Method and Systems for Processing Text Found in Images
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- receiving data corresponding to an image, the image including a depiction of text;
recognizing at least some of said depicted text; and
steganographically encoding a digital watermark in said image, said steganographically encoded digital watermark comprising a visually imperceptible carrier of information rather than a conspicuous carrier of information, such as a barcode, said digital watermark serving to associate said image with said recognized text.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An image containing text (e.g., a surveillance camera photo that includes a vehicle license plate) is analyzed to determine the text (e.g., by an OCR technique). The recognized text is then stored in a database. The image is digitally watermarked with an identifier that associates the image with the database location where the text is stored. In addition to surveillance contexts, this technology can be employed in indexing the World Wide Web. Images used in web pages can be watermarked to link to associated text or other data. When the web page is crawled by an indexer, the watermark can be decoded and the associated data repository accessed to obtain information that can augment the web index for that page.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving data corresponding to an image, the image including a depiction of text; recognizing at least some of said depicted text; and steganographically encoding a digital watermark in said image, said steganographically encoded digital watermark comprising a visually imperceptible carrier of information rather than a conspicuous carrier of information, such as a barcode, said digital watermark serving to associate said image with said recognized text. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method comprising:
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receiving an electronic document, the document comprising a graphical representation of text, but not including ASCII data corresponding thereto; analyzing said document for text information using an OCR process; and digitally watermarking said electronic document with a visually imperceptible marking that conveys plural bits of information; wherein said digital watermark associates the electronic document with the text information. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system comprising:
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a scanner for producing scan data corresponding to an original document; an OCR engine for recognizing text from said scan data; and a watermarker that alters an output from said apparatus to steganographically encode a digital watermark therein, the watermark comprising a visually imperceptible carrier of information rather than a conspicuous carrier of information, such as a barcode, the watermark serving to associate said output with said stored text. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A method of building an index to a collection of web pages by reference to text and meta tags found therein, the method including the acts:
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downloading an image from one of said web pages; decoding a steganographically encoded digital watermark from the downloaded image; through use of said decoded digital watermark, obtaining text associated with said downloaded image; and augmenting the index in accordance with said obtained text. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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Specification