Distributed system for responding to watermarked documents

• US 20020112165A1
• Filed: 03/29/2002
• Published: 08/15/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Rhoads, Geoffrey B., Hein, William
• Granted Patent: US 7,111,170 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 713/176
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/26 for printing, stamping, franking, typing or teleprinting apparatus ticket printing or the like apparatus G07F17/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00204 with a digital computer or a digital computer system, e.g. an internet server programmed control between transmitter and receiver or between image input and image output device H04N1/32561
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00307 with a mobile telephone apparatus constructional features of portable telephone sets H04M1/0202; mobile radio systems H04W84/00
• 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

Abstract

A method and system that registers data carried by a watermark with a server, reads watermark data from a document and generates an action string if a watermark read from a document matches registered data. In one embodiment the system includes two servers. Registration is done on one server via the internet the registration data is sent to a second server. The second server is interrogated via a local area network (LAN) to determine if particular watermark data is registered. The LAN allows data carried on documents such as tickets to be authenticated very quickly. In a second embodiment, there are multiple registration servers, each of which registers a different sets of watermark data. The compartmentalization of data increases security and privacy of data.

Claims

1. A method for validating an admission ticket to an event comprising,

inserting a digital watermark in said ticket, said digital watermark including unique watermark data,

registering said unique data with a registration sever when said ticket is sold,

transferring said registered information to a second server,

validating said ticket when the ticket is presented for entry to said event, said validation being via a local area network connection to said second server to determine if the unique data in the ticket presented for validation is registered on said second server.

3. The method recited in claim 1 wherein an action string is returned if said ticket is validated.

4. The method recited in claim 1 wherein an action string of data which opens a gate is returned if said ticket is valid.

2. The method recited in claim 1 wherein the registration of said unique data is via the Internet.

5. A system for validating admission tickets to an event, comprising,

a printing system for printing said tickets, each ticket including a digital watermark carrying unique information,

a registration system for registering validation data in a first server the unique data in a ticket when said ticket is sold,

a second server and a program for transferring said validation data to said second server,

a ticket validation station connected by a local area network to said second server,

a watermark reading program at said validation station and

a program for determining if a ticket presented for registration is valid by interrogating said second server via said LAN connection and for receiving a response from said serve via said LAN connection.

6. The system recited in claim 5 wherein said registration is via communication on the Internet.

7. The system recited in claim 5 wherein said response validates a ticket if the watermark on said ticket is registered on said server.

8. The system recited in claim 5 wherein said response opens an entry gate if said ticket is registered on said server.

9. A method of generating a response to a digital watermark read from a document comprising the steps of:

registering in a first server an identifier for said digital watermark together with and indication of an appropriate response to said watermark,

transferring said registration information to a second server,

reading at a first station the data carried by the digital watermark on said document,

communicating said data to said second server utilizing a high speed local area network (LAN), and determining an appropriate response to said data, and

transmitting said response to said first station.

10. The method recited in claim 9 wherein said registration with said first server is via the Internet.

11. The method recited in claim 9 wherein said document is an entry ticket for an event.

14. The system recited in claim 12 wherein said plurality comprises two subsystems.

15. The system recited in claim 13 wherein said action string indicates if a document is registered on said server.

12. The method recited in claim 9 wherein said appropriate response is a validation of said document if the watermark on said document is registered on said second server.

12-1. A peer to peer system for registration of data contained in watermarks and for providing a response to data read from a watermark document, said system comprising a plurality of subsystems, each subsystem comprising,

a program for registering data which is embedded in a digital watermark contained on a document, said registration including an indication of the subsystems on which said particular data should be registered,

a server for storing said registration data, and

a program for reading a particular watermark on a document to determine if the data carried by the particular watermark is registered on the subsystem.

13. The method recited in claim 11 wherein a ticket is validated by said response if said ticket is registered on said servers.

13-2. A system for generating a particular action string in response to data read from a watermark on a document,

a server including a data base of registered watermarks, each registered mark having an associated action string,

a registration station connected to said server via a local area network(LAN) to register particular watermarks and the associated action string,

an interrogation station connected to said server via a LAN including a program for reading a watermark and for interrogating the data base on said server to determine if said particular watermark is registered and if said watermark is registered for retrieving the associated action string.