Geographic-based watermarking keys

• US 7,945,070 B2
• Filed: 02/24/2006
• Issued: 05/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Rosove, Stuart Filip, Andrews, Hoyet Harrison III, Rodriguez, Tony F.
• Primary Examiner(s): BHATNAGAR, ANAND P
• Application Number:
  US11/362,430
• Publication Number:
  US 20070204163A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,908 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/232, 380/54, 380/210, 380/252, 380/287, 713/176, 704/200.1, 704/273, 381/73.1, 348/460, 348/463
• US Class Current: 382/100
• 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: G06K 19/06028 using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2209/608 Watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/0872 using geo-location information, e.g. location data, time, relative position or proximity to other entities
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/0264 for a camera module assembly
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32352 Controlling detectability or arrangements to facilitate detection or retrieval of the embedded information, e.g. using markers for decoding, detection or retrieval operations H04N1/32149 and subgroups take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/18 Information format or content conversion, e.g. adaptation by the network of the transmitted or received information for the purpose of wireless delivery to users or terminals

Abstract

The disclosure relates generally to digital watermarking and steganography, e.g., for use with cell phones and signal processing. One claim recites a method including, in a cell phone, determining a current geographic are of the cell phone; selecting a first digital watermark detector that is associated with the current geographic area, a selected first digital watermark detector being selected from a plurality of different digital watermark detectors; and controlling the cell phone to employ the selected first digital watermark detector to analyze a signal to obtain a digital watermark message there from, wherein the selected first digital watermark detector corresponds to a particular digital watermark embedder that is uniquely assigned to the geographic area. Other claims and combinations are provided too.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

determining a current geographic area;

selecting a first digital watermark detection key that is associated with the current geographic area, a selected first digital watermark detection key being selected from a plurality of digital watermark detection keys; and

controlling an electronic processor programmed as a digital watermark detector to employ the selected first digital watermark detection key to analyze a signal to obtain a digital watermark message there from, in which the selected first digital watermark detection key corresponds to a particular digital watermark embedding key that is uniquely assigned to the geographic area.

2. The method of claim 1 in which each of the plurality of digital watermark detection keys corresponds to a unique geographic area.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising controlling the digital watermark detector to employ a different digital watermark detection key to analyze the signal to obtain the digital watermark message there from when the message can not be obtained though use of the first digital watermark detection key.

4. The method of claim 1 in which the key comprises a decryption key.

5. A computing device programmed to perform the method of claim 4.

6. The method of claim 1 in which the key comprises a mapping of hiding locations.

7. A computing device programmed to perform the method of claim 6.

8. The method of claim 1 in which a cell phone comprises a global positioning system (GPS) receiver and the current geographic area is determined from information received by the GPS receiver.

9. A programmed computing device comprising instructions stored therein, said instructions cause said programmed computing device to perform the method of claim 8.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, said instructions cause an electronic processor to perform the method of claim 8.

11. The method of claim 1 in which the current geographic area is determined from information obtained from a network communicating with a cell phone.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the digital watermark comprises an orientation component.

13. The method of claim 12 in which prior to analyzing the signal to obtain a digital watermark message, said method comprises determining whether the signal comprises an orientation component, in which analyzing the signal to obtain a digital watermark message is only carried out when the orientation component is detected.

14. A computing device programmed to perform the method of claim 13.

15. A programmed computing device comprising instructions stored therein, said instructions cause said programmed computing device to perform the method of claim 1.

16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, said instructions cause an electronic processor to perform the method of claim 1.

17. A computing device programmed to perform the method of claim 1.

18. A method comprising:

in a cell phone;

determining a current geographic area of the cell phone;

selecting a first digital watermark detector that is associated with the current geographic area, a selected first digital watermark detector being selected from a plurality of different digital watermark detectors; and

controlling the cell phone to employ the selected first digital watermark detector to analyze a signal to obtain a digital watermark message there from, wherein the selected first digital watermark detector corresponds to a particular digital watermark embedder that is uniquely assigned to the geographic area.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the different digital watermark detectors are distinguished from one another based on different watermark detection keys.

20. The method of claim 18 further comprising carrying out an action based at least in part on an obtained digital watermark message.

21. The method of claim 18 in which the cell phone comprises a global positioning system (GPS) receiver and the current geographic area is determined from information received by the GPS receiver.

22. A programmed cell phone comprising instructions stored therein, said instructions cause said programmed cell phone to perform the method of claim 21.

23. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, said instructions cause the cell phone to perform the method of claim 21.

24. The method of claim 18 in which the current geographic area is determined from information obtained from a network communicating with the cell phone.

25. A programmed cell phone comprising instructions stored therein, said instructions cause said programmed cell phone to perform the method of claim 18.

26. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon, said instructions cause the cell phone to perform the method of claim 18.