Patent ID: 8271756

Claim:
A content approving apparatus, comprising: a storage means that stores therein taking-out-permitted-content identification data that comprises hash data generated on the basis of a part or an entirety of each content permitted to be taken out; a generating means that generates the taking-out-permitted-content identification data; an approving means that determines whether a content is permitted to be taken out with reference to the taking-out-permitted-content identification data; and a monitoring means that detects that a content is being taken out and queries the approving means as to whether the content is permitted to be taken out, and wherein the monitoring means, upon detecting that a content is being taken out, generates hash data from the content on a same basis as that upon which the taking-out-permitted-content identification data is generated, and queries the approving means as to whether the content is permitted to be taken out using the hash data, and wherein the approving means determines whether the content is permitted to be taken out by comparing the queried hash data with the taking-out-permitted-content identification data; wherein the monitoring means, upon detecting that multiple contents are being taken out simultaneously, generates respective hash data from each of the contents, and queries the approving means as to whether each of the multiple contents is permitted be taken out using the respective hash data for the content, and wherein the approving means, if any of the queried multiple contents is not permitted to be taken out, determines that all of the multiple contents are not permitted to be taken out.