Method and apparatus for recording manufacturer information on a recording medium and for determining whether the manufacturer information is effective

A recording and/or reproducing apparatus to record and/or reproduce data with respect to a recording medium, comprising:

• a pickup to transfer content, formatted information for the content, and manufacturer information with respect to the recording medium;
• and
• a controller which controls the pickup to, during recording and/or editing, record the content, the formatted information, and the manufacturer information to support a manufacturer's specific function, and during reproduction, to read the content, the formatted information, and the manufacturer information, use identification information of the read manufacturer information to detect a manufacturer of a recording apparatus that recorded or modified the read content of the recording medium and which is different from other identification information of the recording medium recorded prior to the recording or the modification of the read content, use last address information of the read manufacturer information to identify a last address of the manufacturer information which allows the reproducing apparatus to reproduce the recorded and/or edited content on the recording medium, and reproduce the read contents according to the read manufacturer information, the identification information, and the identified last address.