Modifying restricted images

• US 7,860,342 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2005
• Issued: 12/28/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: The Invention Science Fund I, L.L.C. (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Inventors: Levien, Royce A., Malamud, Mark A., Lord, Robert W., Rinaldo, Jr., John D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehta, Bhavesh M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Koziol, Stephen R
• Application Number:
  US11/195,358
• Publication Number:
  US 20070002360A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,974 Days
• Field of Search: 382/276, 382/1.14, 382/1.9, 382/537
• US Class Current: 382/276
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/10 Protecting distributed programs or content, e.g. vending or licensing of copyrighted material protection in video systems or pay television H04N7/16 ; Digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6254 by anonymising data, e.g. decorrelating personal data from the owner's identification
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2135 Metering
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/034 on discs G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/036 Insert-editing
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/28 by using information signals recorded by the same method as the main recording G11B27/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 27/34 Indicating arrangements indicating means incorporated in magazine or cassette G11B23/046 and G11B23/0875; indicating measured values in general G01D

Abstract

An apparatus, device, methods, computer program product, and system are described that determine a restricted image within a media asset, modify the restricted image to obtain a modified image that includes at least one shared image attribute of the restricted image, and produce a modified media asset that includes the modified image.

Claims

1. A method implemented on a computing device by a processor configured to execute instructions that, when executed by the processor, direct the computing device to perform acts comprising:

determining a restricted image within a media asset with recognition logic that recognizes a restricted nature of the restricted image based at least upon image characteristics, including determining identity information associated with the restricted image, wherein the restricted image comprises an image of a human subject, wherein said including determining identity information associated with the restricted image comprises determining an identity of the human subject;

modifying the restricted image to obtain a modified image using modification logic to replace the image of the human subject with another human subject, the modified image having a shared image attribute including a shared shape; and

producing a modified media asset that includes the modified image.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a restricted image within a media asset comprises:

associating at least a portion of the media asset with a user capture device used to capture the media asset.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a restricted image within a media asset comprises:

associating at least a portion of the media asset with a user known to have captured the media asset.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a restricted image within a media asset comprises:

associating at least a portion of the media asset with a setting content of the restricted image.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a restricted image within a media asset comprises:

determining an attribute of a concurrently-imaged object within the media asset.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a restricted image within a media asset comprises:

performing image recognition analysis on a portion of the media asset.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein performing image recognition analysis on the restricted image comprises:

detecting nudity or other similarly indecent material within the restricted image.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a restricted image within a media asset comprises:

performing facial recognition analysis on a portion of the media asset to perform said determining identity of the human subject.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a restricted image within a media asset comprises:

analyzing metadata associated with the restricted image.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein analyzing metadata associated with the restricted image comprises:

analyzing a closed-captioning stream that is associated with the media asset.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a restricted image within a media asset comprises:

evaluating an attribute of the restricted image against image-restriction criteria.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a restricted image within a media asset comprises:

determining a user preference associated with the restricted image.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a restricted image within a media asset comprises:

determining a preference of the human subject of the restricted image.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a restricted image within a media asset comprises:

determining a preference of a user who captured the media asset.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a restricted image within a media asset comprises:

determining a restricted image within a still picture.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a restricted image within a media asset comprises:

determining a restricted image within a video stream.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein determining a restricted image within a media asset comprises:

receiving the media asset at a central collection facility for collecting media assets.

18. The method of claim 1 wherein modifying the restricted image to obtain a modified image that includes at least one shared image attribute of the restricted image comprises:

replacing the restricted image with the modified image selected from a database of replacement images that are known to include the at least one shared image attribute.

19. The method of claim 1 wherein modifying the restricted image to obtain a modified image that includes at least one shared image attribute of the restricted image comprises:

modifying the restricted image without modifying the at least one shared image attribute.

20. The method of claim 1 wherein modifying the restricted image to obtain a modified image that includes at least one shared image attribute of the restricted image comprises:

maintaining a presentation context of the media asset within the modified media asset.

21. The method of claim 1 wherein modifying the restricted image to obtain a modified image that includes at least one shared image attribute of the restricted image comprises:

determining that the modified image is associated with modified identity information that is different from identity information associated with the restricted image.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein modifying the restricted image to obtain a modified image that includes at least one shared image attribute of the restricted image comprises:

obscuring an identity of the human subject of the restricted image by replacing the human subject with a replacement human subject having a different identity.

23. The method of claim 1 wherein modifying the restricted image to obtain a modified image that includes at least one shared image attribute of the restricted image comprises:

modifying the restricted image to include clothing or other covering when the restricted image is determined to include nudity or other similarly indecent material.

