Digitally watermaking holograms for use with smart cards

• US 20020080994A1
• Filed: 08/06/2001
• Published: 06/27/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Brunk, Hugh L., Carr, J. Scott, Decker, Stephen K., Lofgren, Neil
• Granted Patent: US 6,608,911 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/0011 for security or authentication holograms on information-bearing cards B42D25/328; testing papers with holograms G07D7/0032
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/0244 Surface relief holograms replicating hologram without interference recording G03H1/0276
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/041 Optical element in the object space affecting the object beam, not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 1/08 Synthesising holograms, i.e. holograms synthesized from objects or objects from hologramsusing electric digital computers G06F; G06T
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/0016 Covert holograms or holobjects requiring additional knowledge to be perceived, e.g. holobject reconstructed only under IR illumination microholograms G03H2230/10
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2001/0022 Deciphering being performed with numerical or optical key, e.g. with the optical scrambler used during recording optical element in object beam G03H1/041
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2210/40 Synthetic representation, i.e. digital or optical object decomposition
• CPC Class Codes: G03H 2210/441 Numerical processing applied to the object data other than numerical propagation synthesizing propagation G03H1/0808
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/16 the marking being a hologram or diffraction grating
• 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: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/0032 using holograms
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/0034 using watermarks
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02
• 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 7/12 Card verification
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00249 with a photographic apparatus, e.g. a photographic printer or a projector photographic apparatus per se G03B, G03D
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3215 of a time or duration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3233 of authentication information, e.g. digital signature, watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3281 Encryption; Ciphering

Abstract

The present invention relates to digital watermarks integrated into holograms, watermarked hologram structures, and related applications as an authentication technique. One method creates a watermark image, and then embeds the watermark image into a holographic structure. The holographic structure is carried by a smart card. The smart card includes additional information. In one embodiment, the digital watermark includes information bits, and these information bits are used to authenticate the hologram, or the smart card. In another embodiment, the watermark'"'"'s information bits are compared with the additional information carried by the smart card. The result of the comparison is used to authenticate the smart card or the hologram.

Claims

1. A method to authenticate a smart card comprising the steps of:

extracting information from a digital watermark, the digital watermark being embedded in an optically variable device, the optically variable device comprising a watermark image embedded within a holographic structure; and

extracting information from a smart card, the smart card carrying the optically variable device.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the extracted digital watermark information is compared with the extracted smart card information.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein authentication is determined when the extracted digital watermark information matches the extracted smart card information.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein authentication is determined when the extracted digital watermark information relates to the extracted smart card information in a predetermined mathematical manner.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the extracted digital watermark information is compared with predetermined information.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the extracted digital watermark information comprises at least one of a time stamp, key, predetermined identifier, and authentication code.

7. A reader operable to decode a watermark from a watermarked hologram, and to extract information from an information carrier, said reader comprising:

a watermark decoder for detecting a watermark signal in an image scanned from a watermarked hologram;

a message decoder for extracting a message from the watermark signal; and

a reader to extract information from the information carrier, the information carrier including the watermarked hologram.

8. The reader according to claim 7, wherein the information carrier comprises at least one of a smart card, credit card, RFID card, integrated circuit card, and magnetic-strip card.

9. A method to authenticate an information carrier comprising the steps of:

presenting an information carrier to a reader, the information carrier comprising a first data set and a second data set;

in the reader;

decoding the first data set; and

decoding the second data set;

authenticating the information carrier based at least in part on the first data set.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the first data set is carried by a digital watermark.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the digital watermark is embedded in at least one of a hologram, a graphic, text, picture, background, logo, image, and photograph.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the information carrier comprises at least one of a smart card, credit card, RFID card, integrated circuit card, and magnetic-strip card.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein said authentication step comprises comparing the first data set and the second data set.

14. The method according to claim 12, wherein said authentication step comprises comparing the first data set to a predetermined value.

15. The method according to claim 12, wherein said authentication step comprises indexing a database with data from the first data set.

16. The method according to claim 15, further comprising the step of receiving information from the database.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising the step of comparing the received database information with information from the card holder.

18. The method according to claim 9, wherein the reader comprises a first unit to read a digital watermark, and a second unit to read the smart card.