Patent ID: 7984489

Claim:
A device registration apparatus for registering a device as a member of a group having a limitation related to a permitted number of members, the device registration apparatus comprising: a clock unit operable to measure a time; a member storage unit operable to store registration information of a registered device already registered as a member, the registration information including identification information for identifying the registered device and a registration expiration time of the registered device; a reception unit operable to receive a registration request from a device to be a member; a selection unit operable, when the reception unit receives the registration request, to compare the time read from the clock unit with the registration expiration time included in the registration information for the registered device, and select the registration information for the registered device having the registration expiration time that is exceeded by the read time in the clock unit; a deletion unit operable to delete the selected registration information for the registered device from the member storage unit; and a registration unit operable to generate registration information that includes identification information for identifying the device and a registration expiration time of the device, and write the generated registration information to the member storage unit.