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:
A watermark system includes an embedder, detector, and reader. The watermark embedder encodes a watermark signal in a host signal to create a combined signal. The detector looks for the watermark signal in a potentially corrupted version of the combined signal, and computes its orientation. Finally, a reader extracts a message in the watermark signal from the combined signal using the orientation to approximate the original state of the combined signal. While adapted for images, video and audio, the watermark system applies to other electronic and physical media. For example, it can be applied to mark graphical models, blank paper, film and other substrates, texturing objects for ID purposes, etc.
Abstract:
An image is marked by making slight changes to pixel values. These changes are essentially imperceptible on human scrutiny, but detectable by computer analysis. Such markings have applications in identifying ownership of images (including video), and also in device control (e.g., triggering a nulldo not copynull response in suitably configured hardware and software systems).
Abstract:
Audio and image (including video) content data is watermarked by processes that take into account human perception attributes of the content. Some methods assess the input content data to discern inherent biases, and tailor the watermarking to exploit such data characteristics. Other methods make use of a trial-encoding process to determine how the watermark survives corruptionnullsuch as compressionnulland tailor the watermarking accordingly. A great variety of other techniques are also disclosed.
Abstract:
Techniques for secure distribution of digital representations that combine encryption and watermarking. When a user at a client desires to download a digital representation, the user makes a request to a server for the digital representation, which encrypts the digital representation using a first key and downloads the encrypted digital representation to the user. Before the user performs any operation on the decrypted digital representation, a secret fingerprint watermark identifying the user is added to the digital representation. The fingerprint watermark is added either at the server or at the client and a copy of the fingerprinted digital representation is kept at the server. If the user makes an impermissible use of the digital representation, the secret fingerprint watermark can be used to identify the user. The request made by the user indicates the type of use that the user wished to make of the digital representation. If the use involves storage of the digital representation at the client, the server provides a second key that the client employs to encrypt the digital representation. If the user has permission to do so, the user may modify the digital representation and return the modified digital representation to the server for further distribution. In this case, the second key is used to encrypt the digital representation when it is sent to the server. The second key also serves as the user identification in the fingerprint watermark. If the user loses the second key, it can be recovered from the copy of the fingerprinted digital representation kept at the server. The first and second keys and any decrypted copy of the digital representation are kept in secure storage in the client.
Abstract:
This invention provides a method for identifying a purchaser who purchased content from which an illegal copy was produced. A provider system encrypts a content purchased by the purchaser using a public key of a purchaser system and sends the encrypted content to the purchaser system. The purchaser system creates a digital signature of the content with the use of a private key of its own and embeds the created digital signature into the received content. When an illegal copy is found, the provider system verifies the digital signature, embedded in the illegal copy as a digital watermark, to identify the purchaser who purchased the content from which the illegal copy was produced.
Abstract:
A system for generating documents which, as well as presenting the usual alpha-numeric text information, contain a distinctive marking. The marking scheme of the invention can convey identifying information which, in the event of a document coming into the possession of an unauthorized person, allows a particular copy of a document to be traced to its source. The invention can also be used to distinctively identify each of a number of photocopies made from an original document.