JP2003205661A - Imaging apparatus and imaging method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an imaging apparatus which can prevent documents from being copied illegally. <P>SOLUTION: In outputting a hard copy of a formed original, information on the imaging apparatus or accompanying information of the document is embedded into the hard copy original with the use of at least two kinds of forgery prevention techniques, whereby the document can be prevented from being copied illegally. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and an image forming method applied to a copying machine, a printer and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional image forming apparatus, measures such as inserting a watermark command in electronic data have been taken to prevent illegal copying.

As a first conventional example having a technical field similar to that of the present invention, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-216987 discloses "Digital Watermark Data Creation Device, Digital Watermark Data Output Device, Digital Watermark Data Output System, Digital Watermark Data Output Method and Storage". There is a medium. This conventional example aims to reduce the amount of data sent from the data creation device side to the output device by performing digital watermark processing on the output data using the output description language. For this reason, in the conventional example, the watermark output data creating means for creating the watermark output data in the output description language by expanding it in the output data creating buffer of the storage device, and the watermark output data sending for sending the created watermark output data Means on the side of the electronic watermark data creating device, and command acquisition means for sequentially acquiring commands of data input from the electronic watermark data creating device, and a normal output command if the acquired command is not a watermark command. In the case of a watermark command, if the command is a watermark command, watermark output data processing means for creating watermark output data using the information specified in the watermark command is provided on the electronic watermark data output device side to configure the system. A special feature is to reduce the amount of data when sending and receiving watermarked data. It is set to.

Further, as a second conventional example having a technical field similar to that of the present invention, there is a "copying device" of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-253240. The purpose of this conventional example is to provide a duplication device capable of quickly preventing an illegal division, and to copy data, duplication prohibition information composed of data information whose duplication is prohibited, and duplication prohibition information. The data monitoring means for monitoring the developed image generated from the target data based on the above, the duplicating means for duplicating the target data, the information registration means for registering the duplication prohibition information, and the developed image are regarded as duplication prohibition information. And a control means for controlling the duplication operation to be stopped at times.

[0005]

However, all of the above-mentioned conventional examples are effective for output of electronic data such as printer output, but are ineffective for copying of hard copy output. is there. That is, even if a mark or a bar code indicating a copyright is output as a hard copy as print information, an unauthorized duplicator can easily mask and conceal them to make as many duplicates as possible. Is.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and an image forming method capable of preventing unauthorized copying of a document.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is such that, when a hard copy of created original data is created, information or an original document relating to an image forming apparatus for creating the hard copy. Is attached to the hard copy by using at least two types of anti-counterfeit printing as the illegitimate copy prevention information.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the illegal copy prevention information includes the manufacturer name, model name, model number, MAC address, IP address, hard copy output date and time of the image forming apparatus. , Document ID, Replicator I
It is characterized by including at least one of D, permission of copying, presence / absence of billing target, position of embedding illegal copy protection information, number of forms of the information and its attribute.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
The described invention is characterized in that the illegal copy protection information is embedded by performing an operation on the image data immediately before the image output.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, the image forming apparatus prevents the embedded illegal copy when optically reading and copying the hard copy in which the illegal copy prevention information is embedded. If the information is analyzed and it is set to prohibit copying, or if at least one of the plurality of embedded information is missing or falsified, the copying person is notified that copying is not possible and image formation is performed. Characterized by not being.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect of the invention, when the image forming apparatus notifies the duplicator that the duplication is impossible, an operation for continuing the duplication is input.
It is characterized by warning by sound or voice.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the invention, the image forming apparatus prevents the embedded illegal copy from being optically read and copied in the hard copy in which the illegal copy prevention information is embedded. If the information is analyzed and the setting is such that duplication is prohibited, or if at least one of the embedded information is missing or falsified, the unauthorized copy protection information is stored in the management device managed by the administrator. It is characterized in that tampering and omission are notified and the notification information is recorded and saved.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the image forming apparatus optically reads and copies a hard copy in which illegal copy prevention information is embedded. In addition to the embedded illegal copy prevention information, the additional recording information accompanying the copying is added to create the embedded copy.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, the image forming apparatus optically reads and copies a hard copy in which illegal copy prevention information is embedded. In addition, when a charging process is set in the embedded illegal copy prevention information, the charging is performed according to the number of copies.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, the image forming apparatus is a hard copy for which limited duplication is set by the illegal copy prevention information. In this case, the copying person is required to input the authentication information, and the image is formed only when the copying person is permitted by the illegal copy prevention information.

