Authentication of Identification Documents

• US 20100128924A1
• Filed: 11/17/2009
• Published: 05/27/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/1995
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Rhoads, Geoffrey B.
• Application Number:
  US12/620,332
• Publication Number:
  US 20100128924A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/00 Electrotherapy; Circuits therefor A61N2/00 takes precedence; irradiation apparatus A61N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2209/41 with means for the generation of identity documents
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/22 in combination with an identity check of the pass holder
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/0047 using checkcodes, e.g. coded numbers derived from serial number and denomination
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/005 Testing security markings invisible to the naked eye, e.g. verifying thickened lines or unobtrusive markings or alterations
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/2016 using feature extraction, e.g. segmentation, edge detection or Hough-transformation
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/2033 Matching unique patterns, i.e. patterns that are unique to each individual paper

Abstract

Security of photographic identification documents is enhanced by embedding within the photographic image encoded information that may be correlated to other information pertaining to the individual represented by the image, such other information being, for example, printed on the document adjacent to the photograph.

Claims

1. Apparatus which authenticates a digital representation of an object from which an analog form may be made, the apparatus comprising:

an authenticator which uses first information in a first portion of the digital representation to produce first authentication information, the first information also being obtainable from a third portion of the analog form that is made from the first portion; and

an incorporator which incorporates the first authentication information in a second portion of the digital representation, the authentication information also being obtainable from a fourth portion of the analog form that is made from the second portion.

2. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein:

the digital representation includes items of data, each item has more significant components and less significant components, the first portion is certain more significant components of the item, and the second portion is certain less significant components of the item.

3. The apparatus set forth in claim 2 wherein:

the items are pixels and the components are bits in the pixels.

4. The apparatus set forth in claim 2 wherein:

the items are signal samples and the components are bits in the signal samples.

5. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein:

the digital representation includes an image, the first portion is a first specific region of the image, and the second portion is a second specific region of the image.

6. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein:

the digital representation includes a document layer and an image layer, the first portion is the document layer, and the second portion is the image layer.

7. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein:

the first portion is vector data in the object.

8. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein:

the first portion is content codes in the object.

9. The apparatus set forth in claim 8 wherein:

the content codes are codes that represent alphanumeric characters; and

the digital representation includes a document layer that contains the content codes and an image layer; and

the first portion is the document layer and the second portion is a specific region of the image layer.

10. The apparatus set forth in claim 1 wherein:

the first portion is metadata in the object.