:
An information processing apparatus for executing a job, the information processing apparatus comprising: a communication device configured to communicate with an external apparatus; and a controller configured to: decide an order of users requesting use of the information processing apparatus in accordance with user information for identifying a user, which user information is received by said communication device; control said communication device to notify an external apparatus associated with one user of a permission to use the information processing apparatus in accordance with the decided order; enable the information processing apparatus to execute a job instructed by another user who has not received the permission to use the information processing apparatus and is different from the one user who has received the permission, after said communication device notifies the external apparatus associated with the one user of the permission and before said communication device receives a response to the permission from the external apparatus associated with the one user; prohibit the information processing apparatus from executing the job instructed by the another user, after said communication device receives the response to the permission from the external apparatus associated with the one user; control the information processing apparatus to execute a job instructed by the one user who has received the permission, after said communication device receives the response to the permission from the external apparatus associated with the one user; and control said communication device to notify an external apparatus associated with a next user of a permission to use the information processing apparatus, in accordance with the decided order.