According to a tenth aspect of the invention, in the second aspect of the invention, the user interface of the image forming apparatus for inputting the illegal copy protection information is any one of a keyboard, a pen input, a voice input and an image input. Characterize.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, at the time of making a hard copy of the created original data, at least two types of information about the image forming apparatus making the hard copy or the original information of the original are used as illegal copy prevention information. It is characterized by being embedded in a hard copy using the anti-counterfeit printing of

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the eleventh aspect of the invention, the illegal copy prevention information includes the manufacturer name, model name, model number, MAC address, IP address, hard copy output date and time of the image forming apparatus. , Document ID, duplicator ID, duplication permission, billing target, illegal copy prevention information embedding position, the number of forms of the information and its attribute.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the eleventh or twelfth aspect of the invention, the illegal copy protection information is embedded by performing an operation on the image data immediately before the image output.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the twelfth aspect, when the hard copy in which the illegal copy protection information is embedded is optically read and copied, the embedded illegal copy protection information is analyzed, If the setting is such that copying is not possible, or if at least one of the plurality of embedded information is missing or tampered with, the copying person is notified that copying is not possible and image formation is not performed. To do.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the fourteenth aspect of the invention, when a duplication continuation operation input is made in spite of notifying the duplicator that duplication is impossible, a warning is given by sound or voice. And

According to a sixteenth aspect of the invention, in the invention of the twelfth aspect, when the hard copy in which the illegal copy protection information is embedded is optically read and copied, the embedded illegal copy protection information is analyzed. If the setting is such that copying is not possible, or if at least one of the plurality of embedded information has been deleted or tampered with, the management device managed by the administrator is notified of tampering or deletion of the illegal copy prevention information. In addition, the notification information is recorded and saved.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the eleventh to sixteenth aspects, when the hard copy in which the illegal copy protection information is embedded is optically read and copied, it is embedded. A feature of the present invention is that a copy is created by adding additional recording information for copying to the unauthorized copy prevention information.

The invention according to claim 18 is the invention according to any one of claims 11 to 17, wherein the hard copy in which the illegal copy protection information is embedded is optically read and copied. When the billing process is set in the unauthorized copy prevention information, the billing is performed according to the number of copies.

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the case of the invention according to any one of the eleventh to eighteenth aspects, when the hard copy is set to the limited duplication permitted by the illegal copy prevention information, the duplicator Is required to input authentication information, and an image is formed only when the user is a duplicator who is permitted by the illegal copy prevention information.

[0026]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, embodiments of an image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 to 14, there is shown an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration when the image forming apparatus of the present invention is applied to a multifunctional copying machine and incorporated in an office automation environment. As shown in FIG. 1, a PC 2, a printer 3, a network scanner 4, a mail server 5, a file server / billing server 6 and the like are connected to the office automation environment together with the multi-function copying machine 1.

Next, the internal structure of the multi-function copying machine 1 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the multi-function copying machine 1 includes a scanner unit 10 for reading a document placed on a document table (not shown), and a fax for converting image data read by the scanner unit 10 into a format capable of facsimile communication. A unit 11, a communication network unit 12 for transmitting the image data whose format has been converted by the fax unit 11 to a partner device, an image forming unit 13 for performing image processing on the image data read by the scanner unit 10 and printing it on paper, an image forming unit. When carrying out printing at 13, a paper transport unit 14 for transporting the paper to be printed, a control unit 15 for creating an embedded image for preventing illegal copying, transferring it to the image forming unit 13 and controlling the above-mentioned respective parts, It is composed of a microphone / speaker 16.

Next, FIG. 3 shows a procedure in which an authorized duplicator (creator of an original document) creates a first-generation copy (hereinafter referred to as a first copy) from the original document shown in FIG. 4A. This will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

When an authorized duplicator (here, the creator of the original image) makes a first-generation copy (hereinafter referred to as a first copy) from the original document shown in FIG. , Set whether to embed the illegal copy protection information in the original from the operation panel. If the unauthorized copy protection information is not embedded (step S
(1 / NO), a copy of the original document is created as it is (step S6).

