Patent ID: 8027240

Claim:
An information recording medium comprising: a user information recording area in which user information can be recorded, said user information recording area having pre-recorded areas in which recording/reproduction of the user information is prevented, said user information recording area being divided by the pre-recorded areas into a plurality of partial recording areas including a partial recording area, smaller than a unit area, in which record information of a read-only recording medium is recorded, the unit area having a size of an area on the information recording medium in which a size of data for recording or reproducing is recorded, wherein operation-forbidding information invalidates an operation instruction by a user that is intended for the user information recorded in the partial recording areas in a reproduction period when data are recorded in the pre-recorded areas and before the reproduction period, the operation-forbidding information being written in at least one of the pre-recorded areas and an area which is outside said user information recording area.