Self validating security documents utilizing watermarks

• US 20020061120A1
• Filed: 11/09/2001
• Published: 05/23/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/1995
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Burt W. Perry, Geoffrey B. Rhoads, Jonathan Scott Carr
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Rhoads, Geoffrey B., Carr, Jonathan Scott, Perry, Burt W.
• Granted Patent: US 6,970,573 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 45/1418 the inserts being deformed or preformed, e.g. by the injection pressure
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/00 Information-bearing cards or sheet-like structures characterised by identification or security features; Manufacture thereof printing processes to produce identification or security features B41M3/14
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/21 for multiple purposes
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/23 Identity cards
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/24 Passports
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/313 Fingerprints
• CPC Class Codes: B42D 25/333 Watermarks
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/955 using information identifiers, e.g. uniform resource locators [URL]
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/121 by printing code marks applying code marks to labels B65C9/46; marking or coding completed packages B65B61/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06046 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/14 the marking being sensed by radiation
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 2019/06253 for a specific application
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1417 2D bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1447 extracting optical codes from image or text carrying said optical code
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40145 Biometric identity checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0071 using multiple or alternating watermarks
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0051 Embedding of the watermark in the spatial domain
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/41 with means for the generation of identity documents
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/257 : electronically G07C9/26 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/0034 : using watermarks
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/004 : using digital security elements, e.g. information coded on a magnetic thread or strip
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/086 : by passive credit-cards adapted therefor, e.g. constructive particularities to avoid counterfeiting, e.g. by inclusion of a physical or chemical security-layer for security documents G07D7/00; for the reading of record-carriers in general G06K7/00; for the design of coded credit-cards G06K19/10
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 : Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/018 : Audio watermarking, i.e. embedding inaudible data in the audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00891 : embedded in audio data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00846 : based on detection of a dedicated indication, e.g. marks or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32144 : embedded in the image data, i.e. enclosed or integrated in the image, e.g. watermark, super-imposed logo or stamp
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32203 : Spatial or amplitude domain methods H04N1/32309 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32208 : involving changing the magnitude of selected pixels, e.g. overlay of information or super-imposition H04N1/32219, H04N1/32224 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32219 : involving changing the position of selected pixels, e.g. word shifting, or involving modulating the size of image components, e.g. of characters H04N1/32224 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32261 : in binary data H04N1/32256 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32304 : Embedding different sets of additional information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3205 : of identification information, e.g. name or ID code H04N2201/3209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3207 : of an address
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3226 : of identification information or the like, e.g. ID code, index, title, part of an image, reduced-size image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3233 : of authentication information, e.g. digital signature, watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3235 : Checking or certification of the authentication information, e.g. by comparison with data stored independently
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3239 : using a plurality of different authentication information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/327 : which are undetectable to the naked eye, e.g. embedded codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3271 : Printing or stamping

Abstract

Security documents which has multiple fields or areas each of which contains information that is perceptible in more than one way: One field can contain a visually perceptible image and a digital watermark that can be detected when the image is scanned and processed, and another field can contain watermark data which can be correlated to the output of a fingerprint reader or of apparatus which scans a user'"'"'s iris. The watermarks in the different graphic elements of the document are correlated to each other and correlated to the visual material on the document. Thus, the document can not be forged by replacing one element (such as a picture) with a similar element from another document. An automatic validation system of the present invention reads multiple fields on the document, and it also automatically detects information about the user. The various information is correlated to validate the document.

Claims

1. A self validating security document that has multiple fields of indicia including a field with a hidden digital watermark carrying hidden data, such that comparison of the hidden data with automatically read physical characteristics of the user can validate the document.

2. A system for producing a security document which contain both images, line art and text including a watermarking device for digitally watermarking at least on of said images with hidden digital data and for reproducing said image including said digital watermark on a carrier, and a printing device for reproducing human readable indicia on said carrier, said human readable indicia being related to said hidden digital data.

3. A security document comprising an image which contains digital watermark data data, said data including machine readable characteristics of the owner of the document, and human readable indicia which is related to said digital watermark data.

4. A security system that includes a first reading device for automatically reading a physical characteristic of a person presenting the document and a second reading device for reading hidden watermark data from said document, and a comparison device for comparing the output of the first reading device with the oput of said second reading device.

5. A security document for a user, said security document having multiple fields, a plurality of said fields containing hidden watermark data, the data in at least one of said fields identifying a physical characteristic of said user, the hidden data in at least two of said fields being coordinated such that if the data in one of said fields is changed without changing the other of said fields it will indicate that said security document has been altered.

6. An object comprising a substrate having thereon at least two regions, a first of said regions comprising a human-perceptible image with first plural-bit data steganographically encoded therein, a second of said regions comprising a background having unobtrusive markings arrayed there-across and also comprising text amidst said background, the markings in the second region encoding second plural-bit data, said first and second plural-bit data being coordinated.

7. The object of claim 6 in which the second plural-bit data is different than the first plural-bit data.

8. The object of claim 6 wherein one of said plural-bit data correlates to a physical characteristic of a user.

9. An object comprising a substrate having thereon a photographic image and a graphic that is not a photographic image, characterized in that both the photographic image and the graphic are encoded to steganographically convey plural-bit data.

10. The document of claim 9 in which the photographic image and the graphic are encoded to convey different but coordinated data.

11. The object of claim 9 in which the photographic image and the graphic are encoded to convey the same data.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein said watermark data is encrypted.

15. The system of claim 14 including a decryption system for decrypting said watermark data to the first computer.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein said physical characteristic is a fingerprint.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the fingerprint of a user is compared to said watermark data.

12. A method of printing a security document characterized by printing on a substrate (a) a photographic image, (b) a graphic distinct from the photographic image, and (c) a bar code or OCR text, all in a single printing operation, said photographic image and said graphic both having plural-bit data encoded therein that is related to said bar code or OCR text.

13. A system for validating a security document comprising:

a scanner for producing digital scan data corresponding to said security document, a watermark decoder for reading watermark data from said digital scan data, a physical characteristic reader for reading a physical characteristic of a user, and a comparison device for comparing the out put of said physical characteristic reader and said digital scan data.