When the illegal copy prevention information is embedded, the information to be embedded is, for example, the creator ID, the copy date and model number of the copying machine, the condition for permitting copying (for example, copying is possible only in the company), Position to embed (eg binding margin),
Whether or not to charge (here, charge to the department to which the duplicator belongs) is set from the operation panel shown in FIG. 5 (step S
2).

Next, when the operator operates the operation button or the operation panel to input the copy start command, the control unit 15 of the multi-function copying machine 1 creates an explicit information-embedded image according to the setting (step S
3) A document in which embedded information is embedded in the form of a digital watermark in the original document excluding the explicit information embedded image portion is created (step S4).

FIG. 4B shows an example of an image in which illegal copy protection information is embedded by explicit information embedding and digital watermarking. A symbol (magic number) indicating the number of forms of embedded information and its attribute is also implicitly embedded in this embedded information. In this embodiment, a symbol having the information that the number of forms is 2 and the attribute is a two-dimensional barcode and a digital watermark is embedded as a part of the embedded information by default. The embedded information includes a manufacturer name, model name, model number, MAC (Media Access).
Control address, IP (Internet)
Protocol) address, hard copy output date and time, document ID, duplicator ID, duplication permission, billing target, embedding position, number of embedding information forms, and at least one of the attributes thereof.

The above-mentioned explicit information-embedded image portion and the information embedding process by the digital watermark are performed at the final stage of sending to the image forming engine. This is because the copying machine usually performs image processing such as halftone processing and smoothing processing, and the embedded information is damaged by these processing, and this is to avoid this.

Even if the illegal duplicator attempts to invalidate the non-permission of duplication by masking the explicit information embedding portion as shown in FIG. 6, the information embedded in the form of a digital watermark (the form of the embedded information) Since tampering is detected from the number and the symbol indicating its attribute, it is possible to suppress illegal copying. Of course, since the information "non-permission of copying" is included in the explicit information embedding portion, double protection can be applied.

Next, a case where a copy of the first copy created as described above is created by a third party will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, when an operation button or an operation panel (not shown) is operated by a duplicator, a document placed on the document table (first copy) is scanned by the scanner unit 1.
Read by 0.

Next, it is detected whether or not the illegal image copy prevention information is embedded in the read image (step S1).
0). When the illegal copy protection information is not embedded (step S10 / NO), a copy of the image read as it is is created and output (step S15).

When the illegal copy protection information is embedded, the information is taken out and analyzed (step S1).
1). If the illegal copy protection information has a tampering evidence or if the illegal copy protection information determines that the copy is impossible (step S12 / YES), the operation panel (not shown) displays “This document is not permitted to be copied”. Is displayed (step S14). In this way, illegal copying can be prevented. In addition, as a result of analyzing the illegal copy protection information, if the copy is permitted (step S
12 / NO), a copy is created as it is (step S13).

As described above, in the present embodiment, when a hard copy of a created original is output, information of the image forming apparatus or auxiliary information of the document is embedded in the hard copy original using at least two types of anti-counterfeiting techniques. As a result, it is possible to prevent unauthorized copying of the document.

Further, when a hard copy in which illegal copy protection information is embedded is copied by an image forming apparatus by optical reading, the embedded illegal copy protection information is analyzed prior to copying, and when illegal copying is prohibited or illegal copy prevention is performed. When the information is missing or falsified, the duplicator is notified that the copying is not possible and the copying is not performed, so that the illegal copying of the document can be suppressed.

Next, the second operation procedure in the case where a copy of the first copy is created by a third party will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

First, when the person making the first copy starts a copy operation by using an operation button or an operation panel (not shown), the multi-function copying machine 1 detects whether or not the illegal copy prevention information is embedded in the document ( Step S
21)

When the illegal copy protection information is not embedded (step S21 / NO), a copy is created as it is (step S30). However, if the illegal copy protection information is embedded (step S21 / Y
ES), the information is taken out and analyzed (step S2).
2). Here, it is assumed that the same information as the illegal copy protection information shown in FIG. 3 is embedded.

