A management device of a license management system acquires a usage
request of a content from an SD card or a printer via a relay device,
analyzes the acquired usage request, acquires usage environment
information of the SD card or the printer from the relay device, analyzes
the acquired usage environment information, generates license information
including a usage rule corresponding to the analysis results of the usage
request and the usage environment information, generates instruction
information indicating how to handle the license information in the relay
device based on the analysis result of the usage environment information,
embeds the generated instruction information in the license information,
and sends the license information to the relay device. The relay device
receives the license information in which the instruction information is
embedded, and transfers the received license information to the SD card
or the printer according to the instruction information which is embedded
in the license information with performing certain processing or without
performing any processing to the license information.