Signal processing to hide plural-bit information in image, video, and audio data

• US 6,122,392 A
• Filed: 11/12/1997
• Issued: 09/19/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Rhoads, Geoffrey B.
• Primary Examiner(s): MEHTA, BHAVESH M
• Application Number:
  US08/967,693
• Time in Patent Office: 1,042 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/115, 382/232
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40145 Biometric identity checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/005 Robust watermarking, e.g. average attack or collusion attack resistant
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0057 Compression invariant watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0052 Embedding of the watermark in the frequency domain
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0065 Extraction of an embedded watermark; Reliable detection
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0081 whereby both original and watermarked images are required at decoder, e.g. destination-based, non-blind, non-oblivious
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/253 visually
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/0032 using holograms
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/004 using digital security elements, e.g. information coded on a magnetic thread or strip
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/16 for devices exhibiting advertisements, announcements, pictures or the like
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/26 for printing, stamping, franking, typing or teleprinting apparatus ticket printing or the like apparatus G07F17/42
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/086 by passive credit-cards adapted therefor, e.g. constructive particularities to avoid counterfeiting, e.g. by inclusion of a physical or chemical security-layer for security documents G07D7/00; for the reading of record-carriers in general G06K7/00; for the design of coded credit-cards G06K19/10
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1016 Devices or methods for securing the PIN and other transaction-data, e.g. by encryption arrangements for secret communication, see H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/12 Card verification
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/018 Audio watermarking, i.e. embedding inaudible data in the audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00086 Circuits for prevention of unauthorised reproduction or copying, e.g. piracy indicating unauthorised use of record carriers in general G11B23/28; scrambling for television signal recording H04N5/913; network architectures or network protocols for network security H04L63/00; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00094 involving measures which result in a restriction to authorised record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00115 : wherein the record carrier stores a unique medium identifier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00166 : involving measures which result in a restriction to authorised contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier, e.g. music or software
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00181 : using a content identifier, e.g. an international standard recording code [ISRC] or a digital object identifier [DOI]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/0021 : involving encryption or decryption of contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00884 : involving a watermark, i.e. a barely perceptible transformation of the original data which can nevertheless be recognised by an algorithm
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00891 : embedded in audio data
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/665 : using psychoacoustic properties of the ear, e.g. masking effect
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00005 : relating to image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00037 : Detecting, i.e. determining the occurrence of a predetermined state H04N1/00031 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00079 : remotely
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00838 : Preventing unauthorised reproduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00846 : based on detection of a dedicated indication, e.g. marks or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32144 : embedded in the image data, i.e. enclosed or integrated in the image, e.g. watermark, super-imposed logo or stamp
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32149 : Methods relating to embedding, encoding, decoding, detection or retrieval operations
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32208 : involving changing the magnitude of selected pixels, e.g. overlay of information or super-imposition H04N1/32219, H04N1/32224 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32251 : in multilevel data, e.g. greyscale or continuous tone data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32288 : Multiple embedding, e.g. cocktail embedding, or redundant embedding, e.g. repeating the additional information at a plurality of locations in the image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91321 : the copy protection signal being a copy protection control signal, e.g. a record inhibit signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91335 : the copy protection signal being a watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3205 : of identification information, e.g. name or ID code H04N2201/3209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3207 : of an address
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3226 : of identification information or the like, e.g. ID code, index, title, part of an image, reduced-size image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3233 : of authentication information, e.g. digital signature, watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/327 : which are undetectable to the naked eye, e.g. embedded codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3271 : Printing or stamping
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/328 : Processing of the additional information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 : for scrambling ; for copy protection

Abstract

An identification code signal is impressed on a carrier to be identified (such as an electronic data signal or a physical medium) in a manner that permits the identification signal later to be statistically discerned and the carrier thereby identified. The method and apparatus are characterized by robustness despite degradation of the encoded carrier, and by holographic permeation of the identification signal throughout the carrier.

Claims

1. In an image processing method that includes steganographically encoding an input two-dimensional image to embed a multi-bit message code therein, the image comprising a plurality of rows of picture data, the method including processing said input image in accordance with said multi-bit message code to produce an output image having the message code steganographically encoded therein, an improvement including:

encoding the message code throughout the output image so that the message code can be recovered from first and second non-overlapping excerpts of the output image; and

representing a given bit of the encoded message code differently, both in absolute and percentage terms, in said first and second excerpts to reduce image degradation and increase message security;

wherein subtraction of the input two-dimensional image from the output image yields a difference frame comprised of difference values, said difference frame having a snow-like appearance in which at least half of said difference values have non-zero values.