As a result of analyzing the embedded information (step S24), if there is "copy not possible" or there is evidence of falsification (step S23 / YES), the copy person is notified of that fact and hard copy output is stopped (step S23). Step S31).
If the copy is possible with limitation, the limitation is further checked (step S24). When the condition of “restricted duplication allowed” is “in-house”, for example, the duplicator is prompted to input the duplicator ID via the menu of the operation panel as shown in FIG. 9, and the entered ID is valid. The sex is evaluated (step S25).

Next, it is checked whether or not this document is a billing object (step S26). If the charge is set (step S26 / YES), the charge destination is detected and the charge data for the charge destination is stored (step S27).
Since the creator of the first copy is set to charge the department to which the duplicator belongs, the department to which the duplicator belongs is calculated from the entered duplicator ID via the database. In this embodiment, the charging server / charging server shown in FIG. 1 is connected via the communication / network unit 12 shown in FIG.
The billing data is stored in the file server 6.

Further, in the menu of the operation panel, whether or not to add this illegal copy prevention information to the hard copy as additional information is also entered (step S28). If you want to add (step S28 / YE
S), input items to be added are set through the menu of the operation panel shown in FIG. 10, and a hard copy having a visible information-embedded image reflecting the result is created (step S30).

As described above, according to this embodiment, when a duplicate of a hard-copied document is created, duplication information is further added to the fraud prevention information embedded in the hard-copy document to make a copy. Thus, it is possible to prevent illegal copying of documents.

Further, when the billing information is set as the unauthorized copy prevention information, the billing target designated according to the number of copies can be billed to contribute to the proper distribution of the document.

Further, as the illegal copy prevention information, when it is detected that at least one of a plurality of pieces of information that cannot be copied or is embedded is missing or falsified, the fact is notified to a predetermined location registered in advance. In addition, by recording and saving the notification information, it is possible to suppress the illegal copying of the document.

Further, if the setting of limited duplication is set as the illegal copy prevention information, the duplication of the duplication is recognized when the duplication person's legitimacy is recognized and it is judged by the authentication that the duplication person is the legitimate duplication person. Unauthorized copying of documents can be prevented by removing the prohibition.

Next, a third operation procedure when a first-copy copy is created by a third party is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. It is assumed that the duplicator attempts to illegally duplicate the first copy (FIG. 4B) created by embedding the illegal copy protection information from the original document (FIG. 4A).

First, when an unauthorized duplicator sets a first copy on the original plate of the multi-function copying machine 1 and starts a copy operation by an operation button or operation panel (not shown),
The multi-function copying machine 1 detects whether the illegal copy prevention information is embedded in the document (step S41).

When the illegal copy protection information is not embedded (step S41 / NO), a copy is created as it is. However, when the illegal copy protection information is embedded (step 41 / YES), the information is taken out and analyzed (step S42). Here, it is assumed that “copy not possible” is embedded as the copy possibility.

As a result of taking out and analyzing the embedded illegal copy protection information, when "copy not possible" is detected (step S43 / YES), the multi-function copying machine 1 does not output the copy, and the illegal copy is dealt with. Done (step S
51). That is, a message as shown in FIG. 12 is displayed on the message panel. If you abort the duplication operation with this message, it will revert to normal standby mode.

The operation procedure when the duplicator attempts to continue the duplication operation will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Although the message shown in FIG. 12 is displayed on the message panel (step S510), the duplication button (or the start button or the like) is pressed to continue the duplication operation (step S51).
1), it is judged that there is an intention of illegal copying, and a log is recorded in the file server 6 shown in FIG. 1 (step S51).
2) Further, the original right holder of the document is notified of the mail via the mail server 6 (step S513). Further, a warning voice is output from the built-in speaker of the multi-function copying machine 1 (step S514). In this way, illegal copying is suppressed, and the situation at that time is saved as a record.

In the above example, an illegal duplicator directly operates the multifunction copying machine to perform illegal duplication.
The same applies to a case where a host computer (personal computer) 2 is used to capture a document via a scanner 7 connected to a network and to output a hard copy by a printer 3 or a multifunction copying machine.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when an image forming apparatus that optically reads an image makes a duplicate of a hard copy including the illegal copy prevention information, the illegal copy prevention information embedded before the duplication is analyzed. And cannot be duplicated,
Alternatively, when at least one or more of the embedded illegal copy protection information is detected as missing or falsified, the duplicator is visually notified that the duplication is impossible, and the visual notification is given. Regardless, when an operation to continue copying is performed, an audible or audio warning is issued and an image is not formed, thereby preventing illegal copying of a document.

