Upon applying a DRM protection process to an image which is generated by an image processing apparatus, which doesn't have any communication means that allows direct communications with a PC, without any alteration, encryption of the image in the apparatus and that of the image in the PC as an internal process of the DRM are required, resulting in poor efficiency. The apparatus executes a part of the DRM protection process for the image, and outputs the encrypted image. The PC receives the image which has undergone the part of the DRM protection process, executes the remaining part of the DRM protection process, and outputs the image which has undergone the DRM protection process. In this case, the PC transmits use condition of the input image to a license server, receives signed use condition from the server, and combines the signed use condition with the input encrypted image.