2. The method of claim 1 which includes performing said processing in a pixel domain.

11. The method of claim 1 in which the multi-bit message code comprises at least thirty two bits.

12. The method of claim 1 in which the method includes processing with pseudorandom noise data.

13. A tangible storage medium having an image processed in accordance with the method of claim 1 stored thereon.

14. The nierhod of claim 1 in which the input image is comprised of plural samples, and the processing includes performing binary addition operations between said samples and overlay data corresponding thereto.

15. The method of claim 1 in which the multi-bit message code represents at least two fields of information, a first of said fields serving to identify a proprietor of said image, a second of said fields serving to track particular image data.

3. In an image processing method that includes steganographically encoding an input image signal to embed a multi-bit message code therein, the input image signal including a plurality of picture data, the method including processing said input signal in accordance with said multi-bit message code to produce an output signal having the message code steganographically encoded therein, an improvement including:

encoding the message code throughout the output signal so that the message code can be recovered from first and second non-overlapping excerpts of the output signal, said encoding including changing a plurality of said picture data in accordance with said multi-bit message code, and also in accordance with local scaling data to control the amplitude of the multi-bit message code at different locations in the image, said local scaling data being computed from said picture data using a non-linear function.

4. The method of claim 3 which includes deriving the local scaling data from picture data related thereto by use of a non-linear function, wherein doubling the value of picture data does not double the local scaling data corresponding thereto.

5. The method of claim 3 in which the local scaling data is also a function of first and second non-unity parameters.

6. The method of claim 3 which includes performing said processing in a pixel domain.

16. The method of claim 3 in which the multi-bit message code comprises at least thirt two bits.

17. The method of claim 3 in which the method includes processing with pseudo-random noise data.

18. A tangible storage medium having an image processed in accordance with the method of claim 19 stored thereon.

19. A video processing method that includes performing the method of claim 3 on plural frames of a video.

20. The method of claim 3 in which the input signal is comprised of plural samples, and the processing includes performing binary addition operations between said samples and overlay data corresponding thereto.

21. The method of claim 3 in which the multi-bit message code represents at least two fields of information, a first of s d fields serving to identify a proprietor of said image, a second of said fields serving to track par icular image data.

22. The method of claim 3 in which the multi-bit message code comprises at least eight bits.

26. The method of claim 3 in which the input signal is comprised of plural samples, and the processing includes performing binary addition operations between said samples and overlay data corresponding thereto.

7. In an audio processing method that includes steganographically encoding an input signal to embed a multi-bit message code therein, the input signal including a plurality of audio data, the method including processing said input signal in accordance with said multi-bit message code to produce an output signal having the message code steganographically encoded therein, an improvement including:

encoding the message code throughout the output signal so that the message code can be recovered from first and second non-overlapping excerpts of the output signal, said encoding including changing a plurality of said audio data in accordance with said multi-bit message code, and also in accordance with local scaling data to control the amplitude of the multi-bit message code at different locations in the audio data, said local scaling data being computed from said audio data using a non-linear function.

8. The method of claim 7 which includes deriving the local scaling data from audio data related thereto by use of a non-linear function, wherein doubling the value of audio data does not double the local scaling data corresponding thereto.

9. The method of claim 7 in which the local scaling data is also a finction of first and second non-unity parameters.

23. The method of claim 7 in which the multi-bit message code comprises at least thirty two bits.

24. The method of claim 7 in which the method includes processing with pseudo-random noise data.

25. A tangible storage medium having audio processed in accordance with the method of claim 23 stored thereon.

27. The method of claim 7 in which the multi-bit message code represents at least two fields of information, a first of s ad fields serving to identify a proprietor of said audio, a second of said fields serving to track particular audio data.

10. In an image processing method that includes steganographically encoding an input two-dimensional image to embed a multi-bit message code therein, the image being represented by plural elements, the method including processing said input image in accordance with said multi-bit message code to produce an output image having the message code encoded therein, an improvement including:

encoding the message code throughout the output image so that the message code can be recovered from first and second non-overlapping rectangular excerpts of the output image when same is represented in the pixel domain; and

representing a given bit of the encoded message code differently, both in absolute and percentage terms, in said first and second excerpts to reduce image degradation and increase message security, said encoding including changing a plurality of said elements in accordance with said multi-bit message code, and also in accordance with local scaling data to control the amplitude of the multi-bit message code at different locations in the image, said local scaling data being computed from said picture elements using a non-linear function.