Abstract:
An electronic file includes a page rendered version of a document and at least one unreferenced object embedded therein. The unreferenced object serves as a virtual watermark with respect to the electronic document. The electronic file may be an electronic file in Portable Document Format. The at least one unreferenced object may be an XObject. The electronic file of also may include at least one fixed location referenced object and at least one variable location object. The unreferenced object may be a placeholder object configured to be populated with a specific value in a subsequent production process while the electronic file remains encrypted. The unreferenced object may include information that identifies a location for at least one other object.
Abstract:
A system and method for controlling access to image metadata is disclosed, where metadata elements are defined for an image. The method and system include associating users who will access the image with roles, and associating the roles with individual metadata elements. In response to receiving a request for access to the metadata by a particular user, the user's role is determined from the request and the user's role is compared to the roles associated with the metadata elements to determine which metadata elements to make available to the user.
Abstract:
A method and apparatus of image processing includes first and second memories and first and second copy protector units. The first memory stores a first reference value representing a first characteristic quantity of a predetermined background dot pattern. The first copy protector unit performs a first copy protection operation for detecting a characteristic quantity from an image, comparing the characteristic quantity with the first reference value, and determining whether the characteristic quantity is identical to the first reference value. The second memory stores a second reference value representing a second characteristic quantity of the predetermined background dot pattern. The second copy protector unit performs a second copy protection operation, different from the first copy protection operation, for detecting a characteristic quantity from the image, comparing the characteristic quantity with the second reference value, and determining whether the characteristic quantity is identical to the second reference value.
Abstract:
A computer (30) serving as a control apparatus controls an image sensing apparatus (10A or 10B). The computer determines whether verification data has been added to the image file in a recording medium of the image sensing apparatus and generates an instruction requesting the image sensing apparatus to perform predetermined processing for the image file in accordance with the determination result. These processes prevent the image sensing apparatus from changing the contents of an image file (with verification data) in accordance with an instruction from a control apparatus.
Abstract:
A system for administering readout contents according to the present invention includes: an image reader device having an image read unit for reading out contents information drawn on display media with an RF-ID tag and an RF-ID read unit for reading out identification information on the RF-ID tag of the display media by wireless communication; and a data administration device for accumulating the contents information read out by the image read unit and administration information related to the contents information, in association with identification information.
Abstract:
Various improvements to steganographic systems, and applications therefore, are disclosed. The improvements include facilitating scale and rotation registration for steganographic decoding by use of rotationally symmetric steganographically embedded patterns and subliminal digital graticules; improved techniques for decoding without access to unencoded originals; improving robustness of steganographic coding in motion pictures and/or in the presence of lossy compression/decompression; and representing data by patterned bit cells whose energy in the spatial domain facilitates decoding registration. Applications include enhanced-security financial transactions, counterfeit resistant identification cards, fraud deterrent systems for cellular telephony, covert modem channels in video transmissions, photo duplication kiosks with automatic copyright detection, and hotlinked image objects (e.g. with embedded URLs) for use on the internet.
Abstract:
An image processing device of the present invention includes a management section for storing an authentication level set in accordance with the volume of image processing which is predicted in accordance with at least one of day and time. When a request for image processing to image data is made, an authentication section changes the authentication level for user authentication in accordance with at least one of day and time. Then, in accordance with this authentication result, requested image processing is performed.
Abstract:
A method and apparatus for providing media-independent security for a document is provided. In one embodiment, a method includes inputting image data corresponding to an interpretable image displayable by a display device in an interpretable format to be readily interpretable by a user; inputting security data corresponding to security information; creating, in a first medium, a document including a substantive portion; and a security portion inseparable from the substantive portion. The method further includes transferring the document into a second medium; decoding symbols into binary security data representing the security information; and outputting the binary security data in a format retrievable to be interpretable as the security information.
Abstract:
An input content signal—representing audio or video—is encoded to hide plural-bit auxiliary data therein. The process generates an intermediate signal that is a function of (a) the plural-bit auxiliary data, and (b) data related to human perception attributes of the content signal. This intermediate signal is then summed with the content signal to effect encoding. The plural-bit auxiliary data can include copy control data, i.e., data that can be sensed by a consumer electronic device and used to disable a copying operation. The intermediate signal may include a pseudo-random key signal so as to obscure the encoding and require knowledge of a corresponding key at the decoder to extract the auxiliary data from the encoded content. In some embodiments, calibration data is encoded in the content signal with the auxiliary data. This calibration data desirably has known properties (e.g., spectral attributes, data content, etc.) facilitating its identification in the encoded content signal. The encoding is desirably robust against various forms of content degradation, e.g., lossy compression/decompression, scaling, resampling, conversion from digital to analog and back again, etc., so that the auxiliary data can be detected from the content notwithstanding such corruption.
Abstract:
A printing method for printing image data in a system comprising: a reception device that receives image data distributed from outside and a printing device that prints the image data transmitted from the reception device, the printing method including: a image data acquisition step in which the reception device acquires first image data of a first image quality standard; a degradation step for converting the acquired first image data into a second image data of a second image quality standard that is inferior to the first image quality standard; and a print step in which the printing device prints the converted second image data.