Next, a fourth embodiment according to the present invention will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. Since the basic flow is the same as in the second and third embodiments described above, only different steps will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. At the stage of creating the first copy from the original document, for example, when the voice of the duplicator (here, the voice of the creator) is designated (step S61, voice input is performed from the microphone 16 of the multi-function copying machine 1 (step S61). S62) The input audio data is subjected to digitization processing such as sampling processing and quantization processing (step S63) .The digitized audio data is visually or invisible on a hard copy as embedded information. Embedded in (step S
64).

The above-described embodiment is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0060]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, at the time of outputting a hard copy of a prepared original document, the information of the image forming apparatus or the auxiliary information of the document is used by at least two kinds of forgery prevention techniques. By embedding it in a hard copy document, it is possible to prevent illegal copying of the document.

Further, when a hard copy in which illegal copy protection information is embedded is copied by an image forming apparatus by optical reading, the illegal copy protection information embedded is analyzed prior to copying, and when illegal copying is prohibited or illegal copy protection is performed. When the information is missing or falsified, the duplicator is notified that the copying is not possible and the copying is not performed, so that the illegal copying of the document can be suppressed.

In addition, when a duplicate of a hard-copy document is created, the duplicate information is added to the tampering prevention information embedded in the hard-copy document to create a copy, thereby making it possible to prevent unauthorized copying of the document. Copying can be suppressed.

Further, when the billing information is set as the unauthorized copy prevention information, the billing of the billing object designated according to the number of copies can contribute to the proper distribution of the document.

Further, as illegal copy prevention information, when it is detected that at least one or more of a plurality of pieces of information that cannot be copied or are embedded is detected, the fact is notified to a predetermined location registered in advance. In addition, by recording and saving the notification information, it is possible to suppress the illegal copying of the document.

Further, if the setting of limited duplication is set as the unauthorized copy prevention information, the duplication of the duplication is recognized when the duplication person's legitimacy is recognized and the authentication determines that the duplication person is the legitimate duplication person. Unauthorized copying of documents can be prevented by removing the prohibition.

When a hard copy including an illegal copy prevention information is to be duplicated by an image forming apparatus which optically reads an image, the illegal copy prevention information embedded before the duplication is analyzed and the duplication is impossible or When at least one or more of the embedded illegal copy protection information is detected as missing or falsified, the duplicator is visually notified that the duplication is not possible, and the visual notification is given. If an operation to continue copying is performed without warning, an audible or audio warning is given and an image is not formed, so that illegal copying of a document can be suppressed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a multi-function copying machine.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a document in which an original document and illegal copy protection information are incorporated.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a display displayed on an operation panel.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a document in which an explicit information embedding portion is masked.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a display displayed on the operation panel.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a display displayed on the operation panel.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a display displayed on the operation panel.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the fourth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Multifunctional copying machine 2 PC 3 printers 4 network scanner 5 mail server 6 File server / Billing server 10 Scanner unit 11 fax units 12 Communication / Network Unit 13 Imaging unit 14 Paper transport unit 15 Control unit 16 microphone / speaker

Front page continuation (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) G03G 21/04 H04N 1/387 5C077 G06T 1/00 500 B41J 29/00 Z H04N 1/387 G03G 21/00 554 1 / 40 390 H04N 1/40 Z F term (reference) 2C061 AP01 AP03 AP04 AP07 CQ02 CQ03 CQ32 CQ34 CQ41 HJ06 HK15 HN23 HQ17 HX10 2H027 EJ03 EJ08 FD08 FD10 GA30 2H134 NA06 NA15 NA18 NA22 NA15 NA11 NA11 NA41 NA02 NA41 NA04 NA34 NA41 NA04 NA04 DA16 DA17 5C076 AA14 BA06 5C077 LL14 MP05 NP07 PP23 PP55 PP66 PQ08 SS06 TT02 TT06

Claims (19)