24. The method of claim 1 wherein modifying the restricted image to obtain a modified image that includes at least one shared image attribute of the restricted image comprises:

modifying the restricted image based on preference information.

25. The method of claim 1 wherein modifying the restricted image to obtain a modified image that includes at least one shared image attribute of the restricted image comprises:

determining that payment has been received for the modifying of the restricted image.

26. The method of claim 1 wherein producing a modified media asset that includes the modified image comprises:

maintaining a presentation of a human face within the modified image when the restricted image includes a restricted human face.

27. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium bearing one or more instructions for:

determining a restricted image within a media asset with recognition logic that recognizes a restricted nature of the restricted image based at least upon image characteristics, including determining identity information associated with the restricted image, wherein the restricted image comprises image of a human subject, wherein said including determining identity information associated with the restricted image comprises determining identity of the human subject,

modifying the restricted image to obtain a modified image using modification logic to replace the image of the human subject with another human subject, the modified image having a shared image attribute including a shared shape, and

producing a modified media asset that includes the modified image.

28. A system comprising:

a computing device; and

instructions that when executed on the computing device cause the computing device to determine a restricted image within a media asset with recognition logic that recognizes a restricted nature of the restricted image based at least upon image characteristics, including determining identity information associated with the restricted image, wherein the restricted image comprises image of a human subject, wherein said including determining identity information associated with the restricted image comprises determining identity of the human subject,

modify the restricted image to obtain a modified image using modification logic to replace the image of the human subject with another human subject, the modified image having a shared image attribute including a shared shape, and

produce a modified media asset that includes the modified image.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein the computing device comprises:

a print device.

30. A device comprising:

a processing system, the processing system comprising

recognition logic, executed by a processor, that is operable to determine a restricted image within a media asset by recognizing a restricted nature of the restricted image based at least upon image characteristics, including determining identity information associated with the restricted image, wherein the restricted image comprises image of a human subject, wherein said including determining identity information associated with the restricted image comprises determining identity of the human subject, and

modification logic, executed by a processor, that is operable to modify the restricted image to obtain a modified image to replace the image of the human subject with another human subject, the modified image having a shared image attribute including a shared shape.

31. A method implemented on a computing device by a processor configured to execute instructions that, when executed by the processor, direct the computing device to perform acts comprising:

providing a media asset to a processing system for recognition of a restricted image contained therein with recognition logic that recognizes a restricted nature of the restricted image based at least upon image characteristics, including determining identity information associated with the restricted image, wherein the restricted image comprises image of a human subject, wherein said including determining identity information associated with the restricted image comprises determining identity of the human subject; and

receiving a modified media asset in which the restricted image has been modified to include a modified image using modification logic to replace the image of the human subject with another human subject, the modified image having a shared image attribute including a shared shape.

32. A method implemented on a computing device by a processor configured to execute instructions that, when executed by the processor, direct the computing device to perform acts comprising:

determining an image with recognition logic that recognizes a restricted nature of the image based at least upon image characteristics, wherein the image comprises image of a human subject, wherein said determining the image comprises determining identity of the human subject; and

modifying the image to obtain an anonymized image using modification logic to replace the image of the human subject with another human subject, the anonymized image having a shared image attribute including a shared shape.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein determining an image comprises:

determining an attribute of the image; and

evaluating the attribute against image-restriction criteria.

34. The method of claim 32 wherein modifying the image to obtain an anonymized image comprises:

replacing the image with a non-specific image to obtain the anonymized image.

35. The method of claim 32 wherein modifying the image to obtain an anonymized image comprises:

replacing the image with a modified-identity image to obtain the anonymized image.

36. The method of claim 32 wherein modifying the image to obtain an anonymized image comprises:

obscuring an identity associated with a subject of the image to obtain the anonymized image.

37. The method of claim 32 wherein modifying the image to obtain an anonymized image comprises:

maintaining at least one shared attribute of the image within the anonymized image.

38. The method of claim 32 wherein modifying the image to obtain an anonymized image comprises:

maintaining at least one or more of a shape, a size, a contour, an outline, a color, a pattern, an anatomy, a figure, a frame, a form, a glyph, a symbol, a word, a feature, a facial feature, a gender, or a race of the image within the anonymized image.

39. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium bearing one or more instructions for:

determining an image with recognition logic that recognizes a restricted nature of the image based at least upon image characteristics, wherein the image comprises image of a human subject, wherein said determining the image comprises determining identity of the human subject, and

modifying the image to obtain an anonymized image using modification logic to replace the image of the human subject with another human subject, the anonymized image having a shared image attribute including a shared shape.