A static image printout system, a method for printing out static image, and an information providing medium

摘要

The system of the present invention includes an information providing medium for providing video image data or still image data, to which a print control descriptor is added, as to the printout of the static image, a printer for printing out the static image based on the video image data or still image data obtained from the information providing medium, and a static image print control device for detecting a print permission flag for the static image from the print control descriptor added to the video image data or still image data, and controlling the printer to print out the static image based on the print permission flag thereof. The printer is permitted to print out the static image only when the print permission flag is written into the print control descriptor by the visual image information provider. When non-permission for printing the static image is written into the print control descriptor, the printout by the printer is inhibited. With this arrangement, the copyright of the visual image information provider for the static image extracted from the video image data or still image data can be protected.