Image processing apparatus, method and recording medium therefor

• US 6,647,125 B2
• Filed: 07/16/1998
• Issued: 11/11/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/17/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Matsumoto, Kentaro, Uchio, Hirokazu
• Primary Examiner(s): COUSO, YON JUNG
• Application Number:
  US09/116,497
• Publication Number:
  US 20030123696A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,944 Days
• Field of Search: 382/305, 382/232, 382/100, 382/240, 382/299, 380/3, 380/4, 380/217, 380/54, 380/200, 235/494, 235/460, 358/3.28, 283/113.72
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00867 with additional data, e.g. by adding a warning message details of embedding additional information in an image H04N1/32144
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/0087 with hidden additional data, e.g. data invisible to the human eye
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3205 of identification information, e.g. name or ID code H04N2201/3209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/327 which are undetectable to the naked eye, e.g. embedded codes

Abstract

An image processing apparatus comprising a divider for dividing an input image into plural areas, a controller for controlling a storage format of image data representing the input image in a unit of a divided area, a converter for converting the image data into the storage format, and an adder for adding predetermined information to the input image in the unit of the area. The controlling performed by the controller includes controlling whether or not the image data is compressed.

Claims

1. An image processing method comprising:

a generating step, of generating first image data necessary for representing a first resolution and second image data necessary for representing a second resolution, the first resolution being lower than the second resolution, wherein said first image data and said second image data representing the same image;

a first embedding step, of embedding first kind of watermark-information in at least a part of the first image data; and

a second embedding step, of embedding the first kind of watermark-information in at least a part of the second image data and embedding second kind of watermark-information in another part of the second image data,

wherein, the second kind of watermark-information is not embedded in the first image data.

2. An image processing method comprising:

a generating step, of generating first image data necessary for representing a first resolution and second image data necessary for representing a second resolution, the first resolution being lower than the second resolution, wherein said first image data and said second image data representing the same image;

a dividing step, of dividing each of the first and second image data into plural tiles;

encoding step, of performing encoding in regard to each tile;

a first embedding step, of embedding first kind of watermark-information in at least a part of the tile of the first image data; and

a second embedding step, of embedding the first kind of watermark-information in at least a part of the tiles of the second image data and embedding second kind of watermark-information in another part of the tiles of the second image data,

wherein the second kind of watermark-information is not embedded in each tile belonging to the first image data.

3. An image processing method according to claim 2, wherein the image data representing the first resolution is the image data representing a lowest resolution.

4. An image processing method according to claim 2, further comprising:

a generating step, of generating third image data necessary for representing a third resolution, the second resolution being lower than the third resolution;

a dividing and encoding step, of dividing the third image data into plural tiles and performing encoding for the divided tiles; and

a third embedding step, of embedding the first kind of watermark-information in at least a part of the tile of the third image data, embedding the second kind of watermark-information in another part of the tiles of the third image data, and embedding third kind of watermark-information in another part of the tiles of the third image data,

wherein the third kind of watermark-information is not embedded in each tile belonging to the first and second image data.

5. An image processing method according to claim 2, wherein, in each of said embedding steps, control is effected such that the same kind of information is not embedded in the neighboring tiles.

6. An image processing method according to claim 2, further comprising a detecting step, of detecting an attribute in regard to each tile, wherein the watermark-information is not embedded in the tile of a part of the attributes.

7. An image processing method according to claim 2, further comprising a detecting step, of detecting an attribute in regard to each tile, wherein the watermark-information is embedded in the tile of the first attribute in a first embedding method, and the watermark-information is embedded in the tile of the second attribute in a second embedding method.

8. An image processing apparatus comprising:

a generating unit adapted to generate first image data necessary for representing a first resolution and second image data necessary for representing a second resolution, the first resolution being lower than the second resolution, wherein said first image data and said second image data representing the same image;

a first embedding unit adapted to embed first kind of watermark-information in at least a part of the tile of the first image data; and

a second embedding unit adapted to embed first kind of watermark-information in at least a part of the second image data and embed second kind of watermark-information in another part of the second image data,

wherein the second kind of watermark-information is not embedded in the first image data.