Digital watermarking apparatus, systems and methods
First Claim
1. A method of regulating access to a website by a user terminal via the internet, the user terminal reading a document including an embedded digital watermark, said method comprising the steps of:
- at the user terminal, extracting identifying data from the digital watermark, and providing the identifying data to a central computer;
at the central computer;
identifying a pointer associated with the identifying data;
generating a validation key; and
providing the pointer and the validation key to the user terminal;
at the user terminal, communicating with the website via the pointer and providing the validation key to the website; and
at the website, regulating access to the website by the user terminal based at least in part on the validation key.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A variety of systems responsive to watermarked documents are detailed. In one, a system includes a user terminal, a central site, and a website. The user terminal includes a watermark reader, and a capture device to capture an image of a watermarked document. The central site includes a database of watermark identifiers. The user terminal communicates an extracted watermark identifier to the central site. The central site interrogates a database via the extracted watermark identifier to find any related information. The central site generates a validation key and communicates such to the user terminal. The validation key can be used by the website to validate access by the user terminal.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method of regulating access to a website by a user terminal via the internet, the user terminal reading a document including an embedded digital watermark, said method comprising the steps of:
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at the user terminal, extracting identifying data from the digital watermark, and providing the identifying data to a central computer;
at the central computer;
identifying a pointer associated with the identifying data;
generating a validation key; and
providing the pointer and the validation key to the user terminal;
at the user terminal, communicating with the website via the pointer and providing the validation key to the website; and
at the website, regulating access to the website by the user terminal based at least in part on the validation key. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of authenticating permission to access a system comprising the steps of:
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receiving a request to enter the system, the request including at least a validation key;
determining whether the validation key is valid; and
allowing access to the system based on a determination of said determining step. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of authenticating permission to access a website via the internet, said method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a request to enter the system, the request including at least a validation key, determining whether the validation key has been previously received; and
allowing access to the system based on a determination of said determining step. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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24. A system for exchanging data comprising:
a central server comprising at least one database including pointer information, wherein when a user terminal communicates an extracted watermark identifier to said central server, said central server identifies a corresponding pointer associated with the extracted watermark identifier, and wherein said central server generates a validation key and encodes the validation key, and wherein said central server appends the validation key to the corresponding pointer, and communicates the pointer and validation key to the user terminal.
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31. A method of operating a computer server, the computer server to communicate with at least one user terminal, said method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a document identifier from the user terminal;
identifying a pointer associated with the document identifier;
determining whether the pointer is a predetermined class, and if not the predetermined class, communicating the pointer to the user terminal; and
if the predetermined class, generating a validation key, and communicating the pointer and validation key to the user terminal. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A computer server, said computer server to communicate with at least one user terminal, said computer server comprising:
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means for receiving a document identifier from the user terminal;
means for identifying a pointer associated with the document identifier;
means for determining whether the pointer is a predetermined class, and if not the predetermined class, means for communicating the pointer to the user terminal; and
if the predetermined class, means for generating a validation key, and communicating the pointer and validation key to the user terminal.
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Specification