System and method for controlling reproduction of documents containing sensitive information

• US 20060259983A1
• Filed: 05/13/2005
• Published: 11/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Sperry, Robert H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,181,261 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 726/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6245 Protecting personal data, e.g. for financial or medical purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/603 Digital right managament [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/3234 involving additional secure or trusted devices, e.g. TPM, smartcard, USB or software token network architectures or network communication protocols for supporting authentication of entities using an additional device in a packet data network H04L63/0853
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32101 Display, printing, storage or transmission of additional information, e.g. ID code, date and time or title
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32133 on the same paper sheet, e.g. a facsimile page header
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4406 Restricting access, e.g. according to user identity mechanisms actuated y cards, PIN or the like in apparatus for dispensing G07F7/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/4446 Hiding of documents or document information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3233 of authentication information, e.g. digital signature, watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3246 of data relating to permitted access or usage, e.g. level of access or usage parameters for digital rights management [DRM] related to still images

Abstract

A system and method for controlling the reproduction of documents containing sensitive information includes an input for receiving a document; a device for storing a digitized document; a detector for identifying encoded sensitive information; a decoder operatively connected to the detector, which extracts digitally encoded information from the sensitive information; a processor operatively connected to the decoder, which receives digitally decoded sensitive information; a user interface module for receiving a user identity and an access mediator for receiving decoded sensitive information from the processor, comparing the user identity with a decoding scheme associated with the document and allowing or disallowing the decoded sensitive information to be reproduced.

Claims

1. A system for reproducing a document with encoded sensitive information comprising:

a device for storing a digitized document;

a detector for identifying encoded sensitive information in the digitized document;

a decoder operatively connected to the detector, wherein the decoder extracts digitally encoded information from the sensitive information;

a processor operatively connected to the decoder, wherein the processor receives digitally decoded sensitive information;

a user interface module for receiving a user identity; and

an access mediator for receiving decoded sensitive information from the processor, comparing the user identity with a decoding scheme associated with the document and allowing or disallowing the decoded sensitive information to be reproduced.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

an image producing system operatively controlled by the access mediator, wherein the image producing system reproduces a hardcopy of the document.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a decryption processor in operative communication with the access mediator for decrypting the sensitive information.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the sensitive information is encoded as machine readable code.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the decoding scheme is encoded as machine readable code.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the decoding scheme defines individuals that are allowed access to the sensitive information.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the sensitive information is confidential information.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the user identity is validated by an authenticator.

9. A system for reproducing a document comprising:

an input for receiving the document, the document comprising one or more human readable passages and one or more machine readable passages, the one or more machine readable passages encoding sensitive information or a decoding scheme for the sensitive information;

a device for storing a digitized document as an electronic image;

a code detector for identifying the one or more machine readable passages;

a decoder in operative communication with the code detector, wherein the decoder extracts digitally encoded information from the one or more machine readable passages;

a processor in operative communication with the decoder, wherein the processor receives extracted sensitive information;

a user interface module for receiving a user identity; and

an access mediator for receiving the extracted decoding scheme, receiving the extracted sensitive information from the processor, comparing the user identity with the extracted decoding scheme to determine whether the user should be given access to the extracted sensitive information, and permitting the reproduction of the sensitive information if allowed by the extracted decoding scheme.

10. The system of claim 9 further comprising:

an image producing system in operative communication with the access mediator, wherein the image producing system reproduces a hardcopy of the document.

11. The system of claim 9 further comprising:

a decryption processor in operative communication with the access mediator for decrypting the sensitive information.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein the one or more machine readable passages are encoded as glyph passages.

13. The system of claim 9 wherein the decoding scheme defines individuals that are allowed access to the sensitive information.

14. The system of claim 9 wherein the sensitive information is confidential information.

15. A method for decoding a document with machine readable passages comprising:

detecting machine readable passages in a digitized document;

decoding the machine readable passages in the digitized document;

determining a decoding scheme associated with the document;

obtaining a user identity;

comparing the decoding scheme associated with the document with the user identity; and

determining which of the machine readable passages to decode.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the machine readable passages include passages that encode sensitive information and passages that encode a decoding scheme for the sensitive information.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein the decoding scheme associated with the document defines individuals that are allowed access to the sensitive information.

18. The method of claim 15 further comprising inputting and digitizing the document.

19. The method of claim 15 further comprising decrypting the decoded machine readable passages.

20. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

processing the decoded machine readable passages into electronic page images to create a decoded document.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising reproducing the decoded document.

22. The method of claim 15 further comprising replacing the machine readable passages with the corresponding human readable text.

23. A method for creating a document comprising:

storing a digitized document;

selecting information in the digitized document to encode;

encoding the information into machine readable passages;

defining a decoding scheme for the information;

encoding the decoding scheme into machine readable passages; and

creating the document.

24. The method of claim 23 wherein the machine readable passages are encoded as glyph passages.

25. The method of claim 23 wherein the decoding scheme defines individuals that are allowed access to the sensitive information.