[Claims] 1. When making a hard copy of the created original data, at least two types of anti-counterfeit printing are used with the information about the image forming apparatus making the hard copy or the auxiliary information of the original as illegal copy prevention information. And an image forming apparatus which is embedded in the hard copy. 2. The illegal copy prevention information includes the manufacturer name, model name, model number, MAC address, IP address, hard copy output date, document ID, duplicator ID, duplication permission, and billing of the image forming apparatus. Presence / absence of object, position of embedding the illegal copy protection information, number of forms of the information and its attribute,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of: 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the illegal copy protection information is embedded by performing an operation on image data immediately before image output. 4. The image forming apparatus analyzes the embedded illegal copy protection information when optically reading and copying the hard copy in which the illegal copy protection information is embedded, and sets the copy prohibition. If at least one of the embedded information is missing or tampered with, the duplicator is notified that copying is not possible,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image is not formed. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the image forming apparatus issues a sound or voice warning when a copy continuation operation input is made despite notifying the copy person that copying is not possible. Forming equipment. 6. The image forming apparatus analyzes the embedded illegal copy protection information when optically reading and copying a hard copy in which the illegal copy protection information is embedded, and sets a duplication prohibition. If at least one of the plurality of embedded information is missing or falsified, the management device managed by the administrator is notified of the falsification or missing of the illegal copy prevention information and the notification information 3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that
The image forming apparatus described. 7. The image forming apparatus, when optically reading and copying a hard copy in which the illegal copy protection information is embedded, adds additional recording information accompanying the copy to the embedded illegal copy protection information. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a copy that is embedded in the image forming apparatus is created. 8. The image forming apparatus, when optically reading and copying a hard copy in which the illegal copy protection information is embedded, sets a billing process for the embedded illegal copy protection information. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is charged according to the number of copies. 9. The image forming apparatus requests a duplicator to input authentication information if the copy is a hard copy for which limited copying is permitted by the illegal copy protection information, and permits by the illegal copy protection information. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image is formed only when the user is a duplicating person. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the user interface of the image forming apparatus for inputting the illegal copy protection information is any one of a keyboard, a pen input, a voice input, and an image input. 11. When making a hard copy of the created original data, at least two types of anti-counterfeit printing are used with the information about the image forming apparatus making the hard copy or the auxiliary information of the original as illegal copy prevention information. And an image forming method of embedding in the hard copy. 12. The illegal copy prevention information includes a maker name, model name, model number, MAC address, and IP of the image forming apparatus.
It includes at least one of an address, a hard copy output date and time, a document ID, a duplicator ID, a duplication permission, a billing target, a position where the illegal copy protection information is embedded, the number of forms of the information and the attribute thereof. Claim 1 characterized by the above.
1. The image forming method described in 1. 13. The image forming method according to claim 11, wherein an operation is performed on the image data immediately before image output to embed the illegal copy protection information. 14. When the hard copy in which the illegal copy protection information is embedded is optically read and copied, the embedded illegal copy protection information is analyzed, and when the setting is such that copying is prohibited, or when the illegal copy protection information is embedded, it is embedded. 13. The image forming method according to claim 12, wherein if at least one of the plurality of pieces of information is missing or tampered with, the duplicator is notified that copying is not possible and image formation is not performed. 15. The image forming method according to claim 14, wherein when a duplication continuation operation input is made despite notifying the duplicator that duplication is prohibited, a warning is given by sound or voice. 16. When the hard copy in which the illegal copy protection information is embedded is optically read and copied, the embedded illegal copy protection information is analyzed, and when the setting is such that copying is prohibited, or when the illegal copy protection information is embedded, it is embedded. If at least one of the plurality of information is missing or falsified, the falsification or missing of the illegal copy protection information is notified to the management device managed by the administrator, and the notification information is recorded and saved. 13. The image forming method according to claim 12, which is characterized in that. 17. A copy in which additional recording information for copying is added to the embedded illegal copy prevention information when the hard copy optically embedded with the illegal copy prevention information is optically copied. The image forming method according to claim 11, wherein the image forming method is created. 18. When the hard copy in which the illegal copy prevention information is embedded is optically read and copied, if a charging process is set for the embedded illegal copy prevention information, the number of copies is changed. 18. The image forming method according to claim 11, wherein charging is performed. 19. In the case of a hard copy for which limited copying is set by the illegal copy prevention information,
19. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the copying person is requested to input the authentication information, and the image is formed only when the copying person is permitted by the illegal copy protection information. Image forming method.