METHOD FOR MANAGING PRIVACY OF DIGITAL IMAGES

• US 20110292230A1
• Filed: 05/28/2010
• Published: 12/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Original Assignee: Intellectual Ventures Fund 83 LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Winters, Dustin L.
• Application Number:
  US12/789,525
• Publication Number:
  US 20110292230A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/222.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/60 Protecting data
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6209 to a single file or object, e.g. in a secure envelope, encrypted and accessed using a key, or with access control rules appended to the object itself
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/101 Access control lists [ACL]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/107 wherein the security policies are location-dependent, e.g. entities privileges depend on current location or allowing specific operations only from locally connected terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00132 in a digital photofinishing system, i.e. a system where digital photographic images undergo typical photofinishing processing, e.g. printing ordering
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00137 Transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00156 with a group of selected individuals or correspondents
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00159 for sharing images without access restriction, e.g. publishing images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00172 directly from a still digital camera or from a storage medium mounted in a still digital camera H04N1/0018 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00244 with a server, e.g. an internet server fax-servers or the like for store and forward H04N1/324
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00323 with a measuring, monitoring or signaling apparatus, e.g. for transmitting measured information to a central location
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00925 Inhibiting an operation
• 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 21/42202 environmental sensors, e.g. for detecting temperature, luminosity, pressure, earthquakes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4223 Cameras H04N23/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4524 involving the geographical location of the client retrieval from the Internet by querying based on geographical locations G06F16/9537; systems specially adapted for using geographical information in broadcast systems H04H60/70; protocols in which the network application is adapted for the location of the user terminal in communication control or processing H04L67/52; services making use of the location of users or terminals in wireless networks H04W4/02; locating users or terminals in wireless networks H04W64/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/485 End-user interface for client configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/84 Generation or processing of descriptive data, e.g. content descriptors systems specially adapted for using meta-information in broadcast systems H04H60/73
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/0084 Digital still camera
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3253 : Position information, e.g. geographical position at time of capture, GPS data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3274 : Storage or retrieval of prestored additional information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3278 : Transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8233 : the additional signal being a character code signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 : Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

A captured digital image is stored in memory together with metadata derived from a location signal only if the location metadata is determined not to be within one or more predefined exclusion zones. A GPS receiver module can be implemented to obtain the location signal.

Claims

1. A method of recording a digital image including;

capturing an image signal from an image sensor;

receiving a location signal associated with the captured image signal;

storing in any of at least one digital memory a digital image file derived from the image signal;

storing in any of the at least one digital memory location metadata derived from the location signal for associating the location metadata with the digital image only if the location metadata is determined not to be within one or more predefined exclusion zones.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the image sensor is contained within a digital camera device.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the at least one digital memory is contained within the digital camera and the predefined exclusion zones are stored in the at least one digital memory.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the digital camera device further includes a location receiver module and the location signal is received from the location receiver module.

5. The method of claim 1 further including storing in any of the at least one digital memory the one or more predefined exclusion zones.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the digital image file is stored in any of the at least one digital memory.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein said any of the at least one digital memory is a removable memory.

8. A method of controlling access to a digital image, comprising:

providing to a processor a digital image stored in one of at least one digital memory, the digital image logically associated with capture location data;

providing exclusion location data to the processor, the exclusion location data logically associated with a receiver;

the processor determining a relationship between the capture location data and the exclusion location data; and

transmitting only the digital image to the receiver if the determined relationship between the capture location data and the exclusion location data is of a first type.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of transmitting both the digital image and the capture location data to the receiver if the determined relationship between the capture location data and the exclusion location data is of a second type.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the determined relationship of the first type comprises determining that the capture location data defines a location that is within an area defined by the exclusion location data.

11. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of

providing second exclusion location data to the processor, the second exclusion location data logically associated with a second receiver;

the processor determining a relationship between the capture location data and the second exclusion location data; and

transmitting both the digital image and the capture location data to the second receiver if the determined relationship between the capture location data and the second exclusion location data is of a second type.

12. A method for displaying digital images having location metadata associated therewith, including:

retrieving from one of at least one digital memory a digital image file associated with a first user;

retrieving from any one of the at least one digital memory geographic location metadata for the digital image file;

retrieving from any one of the at least one digital memory one or more geographic exclusion zones associated with the first user;

displaying on a display device digital image data from the digital image file; and

displaying on a display device the geographic location of the digital file only if the geographic location of the location metadata is not within any of the one or more geographic exclusion zones.

13. A method for transmitting digital images with location metadata between a plurality of users including:

proving a database having a plurality of users;

receiving a digital image file from a first user;

receiving geographic location metadata for the digital image file;

receiving one or more geographic exclusion zones associated with the first user;

transmitting digital image data of the digital image file to a second user; and

transmitting the geographic location metadata of the digital file to the second user if the geographic location of the location metadata is not within any of the one or more geographic exclusion zones.

14. The method of claim 13 further including displaying the digital image and any transmitted geographic location metadata of the digital image file on a digital electronic display device.

15. The method of claim 13 further including storing at least a portion of the transmitted digital image data and at least a portion of any transmitted geographic location metadata of the digital image file on a digital memory device.

16. A method for displaying digital images with location metadata including;

storing in one of at least one digital memory a digital image file associated with a first user;

storing in any of the at least one digital memory geographic location metadata for the digital image file;

storing one or more geographic exclusion zones associated with the first user;

transmitting digital image data of the digital image files to a computer associated with a second user; and

transmitting the geographic location metadata of the digital file to the computer associated with the second user only if the geographic location of the location metadata is not within any of the one or more geographic exclusion zones.

17. A method for displaying digital images with location information including;

storing in one of at least one digital memory a digital image file associated with a first user;

storing in any of the at least one digital memory geographic location metadata for the digital image file;

storing at least one geographic exclusion zone associated with the first user;

storing a list of users with access rights to the at least one geographic exclusion zone;

transmitting digital image data of the digital image files to a computer associated with a second user; and

transmitting the geographic location metadata of the digital file to the computer associated with the second user only if the geographic location of the location metadata is not within any of the one or more geographic exclusion zones or if the second user is among the list of users with access rights to the at least one geographic exclusion zone.

18. A method comprising:

manually defining a region on a digital display of a geographic map;

digitally accessing a digital file for transmitting the digital file to a receiving device, the digital file having stored in association therewith digital location data;

transmitting only the digital file without its associated digital location data to the receiving device if the associated digital location data is determined to be within the manually defined region.