COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the effectiveness of user support by judging the number of devices prossessing a control right with respect to the obtaining request of the control right to its own communication equipment connected to a network and reporting the propriety of obtaining the control right by whether the number amounts reach a prescribed number. SOLUTION: In the case when a user remote-controls a VTR 101 through the screen of a television set 102, he/she requests a control panel following a constitution information request through an IEEE1394 bus 100 to display a control picture on a display and in order to obtain the control right of the VTR 101, he/she executes a simultaneous use counter decrement request. When decrement is OK, the VTR 101 reports the effect. On the other hand, when the user who uses a PC 103 requests the control right of the VTR 101, at the time of confirming the TV 102 to be in the middle of using with a decrement counter value being 0, NG is reported. When decrement is possible of or there is another transferable equipment, the equipment is delected from a user's list and PC 103 is registered to inform PC 103 of decrement OK.