System and method for compiling images from a database and comparing the compiled images with known images

• US 7,499,590 B2
• Filed: 10/24/2006
• Issued: 03/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kyndryl Incorporated
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Seeber, Rene
• Primary Examiner(s): Desire; Gregory M
• Application Number:
  US11/585,668
• Publication Number:
  US 20070127823A1
• Time in Patent Office: 861 Days
• Field of Search: 382/103, 382/190, 382/218, 382/305, 705/26, 707/2, 707/104.1, 707/E17.023, 707/E17.026, 707/3, 707/6
• US Class Current: 382/218
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/5838 using colour
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99932 Access augmentation or optimizing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99933 Query processing, i.e. searching
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99936 Pattern matching access
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 707/99945 Object-oriented database structure processing

Abstract

A method and system for discovering from a database an object which is confusingly similar with a known object. A database, such as the internet, is searched for objects which, when discovered, may be duplicated and stored. A determination is then made if any object from the database is confusingly similar with a known object. A computer-readable storage medium storing program for causing a processing system to perform the steps of duplicating objects from a database to produce duplicated objects; storing the duplicated produce to produce stored duplicated objects; and determining if any stored duplicated object is confusingly similar with a known object.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for searching a computer database for target objects that are similar to a known object comprising:

determining if a target object in the computer database is similar with the known object by comparing a mathematical template associated with pixels that are based on a full-size of the known object with a matrix of numbers derived from pixels associated with the target object, wherein comparing the mathematical template associated with pixels that are based on the full-size of the known object with a matrix of numbers derived from pixels associated with the target object further comprises moving the mathematical template over the matrix of numbers from a first position to a second position.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the pixels associated with the target object comprise pixels associated with a scaled version of the entire target object.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the pixels associated with the target object comprise pixels associated with a portion of the target object.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the pixels based on the known object comprise pixels associated with a full-size of the known object.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the full-size of the known object comprises a complete area of pixels of the known object.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein each pixel comprises three numbers representing colors.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the colors comprise one of red, green, and blue.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein each object comprises one of graphic images, videos, and mixtures thereof.

9. A computer system for searching an Internet for target objects that are similar to a known object comprising:

a web crawler for searching the Internet for target objects;

a comparison engine coupled to the web crawler, for determining if a target object is similar with the known object by comparing a mathematical template associated with pixels that are based on a full-size of the known object with a matrix of numbers derived from pixels associated with the target object, wherein the comparison engine moves the mathematical template over the matrix of numbers from a first position to a second position.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein each pixel comprises three numbers representing colors.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the colors comprise one of red, green, and blue.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the comparison engine provides a numerical value representing a degree of similarity between the known object and a target object.

13. A computer system for searching a database for target objects that are similar to a known object comprising:

a web crawler for searching the database for target objects;

a duplicator coupled to the web crawler for creating copies of the target object;

a comparison engine coupled to the duplicator, for determining if a copy of a target object is similar with the known object by comparing a mathematical template associated with pixels that are based on a full-size of the known object with a matrix of numbers derived from pixels associated with the copy of the target object, wherein the comparison engine moves the mathematical template over the matrix of numbers from a first position to a second position.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the first position comprises an upper and left most position of the matrix of numbers.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the pixels associated with the copy of the target object comprise pixels associated with a full-size of the copy of the target object.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the pixels associated with the copy of the target object comprise pixels associated with a scaled version of the entire copy of the target object.