Audio and video signal processing

• US 8,068,679 B2
• Filed: 04/20/2010
• Issued: 11/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/1995
• 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:
  US12/763,847
• Publication Number:
  US 20110106539A1
• Time in Patent Office: 588 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/218, 382/227, 348/161, 705/51, 705/59, 380/201, 380/202, 725/31, 726/26
• US Class Current: 382/227
• 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: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/005 Robust watermarking, e.g. average attack or collusion attack resistant
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0064 Geometric transfor invariant watermarking, e.g. affine transform invariant
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0052 Embedding of the watermark in the frequency domain
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0065 Extraction of an embedded watermark; Reliable detection
• 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 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 20/00086 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 2020/10537 : Audio or video recording
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/665 : using psychoacoustic properties of the ear, e.g. masking effect
• CPC Class Codes: H04K 1/02 : by adding a second signal to make the desired signal unintelligible
• 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 1/32154 : Transform domain methods H04N1/32309 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/3216 : using Fourier transforms
• 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 2005/91307 : by adding a copy protection signal to the video signal
• 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 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 5/913 : for scrambling ; for copy protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 9/8205 : involving the multiplexing of an additional signal and the colour video signal

Abstract

The present disclosure related generally to audio and video signal processing. Various arrangements are disclosed. One method recites: (a) obtaining data representing audible portions of audio or representing picture portions of video; (b) using a programmed electronic processor, determining identifying information from the obtained data by computing a frequency transform to produce frequency transform data, and processing the frequency transform data to derive a pattern, and using the pattern as the identifying information for the audio or video; and (c) using the identifying data to facilitate purchase or license of the audio or video. Other arrangements are disclosed as well.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

obtaining an audio or video data feed, wherein the data feed represents audible portions of an audio signal or picture portions of a video signal;

analyzing, using a processor, the data feed to determine potential pattern matches with previously determined patterns;

upon determining a potential pattern match, performing,using the processor, a more refined analysis relative to the analyzing to determining identifying information; and

using the identifying information to facilitate purchase or license of the audio or video.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein analyzing the data feed comprises randomly analyzing portions of the data feed.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the data feed comprises public and private codes hidden therein, and wherein analyzing the data feed comprises decoding the hidden public and private codes.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein performing a more refined analysis comprises steganographically decoding a signature from the data feed.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining if the identifying information matches one of a plurality of codes.

6. A non-transitory computer readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:

instructions to obtain an audio or video data feed, wherein the data feed represents audible portions of an audio signal or picture portions of a video signal;

instructions to analyze the data feed to determine potential pattern matches with previously determined patterns;

instructions to perform, upon determining a potential pattern match, a more refined analysis relative to the analyzing to determining identifying information; and

instructions to use the identifying information to facilitate purchase or license of the audio or video.

7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the instructions to analyze the data feed comprise instructions to analyze random portions of the data feed.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the data feed comprises public and private codes hidden therein, and wherein the instructions to analyze the data feed comprise instructions to decode the hidden public and private codes.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the instructions to perform a more refined analysis comprise instructions to steganographically decode a signature from the data feed.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 6, further comprising instructions to determine if the identifying information matches one of a plurality of codes.

11. An apparatus comprising:

a processor configured to;

obtain an audio or video data feed, wherein the data feed represents audible portions of an audio signal or picture portions of a video signal;

analyze the data feed to determine potential pattern matches with previously determined patterns;

perform, upon determining a potential pattern match, a more refined analysis relative to the analyzing to determining identifying information; and

use the identifying information to facilitate purchase or license of the audio or video.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to analyze random portions of the data feed.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the data feed comprises public and private codes hidden therein, and wherein the processor is further configured to decode the hidden public and private codes.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured steganographically decode a signature from the data feed to perform a more refined analysis.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to determine if the identifying information matches one of a plurality of codes.