Procedure for Time-Limited Storage of Data on Storage Media

There is described a procedure for temporally limiting the storage of data on storage media, in which the data are provided with an expiry date when being stored on a storage medium. When access is made to these data by a read/write device, the expiry date is compared with a current date. When the expiry date is reached or exceeded, a pre-specified action is initiated-for example the deletion of the data from the storage medium or access being made to the data only by authorization. Based upon the procedure it is possible, on the one hand, to easily render sensitive information such as personal data unusable upon expiration of a storage period, if for example the expiry date is set to coincide with the date when the storage period elapses. On the other hand, copyright and marketing rights for digital data can thereby be easily protected without the additional use of licensing servers of the installation of executable programs.