Methods for hiding in-band digital data in images and video

• US 6,400,827 B1
• Filed: 06/29/1999
• Issued: 06/04/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Rhoads, Geoffrey B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Johns, Andrew W.
• Application Number:
  US09/342,675
• Time in Patent Office: 1,071 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/232, 713/176, 380/201, 380/210, 380/252, 380/287, 380/54, 348/461, 348/463, 386/94
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 12/1408 by using cryptography for digital transmission H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• 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: 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 20/00007 Time or data compression or expansion audio compression based on psychoacoustics G10L19/00; data processing for reproducing audio data at different playback speeds G10L21/04; video compression H04N19/00; data compression per se H03M7/30
• 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: G11B 20/10037 : A/D conversion, D/A conversion, sampling, slicing and digital quantisation or adjusting parameters thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/10527 : Audio or video recording; Data buffering arrangements G11B20/12 - G11B20/18 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/00014 : the compressed signal being an audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10546 : specifically adapted for audio data
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 2020/10555 : wherein the frequency, the amplitude, or other characteristics of the audio signal is taken into account
• 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 1/32144 : 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 1/32203 : Spatial or amplitude domain methods H04N1/32309 takes precedence
• 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 2005/91342 : the copy protection signal being an authentication signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/9135 : by superimposing the spectrally spread copy protection signal onto the video signal
• 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 5/89 : using holographic recording H04N5/91 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/90 : on discs or drums
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 : for scrambling ; for copy protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8042 : involving data reduction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8047 : using transform coding
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 : involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 283/901 : Concealed data

Abstract

Frames of video and image data are processed to convey plural bits of hidden auxiliary data. The auxiliary data can be used for identification purposes, for device control (disabling video recording and the like), etc. The claimed arrangement uses a data embedding technique wherein the value of single pixels of the video or image data are influenced by the values of several of the bits of auxiliary data. A great variety of other techniques and applications are also detailed.

Claims

1. In a method of processing video to hide N-bits of embedded information in video data corresponding to visible portions of plural frames thereof, N being at least two, and thereafter producing a pixelated representation of said processed video data on a display screen, each pixel having a luminance value, an improvement wherein each of plural of said pixels has a luminance value that is a function of plural bits of said N-bits of embedded information.

2. The method of claim 1, further characterized by disabling a recording capability of an associated video apparatus in response to detection of at least a part of said N-bits of information.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the video has been processed to redundantly embed the N-bits of information throughout substantially all of a frame.

4. The method of claim 1 that includes changing the strength of embedding in accordance with a local attribute of the video data, rather than encoding at a constant strength across an entire video frame.

5. The method of claim 1 in which certain of said pixels are increased in luminance value as a consequence of said processing, and others of said pixels are decreased in luminance value as a consequence of said processing.

6. The method of claim 1 in which said processing proceeds with reference to a noise signal to better hide the N-bits of embedded information.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein part of said N-bits of embedded information is used to disable the recording capability of an associated apparatus, and another part of said N-bits of embedded information is used for a purpose unrelated to disabling such a recording capability.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the video comprises plural frames, and different N-bits of information are embedded in different of said frames.

9. The method of claim 1, further characterized by examining the character of different portions of said video, and not embedding information in certain portions thereof.

10. The method of claim 1, further characterized by MPEG-compressing the processed video, and thereafter MPEG-decompressing the compressed video, wherein said N-bits of information can be recovered from the video notwithstanding losses due to said MPEG compressing and decompressing.

11. In a method of processing image data to hide N-bits of embedded information therein, N being at least two, and thereafter producing a pixelated representation of said processed image data on a display screen or on hard-copy output, each pixel having a luminance value, an improvement wherein each of plural of said pixels has a luminance value that is a function of plural bits of said N-bits of embedded information.

12. The method of claim 11 in which the image data comprises a frame of video data.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein the image has been processed to redundantly embed the N-bits of information thereacross.

14. The method of claim 11 including changing the strength of embedding in accordance with a local attribute of the image data, rather than encoding at a constant strength thereacross.

15. The method of claim 11 in which certain of said pixels are increased in luminance value as a consequence of said processing, and others of said pixels are decreased in luminance value as a consequence of said processing.

16. The method of claim 11 in which said processing proceeds with reference to a noise signal to better hide the N-bits of embedded information.

17. The method of claim 11, further characterized by examining the character of different portions of said image, and not embedding information in certain portions thereof.

18. The method of claim 11, further characterized by compressing the processed image with a lossy compression process, and thereafter decompressing the compressed image, wherein said N-bits of information can be recovered from the image notwithstanding losses due to said compressing and decompressing.

19. A method of encoding a set of input image data with at least first and second symbols of auxiliary data to be hidden therein, the image data representing an image that can be displayed or printed as an array of pixels, each having a luminance, characterized in that there exists at least one pixel whose luminance value after encoding is influenced by the first symbol, and is also influenced by the second symbol.

20. The method of claim 19 in which the input image data represents a frame of video data.